October 15–November 17, 2019

“One of this country’s most original and illuminating writers” (The New York Times) shines his light on the 15th century play Everyman with startling results. ‘Everybody’ – a role assigned each night from a small cast of actors by lottery live on stage – is a happy person, a free person, a person who believes nothing but the best lies ahead. Then Death comes calling and Everybody must go on the journey of a lifetime. Obie Award-winner and MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (An Octoroon) has created an irreverent, rollicking ride that asks deep questions of all who see it. Remixing the archetypal medieval morality play into an explosive experiment of wit and emotion, Everybody “fills the heart in a new and unexpected way” (The New Yorker).

Sponsored by Michael R. Klein and Joan I. Fabry.

Additional support provided by CoStar Group.

December 3, 2019–January 12, 2020

J.M. Barrie’s classic Peter Pan is reimagined for a new generation of theatregoers by American Theatre’s Most-Produced Playwright of 2017 Lauren Gunderson (Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, I and You). Gunderson places Wendy center stage, a budding scientist breaking free from the constraints of Edwardian traditions. Whisked away by Peter Pan to Neverland, they confront menacing pirates, a formidable crocodile and the dastardly Captain Hook. With his signature “brilliant theatrical flair” (American Theatre), STC Associate Artistic Director Alan Paul (Camelot) directs this classic tale of adventure and wonder sure to delight adults and children alike.

Sponsored by Suzanne and Glenn Youngkin.

December 4–December 22, 2019

Susan Hill’s acclaimed ghost story comes dramatically alive in Stephen Mallatratt’s ingenious stage adaptation – “The most brilliantly effective spine-chiller you will ever encounter” (Daily Telegraph). Now celebrating three decades in the West End, Robin Herford’s gripping production is a brilliantly successful study in atmosphere, illusion, and controlled horror. A lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over him and his family by the spectre of a Woman in Black engaged a skeptical young actor to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul. It all begins innocently enough, but then, as they reach further into his darkest memories, they find themselves caught up in a world of eerie marshes and moaning winds. The Woman in Black remains “one of British theatre’s biggest and scariest hits” (The Guardian).

February 11–March 15, 2020

In a 1950s storefront church in Harlem, Pastor Margaret Alexander rails at her congregation and her teenaged son for their vices. With a gospel choir singing of redemption in one room and her son bonding with his ailing father over their love of jazz in the next, Margaret must face the music herself when a figure from her own troubled past returns. James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner tackles the role of the church in the African American community in this landmark work, written immediately after his breakthrough novel Go Tell It on the Mountain. Whitney White, winner of the Susan Stroman Director Award, makes her Washington, D.C. directorial debut in this powerful production rich with music, humanity and Baldwin’s lyrical prose.

February 20–March 22, 2020

Artistic Director Simon Godwin makes his directorial debut at Shakespeare Theatre Company with a restaging of his recent, acclaimed production of Timon of Athens, featuring Olivier Award-winner Kathryn Hunter in an “astonishing performance” (The Guardian). Timon lives in a golden world of opulence and generosity throwing wild parties attended by politicians, artists and the celebrities of Athens. When she loses her wealth and her friends abandon her, Timon takes to the forest, exchanging her luxurious gowns for sackcloth and plotting revenge against the city she loves. Godwin’s daring take on this rarely-produced play yields “a parable for our times … and perhaps a nifty touchstone for spiritual renewal.” (Daily Telegraph)

April 7–May 17, 2020

A recipe for sweet romance: Whisk together two painfully timid chocolatiers with a dollop of social anxiety and a dash of whimsy in a Parisian setting. The result is a musical comedy that is utterly delectable. Conceived by the brilliant mind of theatrical provocateur Emma Rice (Brief Encounter) and sprinkled with the passionate songs of Kooman and Dimond, this gorgeous musical hailed as “a multifaceted gem, chock-full of love, generosity and joy” (The Guardian) is an effortless confection that will melt your heart.

May 5–June 14, 2020

The course of true love never did run smooth. Shakespeare’s quintessential romantic comedy finds soldiers returning home and trading their military uniforms for wedding bands, their pistols for love letters. With the kingdom at peace there’s now time for the “merry war” between Beatrice and Benedick to rage once more. But to bring the witty ex-lovers together will require outrageous rumors, a disrupted wedding, a faked death, the supreme incompetence of the local law enforcement and the outright double-dealing of their dearest friends. Helmed by Simon Godwin, who “combines a contemporary eye with a fastidious ear for Shakespeare’s language” (The Guardian), Much Ado is a sparkling screwball comedy and a deep affirmation of love.