Joel Markowitz

We've been very lucky with the mildest winter I can remember since I moved to the DC area in 1985. And in February the list of theatre productions gracing our local stages are diverse and offer an endless amount of possibilities. So while the snow is on vacation why not visit your Nation's Capital and take in some of these shows. Here's my list of what I am looking forward to seeing and links to other productions playing in February. Buy some tickets and support your local theatres.

It's that time of the year to take a look back at which shows and performances I enjoyed in 2011 on DC area stages, and since I saw over 200 of them this year in professional, community, university, children's, and programs that train young actors, let me give it a whirl and I'll pick my 'Top 5' in each category.

It's holiday time in Washington, DC with so many gorgeous decorations adorning our Nation's Capital. Our local theatres are booming with new productions and there are holiday tree lightings, concerts, recitals and sing-alongs all through the DC area. Come visit us and see some shows and join in the holiday festivities that we have to offer during this very festive month. Happy Holidays everyone!

November has over 60 more openings in the professional, community, universities, and children's theaters in the DC/MD/VA area. A week has already passed in November and over 20 new productions have opened. To read reviews of these shows, go to Maryland Theatre Guide, where I am the Editor and a columnist. A recent back surgery kept me from posting this earlier, so we have some catching up to do.

October is packed with over 50 local productions opening on DC area stages. In fact, after the month is over, the writers of Maryland Theatre Guide, where I am the Editor and a columnist, will have reviewed over 80 shows, concerts and cabarets.

The new DC area theatre season begins in September. Over 50 shows are opening in our professional and community theatres. But before we move on to the new season and what's opening in September, let's look back at my personal favorite musicals, plays, and performances in both musicals and plays in the DC area - from August 2010 to August 2011.

Thank God for air-conditioning in our DC/MD/VA area theatres! In August it will be sizzling in our local theatres. Signature Theatre has its 'Sizzlin' Summer Cabaret' series with visits from Broadway favorites Marc Kudisch and Julia Murney, and Signature favorites Erin Driscoll, Sandy Bainum, and Lauren Williams. The talk of the town is Cate Blanchett visiting The Eisenhower Theatre at The Kennedy Center, where a hundred yards away Wicked is playing to SRO audiences (what else is new?).

There's a lot of 'steam heat' on DC area stages and outside, so if you're visiting DC for the annual July 4th fireworks extravaganza, stop by and see a show before you roast on the Mall waiting for the concert and loud "booms" to fill up the sky. And if you couldn't get into the sold-out Oklahoma!, Aquarium, Clybourne Park, or The Importance of Being Earnest - earlier this year - you have a chance now! And then there's The Capital Fringe Festival with dozens of new shows to choose from.

The humidity is starting to climb and it's what we call around here -- 'corn weather'. But in the air-conditioned theatres in the Nation's Capital there is a harvest of new shows opening. So if you're here visiting the monuments and the Smithsonian museums, get out of the heat and come see a play or a musical.

The DC area is full of spring splendor with so many gorgeous trees and azaleas in full bloom, and our local theatres are filled with new colorful productions. So come visit the Nation's Capital and bask in the city's beauty and the power and joy of our local theatres.

While the cherry blossoms are blooming - over 30 productions will be taking root on DC area stages in April. So come visit the Nation's Capital and see a show or two or more. There's something playing for everyone.

With over 30 new productions opening on DC area stages, 4 large festivals, and 2 world premiere musicals, it may still be chilly outside, but DC area stages are sizzling and bursting with great theatre. So come visit the Nation's Capital and visit our vibrant theatre scene.

With over 30 shows opening on DC area stages, there's lots to choose from for local theatregoers and visitors in February. There's a 'mash-up' festival, a puppet 'slam!', a Tom Stoppard play, the beginning of The Edward Albee Festival, and so much more! So come visit the Nation's Capital and join us for some outstanding theatre.

As we welcome in a new year of great theatre in the nation's capital, I thought it would be fun to do one of those “Best of 2010' lists as well as preview what's opening in January on DC area stages. So let's raise our glasses and offer a toast to all those theatre companies who gave us great productions in 2010, and to the upcoming 2011 theatre season!

Happy Holidays everyone! Come visit our Nation's Capital during the holiday season. It's such a beautiful time of the year here, with so many lights shimmering on the monuments, The Mall, and on The White House. As we await the first snow flakes, DC area theatres are chocked full of productions for the whole family filled with elves, reindeers, Santas, and Scrooges.

As the leaves are turning into a rainbow of colors, and we await the first snowflakes to fall, DC theatergoers are anticipating Arena Stage's first two productions in their new Mead Center, while Harry Connick, Jr. introduces children to a friendly elf, and Snow White and a red rose and a guy named Fred make a stop at The Kennedy Center. That red-haired orphan brings Sandy and a bitchy Ms. Hannigan and a pooch named Sandy to Olney, MD. Synetic Theater Artistic Director and his wife/choreographer reunite on the stage, a Ziegfeld Folly stars in a one-woman show, and doughnuts are served at The Studio Theatre.

In September, DC area theatres are filled with almost a dozen musical productions opening -- classics, family shows, and many wonderful plays being performed on our over 200 theatre venues. The humidity is finally melting away, and it's a perfect time to welcome the cooler weather and the colors of the Fall by making a trip to the Nation's Capital and catching a show or two or three. There are family shows with canines and rabbits, a Labor Day weekend theatre festival that's FREE, a new jazz musical with some of the area's most talented singers, and bugs and ants that swing on trapezes. Mr. Ripley is finally coming to town, while I'm hoping that all will be well at Shakespeare Theatre. Someone is trying to deal with a very troubling inch, a Bar-Mitzvah boy has to deal with his crazy family, spelling champions battle it out, and a beagle pilot takes flight. There's so much to choose from, so read on and see what's playing in September in this monumental town. Happy New Year to all my fellow Jewish lovers of the theatre!

Now that The Capital Fringe Festival has finally packed up its tent, (read all 132 reviews of the Fringe reviews and reflections here), DC theatergoers are being offered some musical offerings this month including new productions of the popular musicals Chess, Nunsense, Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story, The Fantasticks and Side Show.

Is there any better place to celebrate the Fourth of July than the Nation's Capital? If you're in town for the fireworks and concert on the Mall, consider popping into one of our local theatres. This month's MUST-SEES include The Capital Fringe Festival and Hip-Hop Festival, pirates, a high-flying nanny, a supreme trio, a boar with a flapjack, a crazy one-man Lord of the Rings, those loveable Tony Award-winning puppets, lots of plaid, a household of singing sisters, Stew's 'strange' score, and a concert version of a Rodgers and Hart classic musical. There's something for everyone in July on our DC area stages.