Must-see entertainment in Washington, DC

  • Looking at Kennedy Center...

    Kennedy Center

    White House Area & Foggy Bottom

    Overlooking the Potomac River, the magnificent Kennedy Center hosts a staggering array of performances – more than 2000 each year in venues including the…

  • APRIL 21, 2019: Center field gate at the Nationals Park in Washington D.C.  
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    Nationals Park

    Washington, DC

    The major-league Washington Nationals play baseball at this spiffy stadium beside the Anacostia River. Don't miss the mid-fourth-inning ‘Presidents' Race’ – an…

  • Black Cat

    Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights

    The Black Cat is the go-to venue for music that's loud and grungy with a punk edge. The White Stripes, Arcade Fire and Foo Fighters have all thrashed here…

  • Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

    Washington, DC

    Woolly Mammoth is the edgiest of DC’s experimental groups. For most shows, $20 ‘stampede’ seats are available at the box office two hours before…

  • Howard Theatre

    Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights

    Built in 1910, Howard Theatre was the top address when U St was known as 'Black Broadway.' Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and other famed names lit the…

  • Shakespeare Theatre Company

    Washington, DC

    The nation’s foremost Shakespeare company presents masterful works by the Bard, as well as plays by George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Eugene O’Neill and…

  • Anthem

    Washington, DC

    The Anthem opened in 2017 and has quickly become one of DC's best live-music venues. The 6000-capacity hall books acts from Judas Priest to Lorde to Big…

  • 9:30 Club

    Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights

    The 9:30, which can pack 1200 people into a surprisingly compact venue, is the granddaddy of the live-music scene in DC. Pretty much every big name that…

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    Madam's Organ

    Washington, DC

    Playboy magazine once named Madam's Organ one of its favorite bars in America. The ramshackle place has been around forever, and its nightly blues, rock…

  • WASHINGTON - APRIL 12, 2015: Stage and seating of Ford's Theatre. The theater is infamous as the site of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth in 1865.
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    Ford’s Theatre

    Washington, DC

    This historical venue – where John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln – is still an active theater. It stages works related to Lincoln’s life and times …

  • Wei Wu (R) and Riccardo Massi perform onstage during a production of Tosca for the Washington National Opera (WNO) at the Kennedy Center on May 22, 2019 in Washington, DC. - It took 150 hours of rehearsals over 27 days to finalize the production of Tosca at the Washington National Opera. Each show involves 217 staff, including 96 stage performers, 66 musicians in the pit and another seven backstage. Staff spent eight weeks on fittings, alterations and new dresses for the period costumes, including Tosca's hand-printed mauve chiffon gown in Act I. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)        (Photo credit should read ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
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    Washington National Opera

    White House Area & Foggy Bottom

    The Washington Opera is based at the Kennedy Center and puts on a varied showcase throughout the year. Plácido Domingo helmed the company until 2011, when…

  • Folger Theatre

    Washington, DC

    The 270-seat, Renaissance-style theater attached to the Folger Shakespeare Library stages classic and modern interpretations of the bard's plays, as well…

  • DC9

    Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights

    DC9 is as intimate as DC’s live music venues get, and about as divey as well. Not that we’re complaining; there’s always a good edge on in this spot. Up…

  • FedEx Field

    Washington, DC

    Washington’s NFL team, the Redskins, plays September through January at FedEx Field. The team has experienced a lot of controversy recently, and not only…

  • Arena Stage

    Washington, DC

    The mod, glassy Arena Stage is the second-largest performing-arts complex in Washington after the Kennedy Center. The three theaters inside (including a…

  • Avalon Theatre

    Upper Northwest DC

    Dating from the 1920s, this handsomely restored art-deco movie house shows a mix of independent, foreign and first-run films. It's operated by the local…

  • Rock & Roll Hotel

    Washington, DC

    The R&R Hotel is a great, grotty spot to catch rockin’ live sets from the likes of Thurston Moore, St Vincent and the Dead Kennedys. Don’t let the name…

  • DC Improv

    Washington, DC

    DC Improv is comedy in the traditional sense, featuring stand-up by comics from Comedy Central, Saturday Night Live and HBO in its main theater. The…

  • Blues Alley

    Georgetown

    Greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughan played this venerable club back in the day. The talent remains just as sterling now, and the setting just as…

  • Capital One Arena

    Washington, DC

    This ever-busy facility is DC's arena for big-name concerts and sporting events. Washington’s rough-and-tumble pro-hockey team the Capitals (www.nhl.com…

  • Bukom Cafe

    Washington, DC

    Reggae and highlife bands take the stage nightly at Bukom. Be prepared for sore but happy hips as you join the mix of West African immigrants and ex–Peace…

  • National Theatre

    Washington, DC

    Washington’s oldest continuously operating theater shows flashy Broadway musicals and big-name productions. A lottery for $25 tickets (cash only) takes…

  • La Maison Française

    Upper Northwest DC

    La Maison is otherwise known as the French embassy. The beating heart of Gallic DC occupies eight elegantly landscaped acres, anchored by the marble,…

  • Washington Ballet

    White House Area & Foggy Bottom

    The Washington Ballet hasn’t been known for many groundbreaking productions, although its reputation is beginning to change as it explores the work of…

  • Hamilton

    White House Area & Foggy Bottom

    There's lots on offer here. On the ground floor there's a popular restaurant and three bars, one of which offers free live music most Thursday, Friday and…

  • Dance Place

    Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights

    The only truly cutting-edge dance space in the capital is tucked away in Brookland. It’s run by four resident dance companies offering a year-round…

  • Capitol Steps

    Washington, DC

    This singing troupe claims to be the only group in America that tries to be funnier than Congress. Many of the performers are former congressional…

  • Jazz in the Garden

    Washington, DC

    Lots of locals show up for these free outdoor jazz, blues and world-music concerts at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Bring a blanket and…

  • Twins Jazz

    Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights

    Twin sisters own this long, narrow, red-walled club, and they've been staging hot jazz acts here for some 20 years. It's a jazz enthusiasts', keep-your…

  • Studio Theatre

    Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights

    This contemporary four-theater complex has been staging Pulitzer Prize–winning and premiere plays for more than 35 years. It cultivates a lot of local…

  • Pearl Street Warehouse

    Washington, DC

    This small Wharf venue has a rootsy feel, like it could be set in Austin or Nashville. Blues, country and rock bands take the stage, including the…

  • Atlas Performing Arts Center

    Washington, DC

    All kinds of indie goodness get performed at the art-deco Atlas, from operettas to innovative new plays, ethnic dance shows and cabaret music. Four…

  • Audi Field

    Washington, DC

    Multiple-time Major League Soccer champions DC United play March through October at shiny new Audi Field, opening mid-2018. Tickets start at around $30…

  • E Street Cinema

    Washington, DC

    The eight screens flicker with first-run independent and foreign films, documentaries and classic revivals. Crab-cake bites, empanadas, wine and craft…

  • Gala Hispanic Theatre

    Logan Circle, U Street & Columbia Heights

    Set in a converted 1920s movie palace, the Gala stages Spanish and Latin American plays. Most performances are in Spanish with English subtitles. The…

  • Warner Theatre

    Washington, DC

    This beautifully restored 1924 art-deco theater was originally built for vaudeville and silent films, but it now stages headliner concerts, comedians, and…

  • Discovery Theater

    Washington, DC

    In the basement of the Ripley Center, the Smithsonian's Discovery stages delightful puppet shows and other live educational performances for children aged…

  • National Symphony Orchestra

    White House Area & Foggy Bottom

    This is the affiliate orchestra of the Kennedy Center and one of the best chamber symphonies in the nation.

  • Adventure Theatre MTC

    Washington, DC

    Resident troupe that puts on musical theater for children at Glen Echo Park.

  • Puppet Company

    Washington, DC

    Resident troupe that puts on children’s puppet shows at Glen Echo Park.

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