All the World's a Stage: Theater Events

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YES, YES; a certain Oscar-winning actress who tends to play royalty will grace D.C. stages this fall, but only for a limited time — if you don't have a ticket, best of luck. Local theaters are putting on a bevy of works classic and modern, musical and, uh, music-less — from girls playing Shakespeare to guys being replaced by machines.

Ill Communication
Shakespeare Theatre returns to the Ben Jonson well with its production of "The Alchemist," a comedy that showcases the machinations of three con artists during 17th-century plague-stricken London. Michael Kahn directs the acerbic play, which skewers human foibles and begins with fart humor.
» Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW; Oct. 6-Nov. 22, $20-$82; 202-547-1122. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)

Love Bites
Just in time for Halloween, Synetic Theater restages its production of "Dracula." The movement-heavy company founded by Georgians Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili is sure to bring out the big, uh, fangs, adding its signature Gothic dance-theater take on the story.
» Rosslyn Spectrum, 1611 N. Kent St., Arlington; Oct. 16-Nov. 15, $40-45; 800-494-8497. (Rosslyn)

They Need GPS
"Lost in Yonkers," Neil Simon's classic coming-of-age tale, comes to Theater J, directed by Jerry Whiddon. Two brothers are left in the care of their nightmarish grandmother. Add in their bereft traveling salesman father, a simple aunt and a mobbed-up uncle, and there's a recipe for an evening of squirming family dysfunction.
» Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW; Oct. 21-Nov. 29, $25-$55; 800-494-8497. (Dupont Circle)

Theater in the Round
Woolly Mammoth will present Charles L. Mee's "Full Circle," a post-communist update of Bertolt Brecht's "The Caucasian Chalk Circle," this fall. Apparently, this production will make use of Woolly's entire building, which makes sense, since the story involves women on the lam after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
» Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D St. NW; Oct. 26-Nov. 29, $27-$57; 202-393-3939. (Gallery Place-Chinatown)

Blanche-ett
Helen Mirren's not the only diva in town, and Shakespeare Theatre Company's Mirren-starring production of "Phedre" (Sept. 16-26) is not the only highly anticipated export. Cate Blanchett and her Sydney Theatre Company, of which she is artistic director along with husband, Andrew Upton, bring their production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" to the Kennedy Center. The Oscar-winning Aussie will don her best Southern lilt and play Blanche.
» Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW; Oct. 29-Nov. 21, $25-$110; 202-467-4600. (Foggy Bottom)

Musical of Musicals
Signature Theatre brings back another American classic in "Show Boat," the 1927 musical depicting a nearly 50-year span in the lives of its characters. Considered one of the first American musicals, the show tackles themes of love and prejudice, and features many familiar songs.
» Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington; Nov. 10-Jan. 17, $30-$74; 703-820-9771.

Rise of the Machines
Who doesn't worry that his job will be replaced by a robot? No one, that's who. Playwright Jason Loewith and composer Joshua Schmidt adapted "The Adding Machine" from a 1923 production of the same name. In the modern version, staged this fall by Studio Theatre Secondstage, Mr. Zero loses his job to a machine, which, naturally, has a profound impact on his life.
» Studio Theatre Stage 4, 1501 14th St. NW; Oct. 14-Nov. 1, $42-$69; 202-332-3300. (U St.-Cardozo)

Silly English Knights
For those who don't automatically think "Monty Python" when they see "Camelot" — and we envy you — Olney Theatre presents the original tragic-romantic musical this fall. You know the drill: King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot and the Round Table. No killer bunnies in this one, though.
» Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney; Nov. 18-Jan. 3; $26-$49; 301-924-3400, olneytheatre.org.

Written by Erin Trompeter
Photo by Lisa Tomasetti/Sydney Theatre Company