February may be the shortest month of the year but there’s no shortage of performances and programs to love at our theater partners across the United States. Check out what’s playing this month. What do you hope to see?
At the Folger
This month we’re celebrating all that February has to offer, starting with the Folger Consort’s concert, The Love Birds (February 14–16), blending medieval music with the world premiere of a new composition by Juri Seo and readings from Geoffrey Chaucer’s A Parlement of Foules by DC actor Holly Twyford. On February 20, Alex Baines, Rob Clines, and Anandi Rao are sharing their research in our monthly Folger Salon, followed on February 21, we open a new exhibition, How To Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition, on view through July, and our free Folger Friday is celebrating Black Arts Fest! with an evening of cabaret style performances and music in our Reading Room featuring several DC artists and entertainers, including rapper and producer Nomad the Native, R&B and soul singer and songwriter Bryan Lee, R&B and soul artist Abigail Furr, opera singer Millicent Scarlett, pianist Dana Scott, cellist Johnny Walker, and jazz vocalist Jeanette Berry. Our O.B. Hardison Poetry series on February 25 hosts Disability Poetics with Camisha Jones and torrin a. greathouse. We end the month with Cocktails and Conversation with Luis Carazo about role-playing games on February 27 followed on February 28 by Mixology: Game Night for a unique playthrough of our 5E adventure, “Folger Foe-lios: A Night at the Library.”
Alabama Shakespeare Festival
In The Watsons Go To Birmingham, adapted by Cheryl L. West from the Christopher Paul Curtis novel, ten-year-old Kenny chronicles the events of a fateful summer for the Watson family of Flint, Michigan.
Momma and Dad decide it’s time for Kenny’s teenage brother to have a lengthy stay with strict Grandma Sands in Birmingham, Alabama, and the family heads south — toward a deadly, defining moment in American history.
Performances through February 23.
Atlanta Shakespeare Company
In a violent and broken community, can love still exist, thrive, and survive?
It’s the 22nd anniversary production of William Shakespeare’s tragic love story, Romeo and Juliet, with Tommy Sullivan-Lovett and Golbanoo Setayesh in the title roles.
Post-show Q&A following the Sunday, February 16 performance.
On stage through March 2.
Chesapeake Shakespeare Company
Mistaken identities, outrageous antics, and double the hilarity — It’s The Comedy of Errors, Hon! is coming your way! Founding Artistic Director Ian Gallanar’s Baltimore-inspired twist features local landmarks and hilarious personalities, making this a wildly hilarious evening of theater that could only come from Charm City. Performances through March 9.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Join Puck and his feisty fairy band for a Saturday at the Athens summer music festival in this 75-minute production of Shakespeare’s dreamiest romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Hermia is engaged to Demetrius but actually loves Lysander. Lysander loves her back, until a spell casts his gaze upon her best friend Helena, who—would you believe it?—loves Demetrius. This quartet of love-sick young people are joined by a motley crew of theatricals, a fairy King and Queen in an epic showdown, and a talking donkey to boot. Every performance includes a post-show conversation with the cast. Performances through March 8.
Classic Theatre of Maryland
Set in Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trials, Arthur Miller’s 1953 play, The Crucible, depicts the horrifying hysteria of the village as its citizens are caught up in a storm of accusations, bigotry, and deceit. On stage February 27–March 16.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Set during the early days of the Cold War, this reimagining of Macbeth delves into ambition, mind control, and psychological manipulation. When enigmatic witches unveil a prophecy of power, Macbeth and his calculating wife spiral into a ruthless pursuit of dominance. As paranoia mounts and reality fractures, their descent into madness becomes a chilling exploration of how far the human mind can be pushed—and who is truly pulling the strings. This electrifying adaptation blurs the boundaries between free will and control, immersing audiences in a world where the edge of insanity is closer than it appears. On stage February 28–March 23.
Gamut Theatre Group
Experience the life-affirming power of connecting with your heritage and history in this gripping sequel to Voices of the Eighth. Desperate for guidance and a soul-stirring reunion with Della, her kindred spirit from the past, Kay ventures to Harrisburg’s Lincoln Cemetery to summon her soul-sister. However, her plans are disrupted when Kayah, the fierce “SOAL” warrior dedicated to preserving the city’s crumbling Black cemetery, intervenes. Kayah calls upon the ancestors to help Kay learn from the past so she can reclaim her future. Voices of the Eighth, Part III: Hallowed Ground is an unforgettable journey through time and spirit, where the past and present collide again, and the power of community and ancestral wisdom light the path to liberation and hope. Performances February 15-March 2.
Nashville Shakespeare Festival
Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, explores the absurdities and thrills of finding your perfect (or imperfect) match in life. The outspoken Lizzy Bennet is determined to never marry despite mounting pressure from society. But can she resist love, especially when that vaguely handsome, mildly amusing, and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn?! Literature’s greatest tale of latent love has never felt so theatrical, or so full of life. Because what turns us into greater fools than the high-stakes game of love? Produced in partnership with Belmont University’s Department of Theatre and Dance. Performances February 20–March 2.
The Old Globe
Appropriate, the comic drama from Pulitzer Prize finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, gathers the estranged siblings of the Lafayette family to settle their late father’s Arkansas estate. Amid the clutter they uncover a shocking relic, forcing them to confront long-buried secrets and decades of resentment. As tensions boil over and the cicadas roar, the family faces unsettling truths about their past and how it has shaped them. Performances through February 23.
Kisa, a painter in Paris, returns to her small Japanese hometown after the 2011 tsunami to help her ailing father by driving his taxi cab in Empty Ride. But as she navigates the winding streets and transports her eccentric passengers, she is haunted by the supernatural remnants of what the floodwaters left behind. This Globe-commissioned world premiere from Keiko Green is a funny and poignant story that explores the uncanny ways that love can transcend loss. Performances through March 2.
Seattle Shakespeare Company
Treat your Valentine to the timeless tale of doomed love. In a violent world, their families enmeshed in a bloody feud, young Romeo and Juliet fall in love. Despite the many obstacles standing in their way, they’re determined to find a happily-ever after together. Will their love succeed, despite the odds? The Romeo and Juliet education tour features a 90-minute performances, with a nimble five-person cast each playing multiple roles. Performances February 21–23.
Southwest Shakespeare Company
What if the world’s most tragic love story was set against one of history’s greatest divides? Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet finds new life in Gujarat, India, during the time of partition. Verona becomes an Indian city filled with color, tradition, and violence. The Montagues and Capulets become Hindu and Muslim, respectively, highlighting the timeless and universal struggle of love in the face of societal division. In a city beside the Arabian Sea, this poignant retelling examines identity, cultural conflict, and the pursuit of an independent life through the eyes of two star-crossed lovers. Deshik Vansadia, artistic director of The Shakespeare Theatre of India, co-directs the production with Southwest Shakespeare’s Grant Mudge. Performances through February 23.
Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Chesapeake Shakespeare Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Classic Theatre of Maryland, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Folger Consort, Folger Theatre, Gamut Theatre Group, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, The Old Globe, Seattle Shakespeare Company, and Southwest Shakespeare Company are members of the Folger’s Theater Partnership Program.
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