Theater Calendar

6 -- "Alex in Wonderland," a children's play by Debbie Allen inspired by the stories about, among others, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Lewis Carroll's little Alice. At the Kennedy Center. Through April 15.

6 -- "The Heidi Chronicles," the late Wendy Wasserstein's most celebrated work, follows the bittersweet travails of a feminist art historian who struggles with who she is and what she wants. Tazewell Thompson directs at Arena Stage. Through May 13.

10 -- "Saving Aimee," the first world premiere on Signature Theatre's new main stage, brings Kathie Lee Gifford -- in her new role as book writer and lyricist -- into the orbit of Eric Schaeffer. With music by David Pomeranz and David Friedman, the show explores the times and trials of the '30s evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, who is played by Broadway veteran Carolee Carmello. Through May 13.

11 -- "References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot," which gets the award for best title of the season, walks the alternative pathways of magic realism to tell a story by Jose Rivera, set in the California desert. The Rorschach Theatre offering is directed by Tim Getman. Through May 13.

12 -- "Elliott, a Soldier's Fugue," a new play by Quiara Alegria Hudes ("Yemaya's Belly") about a young Puerto Rican solider returning from duty in Iraq. Abel Lopez directs for GALA Hispanic Theatre. In English with Spanish surtitles. Through May 6.

14 -- "Coriolanus," the Royal Shakespeare Company's contribution to the Shakespeare in Washington festival arrives with William Houston in the title role and the great Janet Suzman as his formidable mother, Volumnia. Gregory Doran directs. At the Kennedy Center through May 6.

18 -- "I Am My Own Wife," the story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a man who lived as a woman in Stasi-terrorized East Berlin. Arnie Burton plays this intriguing real-life character. At Olney Theatre Center. Through May 20.

19 -- "The Director: The Life and Times of Elia Kazan," a one-man show, featuring Rick Foucheux, about the provocative stage and film director ("On the Waterfront"), whose questionable behavior during the McCarthy era would dog him for the rest of his life. Leslie A. Kobylinski is author and director. At Round House Silver Spring. Through May 13.

19 -- "Opus" tells the story of a string quartet that lets a player go to make way for a younger one. It's the third play by Michael Hollinger to be offered in as many seasons by Washington Stage Guild. Through May 20.

24 -- "Nest," the world premiere of Bathsheba Doran's death-penalty drama about a Mennonite woman hanged for baby-killing in Pennsylvania in 1809. Joe Calarco ("Assassins") stages the piece for Signature Theatre. Through June 24.

26 -- "Animal Farm," an original adaptation of the Orwell allegory ("Four legs good, two legs bad!") by Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili for their Synetic Theater. Through May 20.

27 -- "In on It," a puzzle-play from Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor, features Jason Lott and Jason Stiles cavorting in meta-theatrical games. Directed by Colin Hovde. At Theater Alliance. Through May 19.

27 -- "Peter and Wendy," a lyrical adaptation of J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan" by the experimental New York troupe Mabou Mines and its longtime leader, Lee Breuer. At Arena Stage. Through June 24.

28 -- "The New Kid," an Imagination Stage adaptation of Dennis Foon's play about adapting to life a new land. Eric Ruffin directs. Through June 3.

MAY

2 -- "Sleeping and Waking," Chris Stezin's play, set 60 years in the future, supposes what life is like for the first patient to have his head transplanted onto a new body. The Charter Theatre offering is staged by Keith Bridges. Through June 2.

2 -- "The Flu Season," a play by the interesting Will Eno ("Thom Pain [Based on Nothing]") takes aim at the craft of storytelling. Staged by Jessica Burgess at Catalyst Theater. Through June 2.

2 -- "Either, Or," the world premiere by Theater J of a play by Thomas Keneally (author of "Schindler's List") that recounts the wartime story of a conscience-racked German SS officer who attempts to inform the world about the atrocities committed by Hitler. Andrew Long, Ralph Cosham and John Lescault are in a cast directed by Daniel DeRaey. Through June 3.

9 -- "The Tempest," staged at Folger Theatre by Aaron Posner, the director behind Folger's terrific "Measure for Measure" last year. Michael Rudko is his Prospero and Erin Weaver plays Miranda. Through June 17.

10 -- "The Oracle," a story by Ed Shockley, told with actors and puppets, about an African princess whose journey of discovery includes a lesson about the horrors of slavery. The African Continuum Theatre offering runs through June 3.

11 -- "Blue/Orange," Joe Penhall's imaginative piece about an African dictator in a London hospital, features Aubrey Deeker, Cedric Mays and Michael Tolaydo. Jeremy Skidmore directs at Theater Alliance. Through June 3.

16 -- "Songs for a New World," a song cycle by composer Jason Robert Brown ("Parade"), is staged in concert by Eric Schaeffer and Michael Baron at the Music Center at Strathmore. Through May 17.

16 -- "13 Rue de l'Amour," an English-language adaptation of a French door-slamming farce, hopes to give Olney Theatre Center audiences Feydeau-inspired giggles. John Going directs. Through June 10.

16 -- "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," a revival of Tom Stoppard's Pirandellian inversion of "Hamlet," in which two minor characters get the spotlight that Shakespeare denied them. Raymond Bokhour, Liam Craig and Floyd King are in the Studio Theatre production, directed by Kirk Jackson. Through June 24.

30 -- "Summer of '42," a musical version of the wistful 1971 coming-of-age movie in which Jennifer O'Neill melted hearts. Ryan Nealy is Hermie and Nancy Snow is Dorothy in the Round House production, staged by Meredith McDonough. Through June 24.

31 -- "Hamlet . . . the rest is silence," a return engagement of one of Synetic Theater's most popular pieces: a wordless "Hamlet." At the Kennedy Center through June 17.

JUNE

4 -- "Dead Man's Cell Phone," Woolly Mammoth's world premiere of a play by Sarah Ruhl ("The Clean House") with an intriguing premise: A woman becomes entangled in a stranger's life after she answers his mobile. Rebecca Bayla Taichman directs Rick Foucheux, Naomi Jacobson, Sarah Marshall, Bruce Nelson and Jennifer Mendenhall. Through July 1.

5 -- "The Witches of Eastwick," the U.S. premiere of the musical, by John Dempsey and Dana P. Rowe, based on both the John Updike novel and the 1987 movie. Eric Schaeffer directs a Signature Theatre cast that includes brash and talented Marc Kudisch. Through July 15.

5 -- "Hamlet," at Shakespeare Theatre Company, offers one of the most intriguing casting ideas of the season: Juilliard-groomed Jeffrey Carlson ("Lorenzaccio") as the temperamental prince -- and fresh from a stint as a transgender surgical patient on "All My Children." Directed by Michael Kahn. Through July 29.

7 -- "Latido Negro: Peru's African Beats," the world premiere of a musical by Pier P. Vasquez, Rafael Santa Cruz and Fernando Barreto, explores the African strains in Peruvian culture. At GALA Hispanic Theatre. Through July 1.

11 -- "Tiny Ninja Theater: Hamlet and the Sonnets," a D.C. return for Dov Weinstein's Tiny Ninjas -- plastic figurines that Weinstein cleverly puts through Shakespearean paces. The free event at the Kennedy Center runs through June 14.

13 -- "Souvenir," Stephen Temperley's comic play about the tone-deaf singer Florence Foster Jenkins, is staged at Studio Theatre by Serge Seiden and features Anna Bergman. Through July 1.

14 -- "Macbeth," Washington Shakespeare Company's serving-up of this bloody banquet of a tragedy. Directed by Jose Carrasquillo. Through July 15.

16 -- "Mrs. Packard," a play by Emily Mann, based on the true story of an Illinois woman committed to an asylum in 1861 on the mere say-so of her husband. This year's entry in the Kennedy Center's New Fund for American Plays is from McCarter Theatre in Princeton. Through June 24.

20 -- "Brooklyn Boy," the tale by Donald Margulies of a famous writer and his torturous relationships, gets its area premiere at Olney Theatre Center. Jim Petosa directs a cast that includes Paul Morella. Through July 29.

20 -- "The Phantom of the Opera," Andrew Lloyd Webber's chestnut, is here for the summer to haunt the Kennedy Center Opera House. Through Aug. 12.

22 -- "Sweeney Todd: The Reunion Concert," is, as advertised, the return of Brian Stokes Mitchell and Christine Baranski in the roles that made them two of the bloodiest successes of the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration all the way back in 2002. Through June 23.

23 -- "Pangs of the Messiah," an English-version premiere of a play by Israeli dramatist Motti Lerner, whose raw and disturbing "Murder of Isaac" unsettled audiences at Center Stage in Baltimore last year. Lerner's portrait of a family of West Bank settlers will be staged at Theater J under the direction of Sinai Peter. Through July 22.

27 -- "The Araboolies of Liberty Street," a children's musical about the mayhem that results after a whimsical family movies into the neighborhood. Janet Sanford directs for Imagination Stage. Through Aug. 12.

28 -- "Birds," the debut of a new play by Jennifer Maisel that takes a fairy-tale approach to life in contemporary New York. Directed by Wendy McClellan for Rorschach Theatre. Through July 28.

JUNE

4 -- "Dead Man's Cell Phone," Woolly Mammoth's world premiere of a play by Sarah Ruhl ("The Clean House") with an intriguing premise: A woman becomes entangled in a stranger's life after she answers his mobile. Rebecca Bayla Taichman directs Rick Foucheux, Naomi Jacobson, Sarah Marshall, Bruce Nelson and Jennifer Mendenhall. Through July 1.

5 -- "The Witches of Eastwick," the U.S. premiere of the musical, by John Dempsey and Dana P. Rowe, based on both the John Updike novel and the 1987 movie. Eric Schaeffer directs a Signature Theatre cast that includes brash and talented Marc Kudisch. Through July 15.

5 -- "Hamlet," at Shakespeare Theatre Company, offers one of the most intriguing casting ideas of the season: Juilliard-groomed Jeffrey Carlson ("Lorenzaccio") as the temperamental prince -- and fresh from a stint as a transgender surgical patient on "All My Children." Directed by Michael Kahn. Through July 29.

7 -- "Latido Negro: Peru's African Beats," the world premiere of a musical by Pier P. Vasquez, Rafael Santa Cruz and Fernando Barreto, explores the African strains in Peruvian culture. At GALA Hispanic Theatre. Through July 1.

11 -- "Tiny Ninja Theater: Hamlet and the Sonnets," a D.C. return for Dov Weinstein's Tiny Ninjas -- plastic figurines that Weinstein cleverly puts through Shakespearean paces. The free event at the Kennedy Center runs through June 14.

13 -- "Souvenir," Stephen Temperley's comic play about the tone-deaf singer Florence Foster Jenkins, is staged at Studio Theatre by Serge Seiden and features Anna Bergman. Through July 1.

14 -- "Macbeth," Washington Shakespeare Company's serving-up of this bloody banquet of a tragedy. Directed by Jose Carrasquillo. Through July 15.

16 -- "Mrs. Packard," a play by Emily Mann, based on the true story of an Illinois woman committed to an asylum in 1861 on the mere say-so of her husband. This year's entry in the Kennedy Center's New Fund for American Plays is from McCarter Theatre in Princeton. Through June 24.

20 -- "Brooklyn Boy," the tale by Donald Margulies of a famous writer and his torturous relationships, gets its area premiere at Olney Theatre Center. Jim Petosa directs a cast that includes Paul Morella. Through July 29.

20 -- "The Phantom of the Opera," Andrew Lloyd Webber's chestnut, is here for the summer to haunt the Kennedy Center Opera House. Through Aug. 12.

22 -- "Sweeney Todd: The Reunion Concert," is, as advertised, the return of Brian Stokes Mitchell and Christine Baranski in the roles that made them two of the bloodiest successes of the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration all the way back in 2002. Through June 23.

23 -- "Pangs of the Messiah," an English-version premiere of a play by Israeli dramatist Motti Lerner, whose raw and disturbing "Murder of Isaac" unsettled audiences at Center Stage in Baltimore last year. Lerner's portrait of a family of West Bank settlers will be staged at Theater J under the direction of Sinai Peter. Through July 22.

27 -- "The Araboolies of Liberty Street," a children's musical about the mayhem that results after a whimsical family movies into the neighborhood. Janet Sanford directs for Imagination Stage. Through Aug. 12.

28 -- "Birds," the debut of a new play by Jennifer Maisel that takes a fairy-tale approach to life in contemporary New York. Directed by Wendy McClellan for Rorschach Theatre. Through July 28.