Theatre In DC Top Rated Plays List - The Highest Rated Shows In The DC Area
The "Theatre In DC Top Rated Play List" is a list of the top rated plays now running in the DC area based on what the current reviews are saying. To see all of the play reviews go to Review Round-Up.
The dramatic story of a Pittsburgh jitney station, a symbol of stability, struggling against an oppressive lack of opportunity and unnerving neighborhood gentrification that threatens the way they live and work. The drivers resist powerful forces while coming to grips with their pasts to fulfill their own hopes and dreams for the future. Arena Stage's presentation kicks off the National Tour of one of this great master's masterpieces.
Washington Post-
Recommended
BroadwayWorld-
Highly Recommended
DCTheatreScene-
Highly Recommended
DC Metro Theater Arts-
Highly Recommended
MD Theatre Guide-
Highly Recommended
Synetic's legendary, cinematic adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest returns - with the famed water-filled stage and visual poetry that made the original production an unforgettable sensation when it premiered in 2013, plus a new twist as Synetic co-founder Irina Tsikurishvili steps into the role of Prospero. When the magical and powerful Prospero creates a sea storm, he gets more than he bargained for as romantic drama, deception, and quests for vengeance emerge from the depths. Spirits, monsters, witches, drunken fools, and lithe lovers contort and cavort with passion and bravado in one of Shakespeare's most high-stakes and irreverent comedies.
BroadwayWorld-
Highly Recommended
DCTheatreScene-
Recommended
DC Metro Theater Arts-
Highly Recommended
MD Theatre Guide-
Highly Recommended
The Bronx, 1964. Suspicions surface at a parochial school about a charismatic young priest's interest in a Catholic school's first and only Black student. Absent hard proof, Sister Aloysius, the school's starched and self-assured principal, tries to protect the innocent - but is she doing God's work or is her certitude actually pride? Anchored by Studio mainstay Sarah Marshall, Doubt is John Patrick Shanley's masterpiece about faith, ambiguity, and the price of moral conviction.
Washington Post-
Recommended
BroadwayWorld-
Highly Recommended
DCTheatreScene-
Highly Recommended
DC Metro Theater Arts-
Recommended
In 1905, Jay "The Sport" Jackson dreams of becoming the first African American boxer to fight for the heavyweight championship. Despite racking up a string of vicious knockouts, racial segregation and his white manager's own reservations stand in the way. Inspired by the true story of Jack Johnson, The Royale breaks new ground by taking us inside the fighter's mind where the disciplined brutality of boxing reveals itself in theatrically-unforgettable bouts. At stake is more than wins or losses, but equality and survival.
Washington Post-
Recommended
Talkin Broadway-
Recommended
DCTheatreScene-
Highly Recommended
DC Metro Theater Arts-
Highly Recommended
Based on the Warner Brothers film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, The Bodyguard features a score filled with Ms. Houston's greatest hits including: "I Will Always Love You," "I'm Every Woman," "Saving All My Love," "How Will I Know," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "So Emotional," "One Moment in Time"...the list of hit songs goes on and on! Former Secret Service agent Frank Farmer is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge - what they don't expect is to fall in love.
DCTheatreScene-
Somewhat Recommended
DC Metro Theater Arts-
Highly Recommended
MD Theatre Guide-
Recommended
Theatre Bloom-
Highly Recommended
Set in segregated Pittsburgh in the 1950s, Fences depicts the life of Troy Maxson, a former Negro League baseball star now scraping by as a sanitation worker. A towering figure facing thwarted aspirations, Troy attempts to assert control in his life through his relationships with his wife and son. But even as he takes responsibility for their safety and well-being, he betrays them each in ways that will forever alter their lives. Part of August Wilson's 10-play Century Cycle, Fences explores the walls we build around ourselves and our loved ones, while also illuminating one family's struggles in a racist society.
Washington Post-
Somewhat Recommended
Metro Weekly-
Highly Recommended
BroadwayWorld-
Highly Recommended
DCTheatreScene-
Recommended
In a serene British garden, three old friends are joined by a neighbor to engage in amiable chitchat-with a side of apocalyptic horror. The women's talk of grandchildren and tv shows breezily intersperses with tales of terror in a quietly teetering world where all is not what it seems.
Washington Post-
Recommended
Metro Weekly-
Recommended
BroadwayWorld-
Recommended
DCTheatreScene-
Recommended
DC Metro Theater Arts-
Highly Recommended
This two-hander explores the author's real experience working for Francis Biddle at his home in Washington, DC from 1967-1968. Judge Biddle, Former Attorney General of the United States under Franklin Roosevelt and Chief Judge of the American Military Tribunal at Nuremberg is notoriously hard on his staff as he tries to cement his legacy. Can the old, Philadelphia aristocrat and his young, Canadian assistant bridge the generational divide and come to understand one another in this "comic and touching" play (The New York Times)?
Washington Post-
Recommended
BroadwayWorld-
Recommended
DCTheatreScene-
Recommended
DC Metro Theater Arts-
Recommended
MD Theatre Guide-
Recommended
It's another morning in another country fried southern town. As citizens begin to stir, they are forced to deal with a shocking discovery that sends the town topsy turvy. Reclaiming the complexity and depth of the African-American population, Ward's 1965 script and this imaginative retelling is a comedic and pointed commentary on systemic racism that still bears relevance today.
