The Washington Stage Guild (incorporated as Theatre Downtown, Inc.) produces eloquent plays of idea and argument, passion and wit– plays from all periods of world drama enacted by a classical ensemble with a contemporary sensibility—smart theatre for a smart town.
*Denotes a World Premiere
**Denotes an Area Premiere
2024-2025 Season "Determination"
- FAITHLESS by Jon Klein
September 26-October 20
Directed by Steven Carpenter
more
- SHAW’S SHORTS by George Bernard Shaw
November 21-December 15
Directed by Laura Giannarelli - ESCAPE FROM THE ASYLUM: A MADCAP MYSTERY
by Patricia Milton
January 30-February 23, 2025
directed by Morgan Duncan. - SOFONISBA by Callie Kimball
April 10-May 4, 2025
Directed by Deidra LaWan Starnes
2023-2024 Season "Truths Revealed"
- DOROTHY’S DICTIONARY by E.M. Lewis
September 28-October 22 2023.
Directed by Laura Giannarelli, featuring Helen Hayes Award recipient Deidra LaWan Starnes
more - ARMS AND THE MAN by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Michael Rothhaar. 11/16 – 12/10/2023.
more - THE VICTORIAN LADIES’ DETECTIVE COLLECTIVE by Patricia Milton, directed by Morgan Duncan.
EXTENDED THROUGH MARCH 3.
more - AN UNBUILT LIFE by Elizabeth DeSchryver, directed by Steven Carpenter.
April 12 – May 5, 2024
more
2022-2023 Season
ALL (press release)
- THE GOOD DOCTOR by Neil Simon, adapted from Anton Chekhov
September 30-October 23 2022. Press opening Sunday October 2 at 2:30
Directed by Laura Giannarelli, featuring Lynn Steinmetz
more - MAJOR BARBARA by George Bernard Shaw
November 17-December 11 2022. Press opening Sunday November 20 at 2:30
Directed by Steven Carpenter, featuring Laura Giannarelli
more
- ENDGAME by Samuel Beckett
January 26-February 19 2023. Press opening Sunday January 29 at 2:30
Directed by Alan Wade, featuring Bill Largess
more
- BEN BUTLER by Richard Strand
March 23-April 16 2023. Press opening Sunday March 26 at 2:30
Directed by Kasi Campbell, featuring Steven Carpenter
more
2021-2022 Season
- My Children! My Africa!
by Athol Fugard
11/11/21 – 12/5/21
- Sam & Dede, or My Dinner with Andre the Giantby Gino DiIorio1/13/22 – 2/6/22
- Mrs. Warren’s Profession by George Bernard Shaw
2/25/22 – 3/27/22
Directed by Michael Rothhaar - Memoirs of a Forgotten Man by D.W. Gregory5/5/22 – 5/29/22Directed by Kasi Campbell
2020-2021 Season
- A live performance of My Children! My Africa!
by Athol Fugard 11/11/21 – 12/5/21 - A streamed performance of Don Juan in Hell
by G.B. Shaw
November 25 – November 29, 2020 - A streamed performance of The Devil’s Disciple
by G.B. Shaw
March 17 – March 21, 2021 - A streamed performance of How He Lied to Her Husband!
by G.B. Shaw
May 19 – May 23
2019-2020 Season
- Candida by G.B. Shaw
September 26 – October 20, 2019 - Hard Times by Charles Dickens, adapted for the stage by Stephen Jeffreys
November 14 – December 8, 2019 - Bloomsday by Steven Dietz**
January 23 – February 16, 2020 - Sam and Dede by Gino DiIorio**
March 19 – April 12, 2020
(PREEMPTED BY COVID)
2018-2019 Season
- Summerland by Arlitia Jones
September 27 – October 21, 2018 - All Save One by Greg Jones Ellis*
November 15th – December 9th, 2018 - Gulf View Drive by Arlene Hutton
January 17th – February 17th, 2019 - Resolving Hedda by Jon Klein
March 21st – April 14th, 2019
2017-2018 Season
- Widowers’ Houses by George Bernard Shaw
September 28 – October 22, 2017 - A Child’s Christmas In Wales & Other Stories adapted by Bill Largess
November 24 – December 17, 2017 - See Rock City by Arlene Hutton
January 18 – February 11, 2018 - Alabama Story by Kenneth Jones
March 22 – April 15, 2018
2016-2017 Season
- “A String of Pearls,” readings of –
– Getting Married by George Bernard Shaw, October 16, 2016
– O’Flaherty, VC and Augustus Does His Bit by George Bernard Shaw, October 23, 2016
– Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime adapted from Oscar Wilde by Bill Largess, October 30, 2016 - It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play adapted by Joe Landry
November 25 – December 18, 2016
Reading of A Child’s Christmas In Wales and Other Stories
December 14, 2016 - Last Train To Nibroc by Arlene Hutton
January 26 – February 19, 2017
Reading of The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais
February 15, 2017 - Back To Methuselah Part 3 by George Bernard Shaw
March 23 – April 17, 2017
Reading of The Makropoulos Secret by Karel Capek, April 12, 2017
2015-2016 Season
- Tiny Island by Michael Hollinger
Reading of Works by Hrotsvitha, October 21 - It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play adapted by Joe Landry
November 12-December 13, 2015
Reading of The Rover by Aphra Behn, December 2 - St Nicholas by Conor McPherson
January 28-February 21, 2016
Reading of Rutherford and Sons by Githa Sowerby, February 17 - The Gospel According To Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord by Scott Carter
March 31-April 24 2016
Reading of Works by Susan Glaspell, April 20
2014-2015 Season
- Pen by David Marshall Grant
October 30-November 23, 2014 - In Praise of Love by Terence Rattigan
January 1-25, 2015 - Reading of The Rover by Aphra Behn, December 2
- Back To Methuselah Part 2 by George Bernard Shaw
February 19-March 15, 2015 - On Approval by Frederick Lonsdale
April 23-May 17, 2015 - Readings of the complete Tonight At 8:30 by Noel Coward
November 18, January 20, March 10, May 12
2013-2014 Season
- Inventing Van Gogh by Steven Dietz
October 31-November 24, 2013
Reading of The Doctor’s Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw, November 12 - The Old Masters by Simon Gray
January 2-February 2, 2014
Reading of The Late Christopher Bean by Sidney Howard, January 14 - Back To Methuselah part 1 by George Bernard Shaw
February 20-March 16 2014 - Reading of The Diary of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain, March 4
- Elling by Simon Bent
April 24-May 18 2014 - Reading of A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch
and JB Priestley, May 6
2012-2013 Season
- Pygmalion by G. B. Shaw
October 25 to December 2, 2012 - Reading of Androcles And The Lion by G. B. Shaw
November 19, 2012 - Tryst by Karoline Leach**
January 3 to February 10, 2013Reading of Speed The Plough by Thomas Morton
January 14, 2013 - Dante’s Inferno adapted by Bill Largess
February 2 to March 17, 2013 - Reading of Everyman by Anon
March 4, 2013 - The Elder Statesman by T.S. Eliot**
April 25 to May 19, 2013 - Reading of The Rock by T.S. Eliot
May 6, 2013
2011-2012 Season
- Wilder Sins by Thornton Wilder **
November 3 to November 27, 2012 - Reading of Even Wilder Sins by Thornton Wilder
November 14, 2011 - Amelia by Alex Webb*
January 5 to February 12, 2012 - Reading of Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor
January 16, 2012 - Husbands & Lovers by Ferenc Molnar*
February 23 to March 18, 2012 - Reading Liliom by Ferenc Molnar
March 5, 2012 - “Wives & Wits” – Overruled and Village Wooing, by G. B. Shaw **
April 26 to May 27, 2012 - Reading of St. Joan by G. B. Shaw
May 7, 2012
2010-2011 Season
- Darwin in Malibu by Crispin Whittell **
October 28 to November 21, 2010 - Magic by G. K. Chesterton**
January 6 to January 20, 2011 - Red Herring by Michael Hollinger**
March 3 to April 3, 2011 - The Apple Cart by G. B. Shaw**
April 28 to May 22, 2011
PREVIOUS YEARS: 2010-1985
2010-2000
2009-2010 Season
- Strange Bedfellows: Press Cuttings & Augustus Does His Bit by G. B. Shaw**
September 30 to October 18, 2009 - Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, adapted from Oscar Wilde by Bill Largess
February 25 to March 28, 2010 - The Best of Friends by Hugh Whitemore
May 6 to May 29, 2010
2008-2009 Reading Season
- Reading of The Lawyer by Ferenc Molnar
October 6, 2008 - Reading of Captain Brassbound’s Conversion by G. B. Shaw
November 9, 2008 - Reading of Candlelight by Siegfried Geyer, adapted by P.G. Wodehouse
December 8, 2008 - Reading of The Infernal Machine by Jean Cocteau
February 9, 2009 - Reading of Deirdre of the Sorrows by John Millington Synge
March 16, 2009 - Reading of Pelleas & Melisande by Maurice Maeterlinck
April 6, 2009 - Reading of Do We Agree? by George Bernard Shaw, G.K. Chesterson, & Hilaire Belloc
June 14, 2009 - Reading of Alison’s House by Susan Glaspell
June 28, 2009 - Reading of Break Of Noon by Paul Claudel
Sunday, July 12, 2009 - Reading of The Dragon by Yevgeny Schwartz
Sunday, August 9, 2009 - Reading of Barbellion adapted from The Journal of a Disappointed Man by Alan Wade
August 23, 2009
2007-2008 Season
- Opus by Michael Hollinger
September 3 – September 30, 2007 - Reading of Return of the Prodigal by St. John Harkin
January 11 – January 12, 2008 - Reading of The Best of Friends by Hugh Whitemore
February 5, 2008 - Reading of Don Juan in Hell by George Bernard Shaw
February 26, 2008 - Reading of Rising of the Moon & Spreading the News by Lady Gregory
March 2 – March 4, 2008 - Reading of Widowers’ Houses by George Bernard Shaw
March 18, 2008 - Reading of Lord’s Arthur Savile’s Crime adapted from Oscar Wilde by Bill Largess
March 25, 2008 - Reading of Dangerous Corner by J.B. Priestly
April 29, 2008 - Reading of The War with the Newts adapted from Karel Capek by Emily Solomon
May 6, 2008 - Reading of Mary Rose by J. M. Barrie
June 22, 2008 - Reading of The Voysey Inheritance by Harley Granville-Barker
June 29, 2008 - Reading of Hobson’s Choice by Harold Brighouse
July 13, 2008 - Reading of The Amorous Servant by Carlo Goldoni, translated by John Van Burek
August 3, 2008 - Reading of Magic by G. K. Chesterton
August 10, 2008 - Reading of Press Cuttings & Farfetched Fables by G. B. Shaw
August 17, 2008
2006-2007 Season
- An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
October 26 – December 1, 2006 - The Countess by Gregory Murphy
January 4 – February 4, 2007 - Shaw’s Shorts by George Bernard Shaw –The Dark Lady of the Sonnets, O’Flaherty V.C., The Man of Destiny
March 1 – April 8, 2007 - Opus by Michael Hollinger
April 19 – May 20, 2007
2005-2006 Season
- If We Are Women by Joanna McClelland Glass
October 27 – November 27, 2005 - An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf by Michael Hollinger
January 5 – February 12, 2006 - Fanny’s First Play by George Bernard Shaw
March 2 – April 9, 2006 - The Play’s the Thing adapted from Ferenc Molnar by P.G. Wodehouse
April 20 – May 25, 2006
2004-2005 Season
- Pound by Sean O’Leary
October 28 – November 28, 2004 - Incorruptible by Michael Hollinger
January 6 – February 13, 2005 - You Never Can Tell by George Bernard Shaw
March 3 – April 10, 2005 - Humble Boy by Charlotte Jones
April 21 – May 29, 2005
2003-2004 Season
- The Underpants by adapted from Carl Sternheim by Steve Martin
November 6 – December 21, 2003 - The Family Reunion by T.S. Eliot
January 8 to February 8, 2004 - On the Rocks by George Bernard Shaw
March 4 to April 20, 2004 - Enigma Variations by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, translated by Jeremy Sams
April 22 to May 23, 2004
2002-2003 Season
- All the World by Ferenc Molnar
October 31 to December 8, 2002 - The Unexpected Man by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton
January 9, 2003 to February 16, 2003 - The Philanderer by George Bernard Shaw
March 6 to April 13, 2003 - Rose by Martin Sherman.
April 24 to May 25, 2003
2001-2002 Season
- A Skull in Connemara by Martin McDonagh
October 18 to November 25, 2001 - Memoir by John Murrell
December 9, 2001, to January 9, 2002 - Getting Married by George Bernard Shaw
January 17 to February 17, 2002 - Amphitryon 38 by Jean Giraudoux, translated by S.N. Behrman
April 18 to May 19, 2002
2000-2001 Season
- Ill Met by Moonlight by Michael MacLiammoir
October 26 to November 26, 2000 - Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw
February 22 to April 1, 2001 - Hughie by Eugene O’Neill
March 4 to March 28, 2001 - Inferno by Dante
April 21 to May 15, 2001 - The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson
May 31 to July 8, 2001
1999-1990
1999-2000 Season
- The Confidential Clerk by T.S. Eliot
October 14 to November 14, 1999 - St. Nicholas by Conor McPherson
December 11, 1999 to January 16, 2000 - Hughie by Eugene O’Neill
February 12 to March 14, 2000 - Too True To Be Good by George Bernard Shaw
March 23 to April 30, 2000
1998-1999 Season
- The Chalk Garden by Enid Bagnold
October 28 to November 29, 1998 - Lucia Mad by Don Nigro
December 30, 1998 to February 14, 1999 - Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw
- February 24 to April 11, 1999
- Olympia by Ferenc Molnar
April 21 to May 30, 1999
1997-1998 Season
- Camping with Henry & Tom by Mark St. Germain
October 29 to November 30, 1997 - Anna Karenina adapted from Leo Tolstoy by Helen Edmundson
December 31 to February 1, 1998 - Man & Superman by George Bernard Shaw
February 25 to April 5, 1998 - The Rules of the Game by Luigi Pirandello, translated by David Hare
April 22 – May 24, 1998
1996-1997 Season
- The Late Edwina Black by Dinner & Morum
October 30 to December 1, 1996 - Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
January 1 to February 2, 1997 - An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde
February 26 to March 30, 1997 - Indiscretions (Les Parents Terribles) by Jean Cocteau
April 23 to May 25, 1997
1995-1996 Season
- A Tale of the Wolf by Ferenc Molnar
October 30 to December 1, 1996 - The Cocktail Party by T.S. Eliot
January 3 to February 5, 1996 - John Bull’s Other Island by George Bernard Shaw
February 28 to March 31, 1996 - Play Strindberg by Friedrich Duerrenmatt
April 24 to May 26, 1996
1994-1995 Season
- Old Times by Harold Pinter
October 19 to November 20, 1994 - The Game of Love and Chance by Marivaux, translated by William Largess & Laura Giannarelli
January 4 to February 5, 1995 - The Potting Shed by Graham Greene
March 1 to April 2, 1995 - Wonderful Tennessee by Brian Friel
April 26 to May 28, 1995
1993-1994 Season
- Back to Methuselah by George Bernard Shaw
November 1993 & March 12, 1994 - Fanny’s First Play by George Bernard Shaw
March 5, 1994 - John Bull’s Other Island by George Bernard Shaw
March 19 & 20, 1994 - Overruled & Man of Destiny by George Bernard Shaw
April 11 & 12, 1994 - Caesar and Cleopatra by George Bernard Shaw
April 18 & 19, 1994
Forever Ivor by Nick Olcott
April 6 to May 1, 1994 - Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw
May 4 to June 5, 1994
1992-1993 Season
- Bailegangaire by Thomas Murphy
September 23 to October 25, 1992 - Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
November 11 to December 20, 1992 - Aristocrats by Brian Friel
April to May 24, 1992 - The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
January 20 to February 21, 1993 - The Makropoulos Secret by Karel Capek
March 10 to April 11, 1993 - The Play’s the Thing adapted from Ferenc Molnar by P.G. Wodehouse
April 21 to May 23, 1993 - Forever Ivor by Nick Olcott
April 6 to May 1, 1994
1991-1992 Season
- Aspern Papers adapted from Henry James by Nick Olcott
September 18 to October 20, 1991 - Maud by Alfred Lord Tennyson
September 29 to October 29, 1991 - Anatol by Arthur Schnitzler
November 6 to December 15, 1991 - A Song at Twilight by Noel Coward
January 22 to February 23, 1992 - Joyce, The Music, and Magic of Joyce Grenfell
February 16 to March 31, 1992 - The Millionairess by George Bernard Shaw
March to May, 1992
1990-1991 Season
- Happy Days by Samuel Beckett
September 26 to October 21, 1990 - Shadowing the Conqueror by Peter Jukes
November 14 to December 16, 1990 - Mixed Babies by Oni Faida Lampley
November 14 to December 16, 1990 - Herbert III by Ted Shine
November 14 to December 16, 1990 - Mrs. Warren’s Profession by George Bernard Shaw
January 23 to March 2, 1991 - Making History by Brian Friel
March 6 to April 7, 1991 - The Guardsman by Ferenc Molnar
April 17 to May 26, 1991
1989-1986
1989-1990 Season
- A Turn of the Screw adapted from Henry James by Nick Olcott
September 20 to October 29, 1989 - Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
November 8 to December 31, 1989 - Terra Nova by Ted Tally
January 24 to February 25, 1990 - First Lady by Katherine Dayton & George S. Kaufman
April 4 – May 6, 1990
1988-1989 Season
- The Constant Wife by W. Somerset Maugham
October 5 to November 6, 1988 - Figaro’s Marriage by Beaumarchais
December 7 to December 18, 1988 - The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles by George Bernard Shaw
February 8 to February 26, 1989 - Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers & Muriel St. Claire Byrne
April 19 to June 4, 1989
1987-1988 Season
- The Blood Knot by Athol Fugard
September 15 to October 11, 1987 - An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde
January 5 to February 21, 1988 - Candida by George Bernard Shaw
March 15 to April 10, 1988
1986-1987 Season
- Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov
October 14 – November 9, 1986 - Chekhov in Yalta by John Driver & Jeffrey Haddow
January 6 to January 31, 1987 - Translations by Brian Friel
March 10 to April 12, 1987
