Arena Stage, a beacon of artistic innovation in Washington, DC, is set to captivate audiences with a series of transformative plays. This season promises an eclectic mix of suspense, comedy, and timeless tales, featuring Matthew Libby's 'Data,' Ken Ludwig's 'Death on the Nile,' Karen Zacarías' adaptation of 'The Age of Innocence,' Larissa FastHorse's comedic 'Fake It Until You Make It,' an untitled play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, and a musical adaptation of 'A Wrinkle in Time' by Heather Christian. These productions explore diverse themes, from Silicon Valley’s secrets to the mysteries of time travel, promising to engage and enthrall theatre-goers.

Dramatic Revelations: Arena Stage’s Spectacular Theatrical Lineup

Dive into Arena Stage's 2025 season, where thought-provoking narratives and vibrant performances take center stage. From Karen Zacarías' adaptation of 'The Age of Innocence' to Larissa FastHorse's 'Fake It Until You Make It,' Tarell Alvin McCraney's untitled play, and 'A Wrinkle in Time' musical by Heather Christian, each production offers a unique lens into societal norms, cultural tensions, romantic entanglements, and the power of imagination. Join us at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, DC, for an unforgettable journey through the worlds of drama, comedy, and adventure.

A Theatrical Odyssey: Arena Stage's 2025 Season of Compelling Narratives

Get ready for an exhilarating theatrical journey at Arena Stage with three outstanding plays. From Larissa FastHorse's hilarious 'Fake It Until You Make It', to the untitled heartfelt drama by Tarell Alvin McCraney, and finally, the adventurous musical 'A Wrinkle in Time', this season promises to entertain and captivate audiences. Dive into tales of rivalry, love, and time-bending quests at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, DC, where each production offers a unique blend of humor, intrigue, and creativity.

Arena Stage's Spectacular Theater Lineup: Comedy, Drama, and Musical Adventures

Meg Murry's father was experimenting with time travel and the fifth dimension when he mysteriously disappeared. Now, Meg, her friend Calvin, and her younger brother Charles Wallace must race to rescue him. Can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space? Join Meg on this epic quest in an adventurous new musical adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's Newbery Medal-winning classic novel that will energize your spirit, expand your imagination, and inspire you to believe that love, friendship, and courage can conquer all.

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A Wrinkle in Time

Mead Center for American Theater

Wilson and Free met in a dark park searching for fun not expecting to find love, light, and each other. Now a milestone anniversary has got them wondering if they have met Mr. Right or a long one-night stand with a lovely Mr. Maybe? With a little support and a lot of confusion from family, friends, and a stranger in the dark, the question remains: will Free and Wilson find their way together or will they let fear, and a secret lead them asunder?

Untitled Tarell Alvin McCraney Play

In Larissa FastHorse's uproarious comedy, a collision of friends and foes within the non-profit sector sets the stage for a whirlwind of competition, chaos, and comedic revelation. Meet Wynona, the Native American proprietor of N.O.B.U.S.H., and River, her white counterpart at Indigenous Nations Soaring. Their escalating rivalry ensnares colleagues and bystanders, leading to the unraveling of secrets that highlight the absurdities of ambition and authenticity. 

Fake It Until You Make It

Against the lavish backdrop of 1870s New York, where hypocrisy thrives and hidden passions simmer, Karen Zacarías brings Edith Wharton's timeless masterpiece, The Age of Innocence, to the stage. This adaptation unveils a searing critique of high society's suffocating norms, presenting a riveting tale of forbidden desires. Surrounded on all sides by an ocean of societal conformity, love clashes with duty, and innocence is sacrificed. Follow the compelling journey of Newland Archer as he grapples with the rigid constraints of privilege, torn between tradition and the allure of forbidden passion.

The Age of Innocence

In Ken Ludwig's thrilling adaptation of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile, Hercule Poirot becomes entangled in a web of deceit and desire aboard a cruise ship on the Nile River. When a murder occurs among the passengers, Poirot springs into action to unmask a killer who could strike again at any moment.

Death on the Nile

Data is Matthew Libby's intriguingly suspenseful and relevant new play that takes you behind the locked doors of Silicon Valley. Its protagonist is Maneesh, a brilliant entry-level programmer at Athena Technologies, a data-mining firm. Content to work in the low-stress environment of User Experience, Maneesh has a crisis of conscience when he is offered a transfer to the more-central Data Analytics team, and learns the true nature of Athena's highly controversial and secretive work. Torn between idealism and survival, Maneesh is forced to come to terms with his unique American identity, all while learning the extent to which Athena is willing to go to hide its secrets.

Data

In Forest Hills, Queens, Nelson Castro, a Colombian American laundromat owner, grapples with a failing business and buried secrets. When his son Nick returns from a mental wellness facility after a traumatic incident, Nelson's world unravels. Committed to protecting his family and business, he tackles racial and identity challenges to achieve his dream, proving his success. In this gripping tale of resilience, Nelson must navigate morality's murky waters to salvage his future. Will he emerge victorious, or will his past consume everything he holds dear?

The Other Americans

Step into the vibrant world of Jaja's African Hair Braiding. Set in the pulsating heart of Harlem, this comedic gem unravels the complexities of cultural identity, assimilation, and the pursuit of the American Dream within the African immigrant community. Follow the uproarious escapades of Maria, Bea, Miriam, Aminata, Ndidi, Jaja, and others as they navigate life and laughter in Jaja's bustling hair braiding salon. With humor as rich as its characters, this five-time Tony Award-nominated production weaves hilarious moments with profound insights, celebrating the indomitable spirit and interconnectedness that define us all.

Jaja's African Hair Braiding

Ten-year-old Sarah faces a new school, her parents’ divorce, and an embarrassing secret you’ll never guess (unless you read the title) as Emmy winner Silverman’s bestselling memoir comes to life in The Bedwetter - A Musical. Featuring a book co-written by Silverman and Tony nominee Joshua Harmon (Prayer for the French Republic) and music by Grammy and Emmy winner Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), this is the musical story of a funny little girl with clinical depression.

The Bedwetter - A Musical

Using its hallmark style of percussive dance-theater, Step Afrika!’s The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence tells the story of one of the largest movements of people in United States history, when millions of African American migrants moved from the rural South to the industrial North in the 1900s to escape Jim Crow, racial oppression, and lynchings. Inspired by Jacob Lawrence’s iconic 60-panel “The Migration Series” (1940-41), this signature work from the award-winning dance company uses the images, color palette, and motifs in the painting series to tell this astonishing story through pulsating rhythms and visually stunning movement.

The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence

Cleaning out her grandmother’s home, Ellen Rabinowitz discovers the photograph of an anonymous soldier tucked away in a box of keepsakes. And so begins Unknown Soldier, a sweeping, elegiac musical from Daniel Goldstein and the late Michael Friedman on a woman’s journey to unearth the secrets of her family’s past… and which will chart her future.


Unknown Soldier

Born into slavery in North Carolina, Anna Julia Cooper was a visionary Black feminist and educator in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, and only the fourth African American woman to earn a doctoral degree. Tempestuous Elements—the 11th in Arena Stage’s Power Play cycle—shines a light on Cooper’s tumultuous tenure as Principal of Washington, D.C.’s historic M Street School where she fought to keep Black education alive, despite the racism, gossip and sexism that threatened to consign her efforts to obscurity.

Tempestuous Elements

The world’s first holiday show incorporating the African American tradition of stepping, Step Afrika!'s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show is a feast for the eyes and ears. You’ll laugh, you’ll sing, and you’ll dance—yes, dance, along with Step Afrika!’s award-winning dancers on Arena’s fabulous Fichandler Stage!—as “DJ Nutcracker” sets the tone for a joy-filled, toe-tapping evening that’s a family-friendly holiday “stepstravaganza” like no other.

Step Afrika's Magical Musical Holiday Step Show

When a violent storm sinks their whaling ship off the coast of New Bedford, Mass., the four survivors face a reckoning: how far will they go to stay alive? And can they live with the consequences? With music and lyrics from The Avett Brothers (“America’s Biggest Roots Band,” Rolling Stone), whose 2004 “Mignonette” was inspired by an 1884 shipwreck and the struggle of four men to survive, Swept Away is an electrifying, soul-stirring new musical exploring how facing tragedy can open the door to forgiveness… if only we’ll let it.

Swept Away

When the Commander-in-Chief publicly calls his wife a “See You Next Tuesday,” all H-E-Double Hockey Sticks breaks loose. In this searingly funny Broadway hit, POTUS follows how seven women of dramatically different backgrounds minimize the damage done by male arrogance and political posturing, in an endearing homage to the women who keep things running behind the scenes.


POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive

It’s 2008 and a father-daughter duo are heading to Phnom Penh; she to prosecute a notorious Cambodian war criminal, he 30 years after escaping then-Communist rule. In a psychedelic theatrical extravaganza set to some of the country’s most popular rock music, including from Dengue Fever, Cambodian Rock Band shines a light on the country’s vibrant ’70s rock scene and how an entire generation of musicians was purged by the Khmer Rouge, as it brings long-buried family secrets back to life.

Arena Stage

Jun 12 - Jul 20, 2025

A Wrinkle in Time

May 16 - Jun 15, 2025

Untitled Tarell Alvin McCraney Play

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