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We've compiled the best of the best in Virginia - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
This elaborate theater with towering minarets and desert murals was built by the Shriners in 1926. Dubbed "the Mosque," a name still retained by locals, the theater sits just west of downtown, and is known for its excellent acoustics and for having the largest permanent proscenium stage on the East Coast. The Altria hosts the road versions of Broadway shows, symphony performances, ballet, children's theater, concerts, and fashion shows.
Experience Shakespeare's plays the way the Elizabethans did at the world's only re-creation of the bard's indoor playhouse, which has gained acclaim for its attention to detail. Unlike the open-air Globe Theatre styled around a courtyard, this theater was, in its time, an innovative indoor winter venue. As in 17th-century London, most seating consists of benches (modern seat backs and cushions are available), and some stools are right on stage.
From February through the Christmas season, audiences flock to Barter Theater, America's longest-running professional repertory theater. Founded during the Depression by local actor Robert Porterfield, the theater got its name in the obvious way: early patrons who could not afford the $40 tickets could pay in produce. Patricia Neal, Ned Beatty, and Gregory Peck are among the many stars who began their careers at the Barter, which today presents classics, dramas, comedies, musicals, and new and Appalachian works. Although times have changed since Noël Coward was given a Virginia ham for his contributions, patrons can still barter for their seat a few times a year. But don't show up at the box office with a bag of arugula and expect to be seated—all trades must be approved by advance notice.
This restored 1928 motion-picture palace is now a performing-arts center that mounts opera, traveling shows, symphonic music, and ballet. It's the cornerstone of the Center Stage Performing Arts Complex, which also boasts the intimate Rhythm Hall for local performers, as well as the Gottwald Playhouse, and a visual arts space called the Showcase Gallery.
The Tony Award–winning Signature Theatre company has earned national acclaim for its presentation of world premiere and reimagined musicals, especially those of Stephen Sondheim, as well as contemporary plays. Signature’s modern facility has two intimate black-box performance spaces where theatergoers can see Broadway-caliber shows performed with live orchestras 50 feet or less from the stage.
One of the most distinctive performing arts groups in the Washington area uses music, dance, high energy, acting, and athleticism to transform the works of Shakespeare, Dante, Edgar Allan Poe, and Robert Louis Stevenson into visual theatrics that are guaranteed to leave audiences fascinated. The award-winning theater is tucked away in Virginia's Crystal City, a short Metro ride away from downtown Washington.
