Fall Theater Calendar

NOW PLAYING

"Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde," Moises Kaufman's stirring play about Wilde's personally devastating legal confrontation with Victorian mores, staged by Studio Theatre seven years ago, revisits the city, in a new production by the intriguing Theater Alliance. Jeremy Skidmore directs. Through Sept. 18.

"Flyin' West," Pearl Cleage's drama detailing the migration to Kansas of a group of daring African American women, is the second production presented in Washington by Kenny Leon's Atlanta-based True Colors Theatre Company. At the Lincoln Theatre through Sept. 25.

"Top Girls" is Fountainhead Theatre's plunge into Caryl Churchill's look at female dynamism through the ages. Through Oct. 1.

"The Disputation," a theological debate play by British scholar Hyam Maccoby, takes on the issue of Christian conversion, through the case of the Jews of Aragon. Theodore Bikel plays a rabbi of the Middle Ages arguing the case for the Jews, under Nick Olcott's direction. At Theater J through Oct. 2.

"It Had to Be You," a shticky 1981 comedy by Joseph Bologna and Renee Taylor, kicks off the season at American Century Theatre. Through Oct. 8.

"Urinetown," a sly musical sendup of Brecht and Broadway, is set in a grimy burg where you have to pay for, um, some relief. Joe Calarco directs this area premiere at Signature Theatre, with a cast that includes Will Gartshore and Donna Migliaccio. Through Oct. 16.

"After Ashley," a satirical new play by Gina Gionfriddo, takes a funny gander at a teenager whose family unwittingly becomes talk show fodder in the aftermath of tragedy. Lee Mikeska Gardner directs a Woolly Mammoth cast that includes Bruce Nelson, Michael Willis, Deanna McGovern and Paul Morella. Through Oct. 9.

"Metamorphosis," an adaptation by Steven Berkoff of Kafka's tale of man-to-insect transformation, is tackled by the resourceful Catalyst Theater Company. Nigel Reed, Valerie Leonard and Scott Fortier head the cast. Jim Petosa directs. Through Oct. 15.

"A Number," Caryl Churchill's wildly imaginative riff on cloning, gives Ted van Griethuysen a delicious role and Tom Story, well, a number of them. Under the direction of Joy Zinoman, the play is the daring starting point in Studio Theatre's fall lineup. Through Oct. 16.

"Passion Play, a Cycle," by the surprising and adventurous Sarah Ruhl ("The Clean House"), brings a supercharged sense of expectation to Arena Stage: This world premiere, directed by Molly Smith, is of epic length (3 1/2 hours) and large-scale ambition, telling a story, according to Arena, of "truth, love and belief through the ages." With Howard Overshown ("Yellowman") and Felix Solis ("Anna in the Tropics"). Through Oct. 16.

"The Trial," an adaptation of Kafka by Steven Berkoff, gets the season off in a state of paranoia for Scena Theatre. Through Oct. 16.