With political theater playing out in unruly ways throughout Congress, the administration and the court system, it’s no surprise that politics will be a theme in a number of productions with Jewish and Israeli themes running this fall. And with the presidential takeover and purge at the Kennedy Center, and Smithsonian museums receiving a check for exhibits deemed pro-diversity, equity and inclusion or unflattering to administration standards, many long-time local patrons have vowed to boycott these institutions. Perhaps other arts venues will see an uptick in attendance, although Theatre Washington, the consortium for professional theaters in the region, said it’s too early and difficult to estimate how a Kennedy Center boycott might affect local companies, according to Executive Director Amy Austin this past week.
Theater
Playwright Chess Jakobs describes himself as “a Black, Jewish, and Queer American.” His latest, “The American Five” at Ford’s Theatre, details an imagined behind-the-scenes story of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s rise as a spokesman for the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. One of his prominent supporters, Jewish businessman and lawyer Stanley Levison, had a hand, literally, in revising King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. We see that relationship among others on stage. Through Oct. 12, fords.org/performance/the-american-five.
Theater J opens its season with Henrik Ibsen’s dark classic “An Enemy of the People,” directed by János Szász (who recently directed Arena Stage’s evocative production of “Angels in America”). This scintillating examination of what happens when citizens fight the power of the ruling class comes with added urgency from director Szász, a Hungarian who fled the repressive government of Viktor Orbán. Oct. 29 to Nov. 23, edcjcc.org/theater-j/show/an-enemy-of-the-people.
With the rise of antisemitism in America, it’s again the right time to revive “Fiddler on the Roof,” based on the classic Tevye tales of Sholem Aleichem. We again need a little tradition along with the perennial themes of Jewish hardship and joy. Signature Theatre tapped Jewish director Joe Calarco, who wrote: “It is a perfect musical … with a book and a score that emotionally run the gamut of the human experience. Like many Jews I have [been] watching it yearly with my family since childhood.” Nov. 4 to Jan. 25, sigtheatre.org/shows-and-events/all-events/2025-2026/fiddler-on-the-roof.
Singing matron Dolly Levi is the effervescent center of the beloved musical “Hello Dolly!” While Dolly comes by her Jewishness via her late and much-mentioned husband Ephraim Levi, since Carol Channing (also not Jewish) created the role, Dolly has embodied the New York Jewish character type, even when Pearl Bailey played her. I can’t wait to see what Nova Payton does with the role at Olney Theatre Center. Nov. 6 to Jan. 4, olneytheatre.org/whats-playing/hello-dolly.
There’s a musical about the assassination of Israeli prime minister and peace builder Yitzhak Rabin? Yes. It comes from deposed Theater J artistic director Ari Roth’s production company, Voices Festival Productions. Labeled a “forensic drama,” the world premiere of “November 4 — A Musical!” dissects the two sides of this timely historic moment 30 years later by telling Rabin’s story alongside law student and 25-year-old assassin Yigal Amir’s. Nov. 12 to Dec. 7, voicesfestivalproductions.com/get-tickets.
For kids — and their parents or grandparents — “Chanukah in the Dark,” a new play with songs by Theater J’s artistic director Hayley Finn, brings some magic to the holiday when the lights go out. Dec. 6 to 21, edcjcc.org/theater-j/show/chanukah-in-the-dark.
Voices Festival Productions continues its Changing Middle Festival with “Imperfect Allies: Children of Opposite Sides,” written and performed by Judith Sloan and Najla Said, a Jewish American and Palestinian American, respectively, who share their histories in this fraught time. Dec. 11 to 14, voicesfestivalproductions.com/get-tickets.
Comedy
The Interfaith Comedy Show stops at the Bender JCC, showcasing voices from across the local DMV interfaith community. Oct. 19, benderjccgw.org/calendar/interfaith-comedy-show-2025-individual-ticket.
Self-proclaimed Jewish redneck Mo Mandel jokes about American popular culture, politics and himself. He starts his fall tour at Arlington Drafthouse Nov. 7 and 8. Then American actor, comedian and pro-Israel activist Michael Rapaport brings his show there Nov. 13 to 15. arlingtondrafthouse.com/events.
Music
Cellist John Kaboff will perform works by composer Benjamin Britten and Jewish composer Ernst Bloch at the Capital Jewish Museum Oct. 26. capitaljewishmuseum.org/events/cello-concert-with-john-kaboff.
Northern Virginia’s Trio Sefardi preserves and performs music from the Judeo-Spanish diaspora following the expulsion from Spain in 1492. Catch the group at Kol Shalom Congregation in Rockville. Nov. 8, triosefardi.com/live.
Bender JCC’s long-running Polinger Artists of Excellence Series features the Verona String Quartet with Eric Lu. Nov. 9, benderjccgw.org/programs/polinger-artists-of-excellence.
The great Israeli-born violinist Itzhak Perlman presents his standard classical recital at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. Nov. 15, my.bsomusic.org/20056/20061.
Galleries
Former Israeli military correspondent Orna Ben-Ami studied gold and silversmithing in Israel and sculpture at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington. Her show “Displacement and Memory” features iron-welded sculptures that express the suffering of the displaced at the Katzen Museum on American University’s campus this fall. american.edu/cas/museum/upcoming.cfm#ben-ami.
The Pozez JCC’s Bodzin Art Gallery features artworks by members, staff and guest artists to celebrate the diversity of its Northern Virginia community Oct. 28 to Dec. 15, thej.org/learning-culture/fine-arts.
Film
The Edlavitch DCJCC’s Cinema J year-round film screenings lean into movies that celebrate Jewish heritage and culture. This fall, we’ll see “Holding Liat,” about Liat Beinin Atzili, who was kidnapped Oct. 7, and how her Israeli American family faced conflict in fighting for her release. Oct. 18, edcjcc.org/jxj/show/holding-liat.
In Sweden, Yiddish is a protected minority language. Really. Find out how this works in directors Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman’s “Swedishkayt: YidLife Crisis in Sweden.” Oct. 27, edcjcc.org/jxj/show/swedishkayt-yidlife-crisis-in-stockholm.
The true story of a religious man’s deep bond with his Holocaust survivor mother and the missing ring that saved her life once is told in Hungarian, English and Hebrew in “The Ring” at the Bender JCC’s Cinema J. Nov. 6, benderjccgw.org/calendar/copy-of-cinema-j-evening-elie-wiesel-soul-on-fire.
In the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deemed homosexuals a “security risk” and vowed to rid the federal government of all gay and lesbian employees. Hear their stories in “The Lavender Scare.” Nov. 13, edcjcc.org/jxj/show/the-lavender-scare.
Lisa Traiger is Washington Jewish Week’s award-winning arts correspondent.
