Ambitious revivals and daring original works. Starry casts and fresh-faced ensembles. American classics and London imports. Whether you’re navigating the rich D.C. theater scene or perusing New York’s breadth of options, you can find it all this autumn. As the theater season ramps up, here’s a rundown of the fall’s most tantalizing fare.
‘Garbo: The Actor Who Saved the World’
Gustavo Ott, the artistic director of GALA Hispanic Theatre, wrote this fact-based play about Juan Pujol García, an actor and Spanish spy who worked as a double agent against Germany during World War II. Koki Lortkipanidze, the longtime resident composer at Synetic Theater, penned original music for the metatheatrical production, which will be staged in Spanish with English surtitles. Through Sept. 27, GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW. galatheatre.org.
‘Merrily We Roll Along’
Musical aficionados can get their fix in D.C. this fall, when touring productions of “Maybe Happy Ending,” “Mamma Mia!” and “Hell’s Kitchen” stop at the National Theatre. But there’s no bigger swing than “Merrily.” Ever synonymous with the works of Stephen Sondheim, Arlington’s Signature Theatre is taking a crack at the virtuosic composer’s delicate classic for the first time in 19 years. Get it wrong, like the 1981 Broadway premiere, and you have an incoherent flop. Get it right, like the 2023 Broadway revival, and you have a poignant masterpiece. The ever-assured Matthew Gardiner directs this production, which stars Jason Gotay, Jake Loewenthal and Melanie Field as old friends in a reverse-chronological tale of fractured bonds and disparate ambitions. Through Nov. 1, Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, Virginia. sigtheatre.org.
‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’
Maryland’s Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center are teaming up on a production of this August Wilson barn burner, in which conversations about Black art and ownership combust during a blues recording session in 1920s Chicago. Lili-Anne Brown, whose directorial triumphs include D.C.-area productions of “Ain’t No Mo’,” “Fela!” and “Play On!,” oversees a staging that stars Nicole Michelle Haskins as the titular songstress and Yao Dogbe as the tortured trumpeter Levee. Sept. 9-Oct. 11, Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Hwy., Bethesda, Maryland. roundhousetheatre.org.
‘Come From Away’
Featuring a nimble book and stomping score by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, this propulsive crowd-pleaser chronicles the selfless acts that occurred when a Canadian town sheltered thousands of stranded travelers after airspace closed on 9/11. A decade after “Come From Away” ran at Ford’s Theatre ahead of its Broadway premiere, the musical returns for a fresh production helmed by Kevin S. McAllister — a local favorite who was a member of the show’s company in D.C. and New York. (You can also see McAllister play Javert in “Les Misérables” later this fall at Olney Theatre Center.) Sept. 10-Oct. 18, Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. fords.org.
‘The Score’
“Succession” star Brian Cox plays Johann Sebastian Bach at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Hall in the U.S. premiere of Oliver Cotton’s fact-based play about Bach’s 1747 visit to the court of Frederick II. It is Cox’s third go-around in the role, after he delivered heralded performances in 2023 and 2025 productions in England. And Trevor Nunn, the director behind the original productions of “Cats” and “Les Misérables,” is also back to oversee this iteration. Sept. 11-Oct. 25, Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. shakespearetheatre.org.
‘Other Desert Cities’
Look no further for the most stacked cast of the fall: 11-time Emmy winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Golden Globe winner Ed Harris and Oscar winner Allison Janney are joined by “Stranger Things” actor Joe Keery and Tony nominee Lily Rabe in the first Broadway revival of “Other Desert Cities.” John Benjamin Hickey directs this version of Jon Robin Baitz’s 2011 drama about a Palm Springs family wrestling with past traumas and stowed-away secrets. The original run earned five Tony nominations and a spot on the Pulitzer Prize shortlist for drama. Sept. 29-Jan. 17, Hudson Theatre, 141 W. 44th St., New York. otherdesertcitiesbroadway.com.
‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’
Plenty of musicals are headed to New York this fall, including the Broadway debuts of “Wanted” and “Galileo” and the off-Broadway premiere of John Legend’s “Imitation of Life.” But no new show can match the accolades of “Benjamin Button,” whose London production won the 2025 Olivier Award for best musical. Jethro Compton and Darren Clark wrote this Cornish spin on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fantastical short story, in which a company of 15 actor-musicians brings the folksy Celtic score and countless characters to life. Andrew Durand, the Tony-nominated star of “Dead Outlaw,” portrays the aging-in-reverse protagonist. Oct. 8-Nov. 22, Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., New York. publictheater.org.
‘A Few Good Men’
The same weekend that Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning” hits movie theaters, the first Broadway revival of “A Few Good Men” — the Sorkin play that was adapted into the indelible 1992 movie — begins performances at Lincoln Center. “The Hunger Games” actor Tom Blyth steps into Tom Cruise’s shoes as the lawyer defending two Marines accused of murder, while “The West Wing” alum Bradley Whitford is the commanding officer played by Jack Nicholson on-screen. Proceeding over it all is director Michael Arden, the three-time Tony winner behind “Parade,” “Maybe Happy Ending” and “The Lost Boys.” Oct. 8-Jan. 10, Lincoln Center Theater, 150 W. 65th St., New York. lct.org.
‘Inter Alia’
There will be plenty more big names on New York stages this fall, including turns by Billy Crystal in the solo show “860,” Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell in “Much Ado About Nothing,” and Sam Rockwell and Alfred Molina in “A View From the Bridge.” The most intriguing star vehicle may be “Inter Alia,” a searing legal drama for which Rosamund Pike won the Olivier Award for best actress earlier this year. The Golden Globe winner is making her Broadway debut, portraying a London judge whose son is accused of rape in the latest work from “Prima Facie” playwright Suzie Miller. Nov. 10-Feb. 21, Music Box Theatre, 239 W. 45th St., New York. interaliabroadway.com.
‘Spring Awakening’
Two decades after Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s rock musical stomped onto New York stages — winning eight Tonys and making stars out of Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele and John Gallagher Jr. — “Spring Awakening” is getting its first off-Broadway revival. Danya Taymor, a Tony winner who already mastered teenage angst in “The Outsiders” and “John Proctor Is the Villain,” directs an intimate production filled with a cast of newcomers. Those auditions caused quite the stir, with thousands of young actors lined up for July’s open call flooding the sidewalks of Midtown Manhattan. From Nov. 27, Studio Seaview, 305 W. 43rd St., New York. studioseaview.com.
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