Cirque du Soleil Archives

What’s Onstage in the DMV – October 2025

September 14, 2025

Jordan Wright

Special to The Zebra

Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar via Folger Theatre

Folger Theatre – Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar – through Oct 26 www.Folger.edu

Washington Stage Guild – The One Good Thing – or “Are ya’ Patrick Swayze?” – Oct 2 – Oct 19 www.CI.OvationTix.com

Signature Theatre – Strategic Love Play – through Nov 9 www.SigTheatre.org

Cirque du Soleil – Luzia – through Oct 19 www.tickets-center.com

Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit via Dominion Stage

Dominion Stage – Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit – Oct 24 – Nov 8 www.DominionStage.org

Round House Theatre – The Inheritance – through Oct 19 www.RoundHouseTheatre.org

Olney Theatre – Red Pitch – through Oct 19 www.OlneyTheatre.org

MetroStage at the Lyceum – Love Notes and Blue Notes with Aaron Myers and Yvette Spears – Oct 6
A Cabaret with Lisa Vroman – Nov 10 www.MetroStage.org

The Wild Duck via Shakespeare Theater Company

Shakespeare Theatre Company – The Wild Duck – Oct 18 – Nov 16 www.ShakespeareTheatre.org

Everyman Theatre – ‘Art’ – Oct 19 – Nov 16 www.EverymanTheatre.org

Woolly Mammoth – The Great Privation (How to flip ten cents into a dollar) – through Oct 12 www.WoollyMammoth.net

The Little Theatre of Alexandria – Grease – Oct 25 – Nov 15 www.TheLittleTheatre.com

The Outsider via Aldersgate Theatre

Aldersgate Theatre – The Outsider – Oct 3 – 19 www.ACCTonline.org

IN Series – St. John the Baptist – through Oct 12 www.inseries.org

Compass Rose Theater – Annie – through Oct 19 www.CompassRoseTheater.org

1st Stage – Fair Play – Oct 16 – Nov 2 www.1stStage.org

Lizzie the Musical via Keegan Theatre

Keegan Theatre – Lizzie the Musical – Oct 31 – Nov 30 www.KeeganTheatre.com

Arena Stage – Damn Yankees – through Nov 9
Freemont Ave. – Oct 8 – Nov 23 www.ArenaStage.org

Toby’s Dinner Theatre – Saturday Night Live – through Nov 7 www.TobysDinnerTheatre.com

Providence Players of Fairfax – The Mousetrap – Oct 10 – Oct 25 www.ProvidencePlayers.org

GALA Hispanic Theatre – Héctor, The Electric Kid – Oct 18 – Nov 1 www.GALATheatre.org

The Last Five Years via Next Stop Theatre

Next Stop Theatre – The Last Five Years – Oct 30 – Nov 23 www.NextStopTheatre.org

Silver Spring Stage – Friends With Guns – through Oct 12
Witch – Oct 31 – Nov 16 www.SSStage.org

Adventure Theatre – Not Your Mother Goose! – Oct 3 – Nov 2 www.AdventureTheatre-MTC.org

Studio Theatre – The Heart Sellers – through Oct 26 www.StudioTheatre.org

Spooky Action Theatre – The Dragon – through Oct 19 www.SpookyAction.org

The Turn of the Screw – The Musical via Creative Cauldron

Creative Cauldron – The Turn of the Screw – The Musical – Oct 2 – 27 www.CreativeCauldron.org

National Theatre – PlayStation – The Concert – Oct 17 & 18 – Twilight – In Concert – Oct 24 and 25 www.BroadwayAtTheNational.com

Hippodrome Baltimore – The Rocky Horror Show – Oct 17 – Nov 2 www.TheHipp.org

Taffety Punk – Cyrano – through Oct 11 www.TaffetyPunk.com

Rorschach Theatre – So Late Into The Night – Oct 7 – Nov 2 www.rorschachTheatre.com

Evil Dead – The Musical via Workhouse Arts Center

Workhouse Arts Center – Evil Dead – The Musical – through Nov 2 www.WorkhouseArts.org

ExPats Theatre – Cold Country – through Oct 19 www.ExPatsTheatre.com

The Colonial Players – Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors – Oct 24 – Nov 15 www.ColonialPlayers.org

Bethesda Little Theatre – French Cupcakes – Oct 10 – 19 www.BLT-online.org

Synetic Theatre – Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus – Nov 1 – 23 www.SyneticTheatre.org

Furlough’s Paradise via Theater Alliance

Theater Alliance – Furlough’s Paradise – through Nov 23 www.TheaterAlliance.com

Theatre J – This Much I Know – through Oct 19 www.EDCJCC.org

Avant Bard Theatre – The 9th Annual Scripts in Play Festival – Oct 4 – Oct 20 www.AvantBard.org

Prince William Little Theatre – The Woman in Black – Oct 10 – Oct 18 www.HyltonCenter.org

What’s Onstage in the DMV – September 2025

August 12, 2025

Jordan Wright

Special to The Zebra

Luzia via Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil – Luzia – Sept 6^th – Oct 19^th – www.CirqueduSoleil.com

Arena Stage – Damn Yankees – Sept 9^th – Nov 9^th www.ArenaStage.org

Everyman Theatre – (Baltimore) – August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson – through Sept 28^th www.EverymanTheatre.org

The Little Theatre of Alexandria – Lost in Yonkers – Sept 6^th – Sept 27^th

www.TheLittleTheatre.com

Round House Theatre – The Inheritance – through Oct 19^th – www.RoundHouseTheatre.org

fire work at Theater Alliance

Theater Alliance – fire work – through Sept 21^st – www.theateralliance.com

Creative Cauldron – Summer Passport Music Festival – through Sept 14^th – www.CreativeCauldron.org

NextStop Theatre – Dream House – Sept 11^th – Oct 5^th – www.NextStopTheatre.org

Firdous Bamji (Lukesh), Dani Stoller (Natalya), and Ethan J. Miller (Harold) in This Much I Know at Theatre J. (Photo/Ryan Maxwell Photography)

Theatre J – This Much I Know – Sept 20^th – Oct 19^th – www.EDCJCC.org

Signature Theatre – Play On! – through Oct 5^th

Strategic Love Play – Sept 23^rd – Nov 9^th www.SigTheatre.org

Olney Theatre – Red Pitch – through Oct 19^th – www.OlneyTheatre.org

Mosaic Theatre – Dodi & Diana – Sept 4^th – Sept 28^th

Songs of the Goat – Antigone – Sept 4^th – Sept 14^th

www.AtlasArts.org

Studio Theatre – The Heart Sellers – September opening TBA – Check the website www.StudioTheatre.org

Keegan Theatre – Everything is Wonderful – Sept 13^th – Oct 5^th www.KeeganTheatre.com

Kiss of the Spider Woman at the GALA Theatre

GALA Theatre – Kiss of the Spider Woman – Sept 4^th – Sept 28^th www.GalaTheatre.org

Imagination Stage – The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Sept 4^th – October 12^th www.ImaginationStage.org

1^st Stage – The Logan Festival of Solo Performance – Sept 18^th – Sept 28^th www.1stStage.org

Saturday Night Fever at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

Toby’s Dinner Theatre – Saturday Night Fever – through Nov 2^nd www.TobysDinnerTheatre.com

Aldersgate Church Community Theater – The Outsider – October 3^rd – October 19^th www.AcctOnline.org

Colonial Players (Annapolis) – An Ideal Husband – Sept 5^th – Sept 27^th

www.TheColonialPlayers.org

ExPats Theatre – Cold Country – Sept 27^th – Oct 19^th www.ExPatsTheatre.com

The Fully Monty at Arlington Players

Arlington Players – The Full Monty – www.TheArlingtonPlayers.org

Round House Theatre – Sojourner – Sept 11^th – Oct 6^th www.RoundHouseTheatre.org

Hippodrome Theatre (Baltimore) – The 39 Steps – Sept 12^th Sept 28^th – www.TicketMaster.com

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company – The Great Privation – Sept 11^th – Sept 29^th www.WoollyMammoth.net

Shakespeare Theatre Company – Merry Wives – Sept 9^th – Oct 5^th – www.ShakespeareTheatre.org

Folger Shakespeare Theatre – Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare – Sept 23^rd – Oct 26^th www.Folger.edu

The Dragon at Spooky Action Theatre

Spooky Action Theatre – The Dragon – Sept 9^th – Oct 19^th www.spookyaction.org

Capital One Hall (Tyson’s Corner) – The Addams Family – A Musical Comedy – Sept 19^th – Sept 21^st – www.CapitalOneHall.com

Jeremy Jordan in Concert at Hylton Performing Arts Center (Photo/Stephanie Diani)

Hylton Performing Arts Center – Jeremy Jordan in Concert – Sept 21^st – www.HyltonCenter.org

Ford’s Theatre – The American Five – Sept 19^th – Oct 12^th www.MyFords.org

Kennedy Center – The Sound of Music – Sept 9^th – Oct 5^th – www.Kennedy-Center.org

Corteo Features an Elegant Victorian Vibe with All the Dazzling Acrobatics You Have Come to Expect from Cirque du Soleil

Corteo
at Eagle Bank Arena
Jordan Wright
May 18, 2024
Special to The Zebra

(Photo/Maja Prgomet)

I’ve been covering Cirque du Soleil for twelve years when they first came to the DC Metropolitan area with Amaluna at National Harbor. Since then, all their productions have been in a massive tent in Tysons II. Last night they brought Corteo to the Eagle Bank Arena at George Mason University. Instead of their iconic basketball games , the arena was constructed to fit a theatre-in-the-round that utilized around half of the 10,000 seat arena which was filled to capacity.

Corteo which means cortege in Italian is a joyful procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The costumes and set design are of the Art Nouveau period and as such are quite charming and elegant. Quite different from the more recent productions which are enormous and with all the activities onstage, the innumerable spotlights and large ensemble can often be confusing and distracting. It opens with the central character of the hapless clown getting his wings from an angel who teaches him how to fly heavenward. Beautiful angels two-stories high factor a great deal in the entire production. The spoken words are partly in English, partly in Italian and partly in French with the foreign languages using a vocabulary easy to understand.

(Photo/Maja Prgomet)

The clown pictures his funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic, the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show focusses on the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness.

The show combines the actor’s passion with the acrobat’s grace and power to plunge the audience into a fantasy world of silliness and spontaneity in a mysterious space between heaven and hell. It harkens back to the olden days of circuses and pantomimes, hilarious sketches and extraordinary feats of daring.

Pillow fights on trampolines disguised as brass beds evoke the period as does the music of the era with the accordion being prominent and an oompah band visible towards the rear of the stage and musicians and singers in globe-lit boxes on either side of the stage.

(Photo/Maja Prgomet)

There are crazy-funny comedy sketches – one of two Scotsmen golfers in their plus fours hitting a ‘live ball’ whose head pops up from beneath the stage while teasing the duffers who thankfully never manage to hit the ‘ball’. Many of the characters sport satin Pierrot harlequin costumes or big bloomers echoing the period. The Maestro in red satin cutaway jacket and black top hat whistles Mozart. In one juggling scene dozens of rubber chicken fall from the rafters, in another, gypsies compete in a daredevil parallel bars competition. There are countless scenes of stunning beauty and extraordinary athleticism – one such features a tiny lady appearing to be in a snow globe. Jugglers and aerialists feature prominently with all acts backed by a beautifully melodic musical score. I was particularly drawn to two small performers enacting Romeo and Juliet in a Punch and Judy routine within a scaled down Teatro Intimo. A bicycle-riding highwire act and gorgeous lady acrobats on chandeliers had us gasping.

The creativity in all of Cirque’s shows is boundless, although I found that, though smaller in scale to what we have been accustomed to with Cirque in the Grand Chapiteau, Corteo was more intimate and elegant, and just as mind-blowing as any of the dozen or so productions I had seen in the past.

(Photo/Maja Prgomet)

Corteo is as beautiful as it is thrilling and endearing at the same time. With set curtains inspired by the Eiffel Tower and gorgeous hand-painted central curtains, the ambiance is one of immersive time travel.

Directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, this one will forever be one of my all-time favorites.

Highly recommended!!!

At the Eagle Bank Arena, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, VA 22030

Performance Schedule – May 17^th at 7pm, May 18^th at 3pm and 7pm, May 19^th at 1pm, and May 25^th at 3pm and 7pm. Tickets at www.CirrqueduSoleil.com/Corteo

Volta ~ Cirque du Soleil

Jordan Wright
July 28, 2019

When Cirque du Soleil comes to town the excitement level soars as high as the big top that holds the exhilarating spectacle. Just watching the white tents go up in Tysons Corner II foretells of acrobats and contortionists with feats of extreme agility, grace and power. Volta tells the story of WAZ, an unusual blue-hued, feather-haired boy who seeks his place in the world. His journey of self-discovery and ultimate transformation is backgrounded by video projections of his youth, a fondly remembered red bicycle, and dreams of his mother on their rural farm.

Mr Wow3 ~ Credit Matt Beard Costumes Zaldy

Guided by the roller-skating urchin, Ela, WAZ soon finds friends who live life to the fullest in an urban landscape fueled by street sports. When they encourage him to participate in their activities, he discovers all the adventures and fun a boy can have. Riding flatland tricks on BMX bicycles at high speed on ramps, tumbling through ever-higher hoops, skipping ropes double-dutch at warp speed and flying through the air on trapeze and high wire. Another thriller is the three-story tumbling competition on the ‘trampowall’. In between the extraordinary feats on ladders, BMX and unicycle, there’s plenty of humor for children and adults, in particular a wonderfully silly scene portrayed in pantomime of a fraught day at the beach. One of the most talked about feats may be Brazilian acrobat, Vanesa Ferreira Calado’s performance of hair suspension. Yes, she flies through the air with the greatest of ease – held on solely by her hair!

VOLTA Mr Wow 011 Photo credit BenoitZ.Lero…customes Zaldy

The show is three hours of fascinating, ever-electrifying wow with moments of sweetness and visual storytelling set to an original score by Anthony Gonzalez, of the French electronic music project M83. As described by the company, “Ultimate freedom comes with self-acceptance and liberation from the judgement of others.” In other words, let your freak flag fly high!

Unicycle ~ Credit Matt Beard ~ Costumes Zaldy

Costumes by Emmy Award designer Zaldy Goco, famed for his work with Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Gwen Stefani and RuPaul’s Drag Racerange from the subtle streetwear to candy-colored, rainbow-hued leotards for the acrobats, shiny golden capes, fur for Mr. WOW and delicate chiffons for the ballet dancer and electric violin player.

For those of us trying to remember when Cirque first came to town, their first local production was in 1988 with Cirque Réinventé. The brand new Volta is the 21^stproduction to visit the DC Metro area.

Through September 29^that the Lerner Town Center at Tysons II, VA. For tickets and information visit www.cirquedusoleil.com or call 1-877-924-7783.

Luzia ~ A Waking Dream of Mexico ~ Cirque du Soleil

Jordan Wright
April 13, 2018

In an edge-of-your-seat extravaganza that excels in spine-tingling, jaw-dropping acrobatics, Cirque du Soleil brings Luzia to Tysons Corner. It’s not just my opinion, but comments from attendees who say they thought it was the best Cirque show they had ever seen. Credit their policy for listening to audience feedback and regularly tweaking their shows to elicit the maximum reaction. Artistic Director Grace Valdez, a Virginia native and graduate of George Mason University, has created a spectacular fantasy world to both thrill and inspire.

Spoken and sung entirely in Spanish, Luzia (a mashup of luz meaning light and lluvia meaning water) affords the artists a mellifluous, often romantic, dynamic in the slower numbers and an intense, Mach 10 immediacy in the daredevil performances. Elements of Mexican culture are everywhere, from the opening number featuring a circular garden of bright orange marigolds, mariachis and tiny robots who water the flowers, to the larger than life Mexican creatures – armadillo, jaguar, crocodile, horse, iguana, fish and giant mariposa (butterfly) – that dance to the sounds of classical and pop as well as salsa, bolero and traditional Mexican ballads. It is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

One of the most eye-popping features is a waterfall, cascading 50 feet from the very top of the tent. Artists performing within the splash zone offer an added dimension of excitement as drops of water reflect the light and patterns are projected along the length of the column of water.

Eric, the ‘emcee’ is a comic figure, constantly thirsty and thwarted by the waterfall which shuts down whenever he tries to fill his cup. All over the arena, amid the sounds of the organ grinder and the mariachis, you could hear the squeals of laughter and delight from the littlest ones – as contagious as the gasps at the physically precarious leaps, feats of tumbling, pole dancing and stupefying gymnastics from the acrobats (Benjamin on the aerial straps is a marvel! Did I mention he’s hot as a jalapeño?) as well as a lightning-quick juggler, the most accomplished I’ve ever beheld.

Photo credit: Jordan Wright

As birds and butterflies flutter abound, the feats of derring-do are too many to mention each one, but this reviewer was most captivated by contortionist, Aleksei Goloborodko, who twists his hyper-flexible body into knots so intricate even a sailor wouldn’t know how to undo him. I was literally gape-mouthed, fanning myself with amazement at his elasticity. Another act by five pretty, soaking wet girls in Mexican dresses is performed within the confines of ‘cyr wheels’, a sort of life-size hula hoop, and involves 360-degree spinning, often upside down.

Highly recommended. This fiesta is a true joy for young and old alike. Don’t miss it!

Through June 17^th under the white-and-gold Big Top at Tysons II, 8025 Galleria Drive. Tysons, VA 22102. Tickets online at www.CirqueduSoleil.com.