Folger Theatre

"Live in fierce not fear.” Miss Kitty chats with Washington Blade about playing Water Nymph in Folger Theatre's "Metamorphoses."

"Metamorphoses" is onstage now! Get your tickets at folger.edu/meta.

Miss Kitty tackles classical mythology in ‘Metamorphoses’ Folger production seen through the lens of the African diaspora

Announcing our 2024/25 season: Whose Democracy?

This season from Folger Theatre:

🗡️ Romeo and Juliet, directed by Raymond O. Caldwell | October 1 – November 10
🏰 A Room in the Castle, written by Lauren M. Gunderson, commissioned and co-produced with our partners at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and directed by Kaja Dunn | March 4 – April 6
💌 Twelfth Night | May 13 – June 29

Subscriptions on sale now!

Folger Theatre subscriptions | Folger Shakespeare Library Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Join us online, on the road, or in Washington, DC.

Thursday, June 6, join us for an LGBTQIA+ community mixer and "Metamorphoses." Have a drink on us and enjoy light refreshments and invigorating conversation with LGBTQIA+ community members. Plus, an appearance by DC drag icon Tara Hoot! Visit https://bit.ly/3JONiR8 to book tickets and use code DCPRIDE for a special discount.

Subscribe now to Folger Consort's 2024/25 season! Part of the Folger's "Whose Democracy?" programming, Folger Consort's 27th season features four concert programs that explore the dynamics of politics between the 14th and 17th centuries.

🌆 A Tale of Two Cities: The Music of Florence and Venice | September 13 – 15, 2024
🎄 Mass for Christmas Eve: Music of Charpentier | December 6 – 17, 2024
🦅 The Love Birds: Chaucer’s "A Parlement of Foules," with a newly-commissioned piece by Juri Seo | February 14 – 16, 2025
👑 Kings and Commonwealth: Music from the English Civil War | May 2 – 4, 2025

Folger Consort subscriptions | Folger Shakespeare Library Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Join us online, on the road, or in Washington, DC.

Celebrate DC's own Duke Ellington. Douglas Lanier writes about his Shakespearean jazz suite, "Such Sweet Thunder."

Duke Ellington's 'Such Sweet Thunder' - Shakespeare and jazz Duke Ellington created a milestone in the relationship between jazz and Shakespeare with his 1957 jazz suite 'Such Sweet Thunder.'

Join us for the Folger Theatre production of "Metamorphoses" onstage on Capitol Hill.

Visit folger.edu/meta to book your tickets, explore special events, and more.

Metamorphoses, adapted from Ovid by Mary Zimmerman. Featuring Edwin Brown, Renea S. Brown, DeJeanette Horne, Yesenia Iglesias, Billie Krishawn, Manu Kumasi, Miss Kitty, Jon Hudson Odom, Kalen Robinson, Gerrad Alex Taylor, Renee Elizabeth Wilson, Saron Araia, Ronald Benson-El, Jr, Edmée - Marie Faal, Neko Ramos, and Nandi Talton.

Directed by Psalmayene 24. Choreographer: Tony Thomas; Scenic Designer: Lawrence E. Moten III; Costume Designer: Mika Eubanks; Lighting Designer: William K. D’Eugenio; Sound Designer, Composer: Nick Hernandez; Original Composer: W***y Schwarz; Wig and Hair Designer: Rueben D. Echoles; Props Designer: Deb Thomas; Resident Intimacy Director and Cultural Consultant: Kaja Dunn; Dramaturg: Faedra Chatard Carpenter; Production Stage Manager: Lauren Pekel; Production Stage Manager: Claire Fogle; Assistant Stage Manager: Jenna Lynn Keefer; Associate Director: Mekala Sridhar; Assistant Costume Designer: Jeannette Christensen; Dialect Coach: Yetunde Felix-Ukwu. Photography by Brittany Diliberto.

Metamorphoses is onstage this weekend. Join us.

Visit folger.edu/meta to book your tickets, explore special events, and more.

Metamorphoses, adapted from Ovid by Mary Zimmerman. Featuring Edwin Brown, Renea S. Brown, DeJeanette Horne, Yesenia Iglesias, Billie Krishawn, Manu Kumasi, Miss Kitty, Jon Hudson Odom, Kalen Robinson, Gerrad Alex Taylor, Renee Elizabeth Wilson, Saron Araia, Ronald Benson-El, Jr, Edmée - Marie Faal, Neko Ramos, and Nandi Talton.

Directed by Psalmayene 24. Choreographer: Tony Thomas; Scenic Designer: Lawrence E. Moten III; Costume Designer: Mika Eubanks; Lighting Designer: William K. D’Eugenio; Sound Designer, Composer: Nick Hernandez; Original Composer: W***y Schwarz; Wig and Hair Designer: Rueben D. Echoles; Props Designer: Deb Thomas; Resident Intimacy Director and Cultural Consultant: Kaja Dunn; Dramaturg: Faedra Chatard Carpenter; Production Stage Manager: Lauren Pekel; Production Stage Manager: Claire Fogle; Assistant Stage Manager: Jenna Lynn Keefer; Associate Director: Mekala Sridhar; Assistant Costume Designer: Jeannette Christensen; Dialect Coach: Yetunde Felix-Ukwu. Photography by Brittany Diliberto.

Metamorphoses on stage through June 16th. Visit folger.edu/meta to book your tickets, explore special events, and more.

Metamorphoses, adapted from Ovid by Mary Zimmerman. Featuring Edwin Brown, Renea S. Brown, DeJeanette Horne, Yesenia Iglesias, Billie Krishawn, Manu Kumasi, Miss Kitty, Jon Hudson Odom, Kalen Robinson, Gerrad Alex Taylor, Renee Elizabeth Wilson, Saron Araia, Ronald Benson-El, Jr, Edmée - Marie Faal, Neko Ramos, and Nandi Talton.

Directed by Psalmayene 24. Choreographer: Tony Thomas; Scenic Designer: Lawrence E. Moten III; Costume Designer: Mika Eubanks; Lighting Designer: William K. D’Eugenio; Sound Designer, Composer: Nick Hernandez; Original Composer: W***y Schwarz; Wig and Hair Designer: Rueben D. Echoles; Props Designer: Deb Thomas; Resident Intimacy Director and Cultural Consultant: Kaja Dunn; Dramaturg: Faedra Chatard Carpenter; Production Stage Manager: Lauren Pekel; Production Stage Manager: Claire Fogle; Assistant Stage Manager: Jenna Lynn Keefer; Associate Director: Mekala Sridhar; Assistant Costume Designer: Jeannette Christensen; Dialect Coach: Yetunde Felix-Ukwu. Photography by Brittany Diliberto.

Join Dr. Sasha-Mae Eccleston (Classics, Brown University) and Dr. Patricia Akhimie (Director, Folger Institute) in a conversation about the intertwining of Roman mythology with the African diaspora as explored in Folger Theatre’s current production. Topics to be explored will include the voice, the body, the human, and translation.

Visit folger.edu/meta to book tickets, explore other special events, and more.

Folger Theatre: Metamorphoses The classic tales of Ovid come to astonishing life in Mary Zimmerman's adaptation where gods and mortals experience love, loss, invention, and transformation.

Celebrate Mary Zimmerman at Metamophoses! Tickets start at $20.

Myths and ‘Magic Flute’: A legendary director has two shows in D.C. right now Mary Zimmerman has always been fascinated by age-old narratives about human foibles, as in “Metamorphoses” and her new Mozart adaptation “The Matchbox Magic Flute.”

Announcing our 2024/25 season: Whose Democracy?

This season from Folger Theatre:

🗡️ Romeo and Juliet, directed by Raymond O. Caldwell | October 1 – November 10

🏰 A Room in the Castle, written by Lauren M. Gunderson, commissioned and co-produced with our partners at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and directed by Kaja Dunn | March 4 – April 6

💌 Twelfth Night | May 13 – June 29

Subscriptions on sale now!

Folger Theatre subscriptions | Folger Shakespeare Library Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Join us online, on the road, or in Washington, DC.

Check out what the Washington Post had to say about Metamorphoses! Get your tickets today!

Review | A staging of ancient myths, inspired by the death of Tyre Nichols Psalmayene 24 directs an all-Black cast in a revival of Mary Zimmerman’s acclaimed “Metamorphoses” at Folger Theatre.

The annual Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture returned to the Folger stage for the first time since 2019. Folger Institute Director Patricia Akhimie's lecture took us inside her process as she edits a new edition of "Othello" for the Arden Shakespeare and explored the ways that editing choices, such as omission and correction, can produce and perpetuate racial stereotypes.

Watch a video of her talk at https://bit.ly/3We68bM.

Faedra Chatard Carpenter, dramaturg for Folger Theatre's "Metamorphoses" shares her insight into the production. "Metamorphoses" is onstage though June 16.

Dramaturg's Notes: Faedra Chatard Carpenter on Metamorphoses | Folger Shakespeare Library Faedra Chatard Carpenter writes about the persistent power of myth in our lives and how this production makes a notable change to the play's conventional staging.

Mary Zimmerman's METAMORPHOSES is on stage at Folger Theatre. In this excerpt from his 2018 book RISE UP!, Chris Jones writes about how the Ovid-inspired show helped New Yorkers (and the theater) heal after 9/11.

How the Shows Went On After 9/11, With an Assist From Ovid Broadway may have reopened its theatres on Sept. 13, but it was Mary Zimmerman’s ‘Metamorphoses’ that seemed to capture and transform NYC’s grief.

Join Folger Institute Director Patricia Akhimie as she discusses "Metamorphoses" with production dramaturg Faedra Chatard Carpenter on May 22nd at Folger Theatre!

Visit folger.edu/meta to book tickets, explore other special events, and more.

Inside the Season: Metamorphoses | Folger Shakespeare Library Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Join us online, on the road, or in Washington, DC.

Metamorphoses Black Out Nite is today, May 16!

Join us before the show to mix it up with the cast and creative team, flow to the music of Nick tha 1da on the ones and twos, support local jewelry artisan TrufacebyGrace, and have a drink on us!

Use code BLACKOUT to reserve your spot and get a special discount on your tickets: https://bit.ly/3JONiR8.

"The first day of rehearsal for our production of Mary Zimmerman’s 'Metamorphoses' coincided with the great solar eclipse of 2024. I took this coincidence as a propitious sign—a sort of blessing from the gods that felt aligned with the spirit of this play."
Folger Theatre's "Metamorphoses" is on stage through June 16.

Read director Psalmayene 24's director's notes, then book your tickets at folger.edu/meta.

Director's Notes: Psalmayene 24 on Metamorphoses | Folger Shakespeare Library Psalmayene 24 reflects on his decision to cast an all-Black ensemble: "This production is a ritual meant to celebrate and elevate Black humanity while connecting us to all humanity."

A new production of Mary Zimmerman’s award-winning adaptation of Ovid’s "Metamorphoses" is onstage now at Folger Theatre. The theater-maker joins us on our podcast to talk about creating "Metamorphoses" and directing Shakespeare.

Get your tickets at folger.edu/meta!

Mary Zimmerman on Adapting Ovid and Directing Shakespeare | Folger Shakespeare Library Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Join us online, on the road, or in Washington, DC.

"Metamorphoses" is onstage now. Theater-maker Mary Zimmerman, who adapted the script from Ovid, joins us on our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast to reflect on creating the award-winning play.

Get your tickets to our new production, directed by Psalmayene 24, at folger.edu/meta.

Mary Zimmerman on Adapting Ovid and Directing Shakespeare | Folger Shakespeare Library Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Join us online, on the road, or in Washington, DC.

Our "Metamorphoses" Black Out Nite is May 16! At this affinity night, we welcome Black theatergoers to celebrate their diasporic connections through the sounds and rhythms of "Metamorphoses!" Join us before the show to mix it up with the cast and creative team, flow to the music of Nick tha 1da on the ones and twos, support local jewelry artisan TrufacebyGrace, and have a drink on us!

Use code BLACKOUT to reserve your spot and get a special discount on your tickets: https://bit.ly/3JONiR8.

Want to bring a group 10 or more get a discount? Call our Box Office at 202-544-7077 and ask for Brittany!

Curtain up on Opening Night! See you at Metamorphoses.

Metamorphoses Opens Tonight at Folger Theatre! Congratulations to the whole company.

Visit folger.edu/meta to book your tickets, explore special events, and more.

Metamorphoses, adapted from Ovid by Mary Zimmerman. Featuring Edwin Brown, Renea S. Brown, DeJeanette Horne, Yesenia Iglesias, Billie Krishawn, Manu Kumasi, Miss Kitty, Jon Hudson Odom, Kalen Robinson, Gerrad Alex Taylor, Renee Elizabeth Wilson, Saron Araia, Ronald Benson-El, Jr, Edmée - Marie Faal, Neko Ramos, and Nandi Talton.

Directed by Psalmayene 24. Choreographer: Tony Thomas; Scenic Designer: Lawrence E. Moten III; Costume Designer: Mika Eubanks; Lighting Designer: William K. D’Eugenio; Sound Designer, Composer: Nick Hernandez; Original Composer: W***y Schwarz; Wig and Hair Designer: Rueben D. Echoles; Props Designer: Deb Thomas; Resident Intimacy Director and Cultural Consultant: Kaja Dunn; Dramaturg: Faedra Chatard Carpenter; Production Stage Manager: Lauren Pekel; Production Stage Manager: Claire Fogle; Assistant Stage Manager: Jenna Lynn Keefer; Associate Director: Mekala Sridhar; Assistant Costume Designer: Jeannette Christensen; Dialect Coach: Yetunde Felix-Ukwu. Photography by Brittany Diliberto.

Happy Mother's Day! Take our quiz to test your knowledge of the mothers of Shakespeare's plays, then tell us your score in the comments.

Quiz: How well do you know Shakespeare's mothers? There are more moms in Shakespeare's plays than you might think. Take our quiz and see how well you know the mothers of Shakespeare.

DC & Me - the Folger Engagement installation - is up at the Folger. Check it out before the show or at one of the other sites this summer.

What are you planning to see in May? Check out our round-up of performances this month from Shakespeare theaters across the country.

What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in May | Folger Shakespeare Library Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore. Join us online, on the road, or in Washington, DC.

Abraham Lincoln and his assassin were connected by Shakespeare. Our columnist Austin Tichenor on Lincoln and Booth: https://bit.ly/3PQxsZF.

"Murder most foul": How Shakespeare connects Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth | Folger Shakespeare Library Austin Tichenor explores the deep connections the president and his murderer share with William Shakespeare.