Dear Friends of Theater J,

Welcome to the 2025-26 Theater J Season!

This season’s plays traverse theatrical styles and modes of storytelling, yet each poses questions relevant to our current moment. What is our responsibility to the truth? What is our role in our community, and how do we find solace and inspiration from friends? From bold gestures to passionate pleas to surprising romance and unexpected transformation, the plays in our season reflect on our past and present and send us soaring toward the future.

First in the season is Amy Herzog’s stunning adaptation of Ibsen’s classic, AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. This DC premiere follows its successful Broadway run. We’re thrilled to tell this epic story about a doctor who reveals a health emergency even when coerced to hide the truth. Herzog’s adaption makes this story fresh and reminds us of the importance of speaking out even when we are challenged to stay silent.

We’re excited to produce the world premiere of Ali Viterbi’s THE WORLD TO COME in partnership with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. The play is set in a Jewish Home for the Aged in the not-so-distant future. Theatrically bold, emotionally rich, and extraordinarily funny, this motley crew of seniors forges new ties and finds ways to come together, highlighting the strength of community amidst the chaos.

I’m excited to be collaborating again this season with multi-award winning playwright Jonathan Spector on a riveting new play. More details will be revealed in the coming months! 

In June, we close our season with Michael Shayan’s hilarious and poignant solo show AVAAZ, based on his mother’s journey fleeing Iran and living as an immigrant in this country. A single mother, a Persian Jew, Roya is our guide, and she soon becomes our friend. She tells us her story, bringing us into her world with the charm and flair of an incredible host. Avaaz transforms a personal narrative into a community event, a celebration.

In addition, this January, you’ll have the opportunity to join us for a limited one weekend-only run of Iris Bahr’s incredible tales of her near-death experiences in STORIES FROM THE BRINK. Using her singular wit and fast-paced storytelling, she takes us on a series of adventures spanning her lifetime. And, of course, we’re excited to welcome families to celebrate Chanukah with our Theater Jr. program!

And we’re delighted to announce Theater J’s first Off-Broadway transfer! We’re bringing Jonathan Spector’s stirring play THIS MUCH I KNOW to New York City in September! It will feature the same brilliant actors as the Theater J production from 2024, so please spread the word to your friends and family in the New York area.

This season, we celebrate the power and impact of theater in our community. These thought-provoking plays are created to inspire, motivate, and amuse you. Theater can be a salve, a spark, a reminder of our humanity and place in the world. It can be a joy to sit in a community together, enraptured by the power of brilliant stories and the artists who bring them to life.

I look forward to seeing you at the theater!

– Hayley Finn, Artistic Director