IF YOU CONSIDER Shakespeare too easy, if you sneer at those lowbrow lovers of Moliere, you might be a Congreve fan.
You also might not have very many friends.
William Congreve's play "The Way of the World" is the epitome of Restoration comedy — dense, wordy, festooned with ruffles and, if you can wade through the culture shock, often hilarious.
It's set in a society in which class reigns supreme. Sound familiar, Washingtonians?
» Shakespeare Theatre, 610 F St. NW; 7:30 p.m., $23.50-$55.50; 202-547-1122. (Gallery Place)
Photo by Scott Suchman
HOWARD DEAN probably wants to forget Jan. 14, 2004, but his fateful scream is being commemorated with its own dance as part of "Elected!," a concert of politically themed performances by Jane Franklin Dance. The concert also has segments on the absurdities of everyday life and the "crime" of skateboarding.
» Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D St. NW; Sat. & Sun., 8 p.m., $20-$30. 703-933-1111. (Gallery Place)
IN THE OPENING MOMENTS of Studio Theatre's "The Road to Mecca," elderly Miss Helen runs around her home frantically cleaning up clutter, barely taking time to breathe. She doesn't often get visitors, but her young friend Elsa has driven 800 miles to see her.
Athol Fugard's play takes place on the night of Elsa's arrival. The brash 31-year-old schoolteacher has come to check in on her aging friend, who has become an artist late in life. She transformed her home into a vibrant collection of glittering colored glass and delicately crafted sculptures.
However, all is not well in the remote South African hamlet. Miss Helen's art has separated her from her community and underscored her alienation from the local church. When the minister (Martin Rayner) comes to transition her to a home for the elderly, she must decide whether it is in her best interest to separate herself from her robust artistic life in order to settle into a stable, creatively barren environment.
ANYONE SEEKING A crash course in Broadway might want to check out the Kennedy Center's "Broadway: Three Generations," an evening of condensed versions of three 20th-century musicals.
Featuring the Gershwins' "Girl Crazy," the Tony-Award-winning "Bye Bye Birdie" and '90s entry, "Side Show," the production has a cast of professionals and, presumably, lots of dancing.
Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW; Oct. 2-5; $25-$90; 202-467-4600. (Foggy Bottom-GWU)
Photo Courtesy of the Kennedy Center
NOW IN ITS 30th season, Massachusetts' Shakespeare & Company stages its first national tour of "Hamlet," in which Jason Asprey and company founder Tina Packer (Asprey's mother) portray the willies-including son-and-mother dynamic in this bloody tragedy of betrayal and ambition. Fortunately, the play will be pared down from its usual four hours.
» George Mason University Center for the Arts, Concert Hall,4400 University Drive, Fairfax; Oct. 4, 8 p.m.; $18-$34;703-993-2787
Photo Courtesy of George Mason University Center for the Arts
IRELAND'S DRUID THEATRE is all about playwright John Millington Synge, bringing to the Kennedy Center two plays from its "DruidSynge" compilation of his works.
"The Playboy of the Western World" (which you may have heard of ) and "The Shadow of the Glen" (which you may not have) share themes of death: the former tells the story of a patricide-committer turned hero, the latter of a man who fakes his death to test his wife. Cheery!
» Kennedy Center, Terrace Theater, 2700 F St. NW; Oct. 22-25; $65; (202) 467-4600 (Foggy Bottom)
Photo courtesy of the Kennedy Center
A VISION: A president admits culpability for a scandal. In this case, it's a vision of the past, in the form of "Frost/Nixon," Peter Morgan's 2006 drama that recalls Richard Nixon's famously revelatory interview with British talk-show host David Frost.
Stacy Keach plays the not-a-crook in the Kennedy Center's production.
» Kennedy Center, Eisenhower Theater, 2700 F St. NW; Nov. 11-30; $25-$80; 202-467-4600. (Foggy Bottom-GWU)
A RENOWNED VERSION of Shakespeare's classic comedy about separated twins and a shipwreck (no, the other one) was made in New York City.
Brought to you by the versatile Aquila Theatre Company, this farce — and the inspiration for the musical "The Boys From Syracuse," for you Broadway hounds — washes up on George Mason University Center for the Arts' stage for one night only in November.
» George Mason University Center for the Arts, Braddock Road & Route 123 in Fairfax; Nov. 7, 8 p.m.; $34, $26, $17; 888-945-2468, gmu.edu/cfa/.
CURRENT ADMINISTRATION got you down? Well, perk up and throw stones along with political satirist and puppeteer Paul Zaloom, from the television show "Beakman's World." He comes to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center for a three-night stay from Oct. 8 through 10.
Zaloom plans to poke fun at the powerful with his newest work, "The Abecedarium." Then, he melts your mind with his gender-bending classic, "The Punch and Jimmy Show."
So venture out and hear all the stuff you always wanted to say but never had the, uh, puppets to back it up.
THEY'RE NOT QUITE dancing in the streets over the next few months, but a heck of a lot of movement is coming to town. Suzanne Farrell Ballet bring her ethereal but disciplined take on George Balanchine's works to the Kennedy Center; Clarice Smith hosts a thoughtful, provocative performance from David Dorfman Dance; and local choreographers strut a bunch of new stuff.
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There's a reason it's called Dance Place — the Northeast studio and performance space is D.C.'s premier spot to see high-quality dance from all over the world, and it's refreshingly free of the kind of triumphalism that feels prohibitive to dance fans.
Dance Place's fall slate is rich and varied. Helanius J. Wilkins' all-male Edgeworks Dance Theater celebrates a seventh season of DP performances with two premieres (Nov. 7-9); East meets West in Devi Dance Theater's exotic theatricality on Oct. 11 and 12; and Dance Place sponsors Oct. 25's Hispanic Festival at Atlas Performing Arts Center, featuring numerous troupes from Mexico and Latin America.
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