March offers many pleasures, from the first day of spring to March Madness and more, including a fresh new set of productions to enjoy. Our theater partners across the United States are offering a rich variety of performances. Check out what’s playing this month. What do you hope to see?
At the Folger
On stage, the women of Hamlet are having their say in Lauren M. Gunderson’s inventive new play, A Room in the Castle. Rebranding the stories of Ophelia, her handmaid, and Queen Gertrude in a hilarious and heart-rending drama with music and defiant hope, the Folger Theatre co-production with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company performs through April 6. Free Folger Fridays returns on March 21 with Bachata lessons with Bachata Sáfica, a queer collective promoting Latiné and Caribbean dance, music and culture. Our family workshop on March 22, The Art of the Shakespearean Player, connects young players ages 5 through 11 with Shakespeare’s language and characters, inspired by our current exhibition How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition, on view through July. This year’s Eudora Welty Lecture featuring Amor Towles is March 27. The annual lecture is inspired by the writing and life of author Eudora Welty. We end the month with a Folger Education teacher weekend intensive on March 28–29, Words, Words, Words: Exploring Shakespeare and Complex Texts.
African-American Shakespeare Company
Shakespeare Reimagined takes Shakespeare’s timeless poetry and reboots it through the lens of Black culture, creating a 90-minute voyage featuring scenes from some of Shakespeare’s iconic plays, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry VI, and Macbeth mixed with movement and sound. It’s a reawakening—one that speaks powerfully to our present, inviting audiences from all walks of life to join in a journey that reclaims, redefines, and electrifies envisioning the classics with color. Through March 30.
Alabama Shakespeare Festival
A fun-loving young man comes face to face with the kind of greed and inhumanity that won’t let him sleep at night in Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood. Suddenly he’s an outlaw hiding in Sherwood Forest where he joins up with a band of followers including Little John, Friar Tuck, and a feisty adventuress, Maid Marian.
Performances through April 6 (plus May 2–3).
American Players Theatre
APT’s popular play-reading series, Winter Words, closes out the series for 2025 with a reading of Everybody. A whimsical, constantly shifting retelling of the 15th Century morality play Everyman by the “seriously talented” (The New York Times) Branden Jacobs Jenkins. Winter Words provides room to explore stories that are new to us, with laser-focus on the language in one-night-only readings. March 31.
Atlanta Shakespeare Company
Carlyle Brown’s The African Company Presents Richard III is based on a true story.
Forty years before the abolition of slavery, William Henry Brown, a free Black American, organizes a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III under his company, African Grove Theatre. At the same time, the leading producer of New York City, Stephen Price, has secured the famous English actor Junius Brutus Booth to play Richard III at his Park Theatre. Threatened by the potential success of Brown’s Richard III, Price is intent on shutting them down. While Brown fights to get his production to opening night, he must also contend with his company of African American actors who aren’t sure of their place in English drama, or if they’re even prepared for the consequences of presenting Shakespeare in their own way.
On stage through March 30.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
From working-class London lads to rock ‘n’ roll icons, The Kinks exploded onto the ‘60s music scene with a raw, energetic new sound that rocked a nation and changed the industry forever. Sunny Afternoon, the story of the band’s atmospheric rise to fame is told through their own prolific catalog of hit songs, including “You Really Got Me,” “Lola,” and “All Day and All of the Night”—all performed live onstage by the actors. You’ll be rocking out in your seat with a live concert experience of the irresistible music that inspired generations. With an original story, music, and lyrics by The Kinks’ legendary Ray Davies and a script by Joe Penhall, this award-winning new musical makes its North American Premiere directed by Artistic Director Edward Hall, whose UK debut production took the West End by storm. On stage March 21 through April 27.
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 through March 23.
Gamut Theatre Group
Abandoned by his creator and left to navigate a hostile world, Frankenstein’s bewildered creature faces a harsh, new life of cruelty and isolation. In trying to understand humanity, he gains knowledge and compassion, but he also learns fear and anger. The Creature grows desperate and vengeful, leading him to hunt his maker and forge a terrifying bargain. In Nick Dear’s Frankenstein from the novel by Mary Shelley, timeless themes of scientific responsibility, the nature of humanity, and the essence of good and evil are explored in this gripping and profoundly unsettling gothic tale. Through March 30.
The Old Globe
Enjoy AXIS: Celebration of Spring, a vibrant program with music by flautist Little Wolf, guitarist Paul Cannon, and Blue Eagle Bird Singers; drum and dance performances by Sam BearPaw; storytelling by Ethan Banegas/Kumeyaay Project; sage bundles and rock painting workshop by Elizabeth Reynoso; and a basket weaving workshop by Native Pathways. The event will be hosted by Kenny Ramos and produced by Valeria Vega, Family and Cross Cultural Programs Manager. This is the first AXIS that focuses on the local Indigenous culture and will be a space to celebrate and honor the original people of San Diego, their language, and traditions. Free and open to everyone. March 22, 11am–1:30pm
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
OSF kicks off its 90th season with a four-play repertory, including: Fat Ham, a deliciously funny riff on Shakespeare’s Hamlet follows Juicy, a queer Black kid who must grapple with the decision to heed his phantom father’s advice…or remain true to himself. Through June 27; An unlicensed taxi company, a disgraced son returning after a prison sentence, potent secrets, and fragile threads bind together OSF Artistic Director Tim Bond’s production of August Wilson’s masterwork, Jitney. Through July 20; In a sparkling production set on the Malay Peninsula, Oscar Wilde’s witty comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, reveals the absurd lengths that humans will go to in pursuit of acceptance, love, and truth. Through October 25; In Shakespeare’s famed political thriller, Julius Caesar, a bold all-female and nonbinary cast directed by OSF Associate Artistic Director Rosa Joshi illuminates ancient themes of power, loyalty, and betrayal. Through October 26.
SPARC
The 4th Annual Science@Play series features two weekends of thought-provoking science-based plays, including PM10, a newly commissioned piece by film and theater writer and director, Mildred Inez Lewis. Set amidst the environmental, cultural, and political conflicts over water rights and air quality in California’s Owens Valley, PM10 focuses on Allison, a local teaching artist, and Troy, a DWP geologist, both appointed to a commission that will decide the future of Owens Valley. While Allison, chosen by county exec Georgia, represents the community, Troy is determined to push for DWP’s withdrawal, motivated by his father’s legacy in the original mitigation efforts. As their personal and professional worlds collide, they must navigate their differing views on science, art, money, and memory, all while their relationship hangs in the balance. Their recommendation will determine not only the lake’s future, but their own. March 28-30, including one showing in San Ramon.
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Take part in the development of new work at the annual Confluence New Play Festival. Three new plays commissioned by the Festival will premier as stage readings to members of the public and our theater industry friends. Join us for plays by the 2024 cohort: Aurora Behlke (St. Louis), M. Kamara (Carbondale) and Aaron Scully (Warrensburg). March 27-29.
African-American Shakespeare Company, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, American Players Theatre, Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Folger Theatre, Gamut Theatre Group, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, SPARC, and St. Louis Shakespeare Festival are members of the Folger’s Theater Partnership Program.
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