OP, someone above mentioned GoldStar for discounted tickets. My husband recently signed up for GoldStar and we've gotten some good deals using that site.

Another fairly new professional theater that many people don't know about is 1st Stage, in the Tysons Corner area. It's tucked away in a drab little strip office center but is a full-on theater and gets some great reviews. The shows we've seen there were very good and more people need to know they're there!

If you are willing to go to Baltimore, Center Stage is a bit less expensive than some theaters in this area but you have to commit to the time to get there and back.

We go to as much theater as we can (mostly professional, but some community theater) and frankly, OP, if that's you posting about wanting only professional theater, then you know you have to expect it to be pricey. Please don't discount this area's amateur theaters so quickly unless you've seen enough to know. There are some very good ones in this region and some of the actors are people who have acted extensively and even professionally at points in their lives. Never hurts to support the arts, including local community theater. You might be pleasantly surprised. Look for reviews of local groups over time and see if any have consistently strong reviews, which would indicate good production standards.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah i've seen some great things at those places, but they can get really pricey. Any recommendations for smaller/cheaper companies? I know they're out there, i just don't know what's what.

Little Theatre of Alexandria is lower cost. http://www.thelittletheatre.com/

they are community theatre, not professional theatre.

So what? There are some real gems in community theater.

Try KAT in Kensington.

I'm sure there really are some good things in the realm of community theater, but in general, there is a difference between professional theatre artists who dedicate themselves to the field and those who do it as an avocation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah i've seen some great things at those places, but they can get really pricey. Any recommendations for smaller/cheaper companies? I know they're out there, i just don't know what's what.

Little Theatre of Alexandria is lower cost. http://www.thelittletheatre.com/

they are community theatre, not professional theatre.

So what? There are some real gems in community theater.

Try KAT in Kensington.

We love studio and the Woolley mammoth theater!!

We go frequently OP since our DD graduated from college and moved away. I signed up for TodayTix app, and Goldstar + Travel Zoo and Ticket place. I scour the deals each week. We've been to many theaters in the area at reduced prices including the Kennedy Center...but no, there won't be any deals for when Hamilton comes to KC.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah i've seen some great things at those places, but they can get really pricey. Any recommendations for smaller/cheaper companies? I know they're out there, i just don't know what's what.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah i've seen some great things at those places, but they can get really pricey. Any recommendations for smaller/cheaper companies? I know they're out there, i just don't know what's what.

There are loads of fantastic smaller theatres in the D.C. area. Forum, Rorschach, and Flying V are three of my favorites. I also recommend (depending on your price point) Theatre J and Woolly Mammoth. To get exposure to new, innovative theatre, Source Theatre Festival and the Fringe Festival are great and not expensive.

We used to be very active. We performed in community theater, we subscribed to Arena, Signature, Olney and Round House. We were donors some years for all of those, but Round House. For about 5-6 years, I used to review equity theater in the DC area for one of the on-line theater review sites. We knew a number of people in the professional community. Then we had kids and we're lucky if we can make it to the shows our friends are in. We have gone to a few family-friendly shows that we can take the kids to.

We saw some great productions at each of the theaters we subscribed to (hence why we were subscribers). Other theaters that we really enjoyed the productions included Keegan, Studio, traveling shows up at the Hippodrome in Baltimore, Center State in Baltimore.

Anonymous wrote:Olney has some good shows too.

+1. Definitely check out Olney

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah i've seen some great things at those places, but they can get really pricey. Any recommendations for smaller/cheaper companies? I know they're out there, i just don't know what's what.

Little Theatre of Alexandria is lower cost. http://www.thelittletheatre.com/

they are community theatre, not professional theatre.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah i've seen some great things at those places, but they can get really pricey. Any recommendations for smaller/cheaper companies? I know they're out there, i just don't know what's what.

Little Theatre of Alexandria is lower cost. http://www.thelittletheatre.com/

Yeah i've seen some great things at those places, but they can get really pricey. Any recommendations for smaller/cheaper companies? I know they're out there, i just don't know what's what.

To answer your question, yes, I used to go all the time and subscribed to Shakespeare and Arena Stage, but with two kids under 4yo, I haven't made it to the theatre in a while.

Olney has some good shows too.

Arena Stage
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Studio Theatre
Signature Theatre

Curious--does anyone on here go to any live theatre (not theatre for young audiences). Any place you recommend besides Kennedy Center/National/Fords?