Folger Theatre Announces its 2025-26 Season
Folger Theatre has announced its 2025-26 season at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill. Kicking off in September, the three-play lineup draws on modern events and the landscape of Washington, DC.
“Our inspiration for next season comes from Shakespeare’s three genres: tragedy, comedy, and history as means of examining what’s called ‘patterns of love,’” shared Director of Programming and Performance and Artistic Director of Folger Theatre Karen Ann Daniels. “These ‘patterns of love’—love of power in Julius X, love of friendship and romance in As You Like It, and in Jacob Ming-Trent’s work, his love of language in an invocation of healing—weave together a highly artistic, entertaining, and meaningful opportunity for audiences to share in the communal and timeless ritual of sharing live theater. Maybe they’ll even fall in love with it!”
Julius X
Julius X: A Re-envisioning of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (running September 23–October 26, 2025), written by Al Letson (podcast host of Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting) and directed by Nicole Brewer (Folger Theatre’s By the Queen at the Reading Room Festival), kicks off the theater season in September.
Remixing Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar with the history of Malcolm X, the play samples—lyrically and historically—from Shakespeare’s text, famous speeches by Malcolm X, and Letson’s own verse. Set in New York City in 1965, just days before the Civil Rights leader’s assassination, the tragedy brings together ancient Roman and modern American histories through poetry and passion.
As You Like It
In Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels’ Folger Theatre directing debut, Shakespeare’s beloved romantic comedy As You Like It (running March 10–April 12, 2026) is served up with a distinctly DC flavor. Daniels, an accomplished actor, director, playwright, vocalist, and musician (Folger Theatre’s Our Verse in Time to Come, The Ruby in Us at The Old Globe) co-adapts with Psalmayene 24 (Folger Theatre’s Metamorphoses).
This is one of the most beloved Shakespearean comedies where the “love-shaked” Rosalind and her cousin Celia are forced to leave the court to find respite and adventure in nature, inevitably succumbing to the madness of love and delightfully unpredictable circumstances. This production offers a love note to DC, imbuing the forest of Arden with the familiar vibes, culture, and characters that mark the District as a singular, resilient, and redemptive place of belonging.
How Shakespeare Saved My Life
The season closes in the summer with How Shakespeare Saved My Life (running June 9–July 5, 2026) by Jacob Ming-Trent, co-produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Folger Theatre, and Red Bull Theater, and co-commissioned by Folger Theatre and Red Bull Theater. Directed by Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s former Artistic Director Tony Taccone (Kiss My Aztec) and starring Ming-Trent—a Broadway star (most recently, the revival of Gypsy); a noted Shakespearean actor at The Public Theater, Theatre for a New Audience, and Shakespeare in the Park; and television actor (White Famous, Ray Donovan, Watchmen, Feed the Beast)—How Shakespeare Saved My Life delivers an epic poem told through verse and music, drawing upon sources ranging from Shakespeare to hip-hop lyricists.
An autobiographical-inspired theatrical work, this tour-de-force performance invokes a host of artistic geniuses such as Biggie, Tupac, Shakespeare, and Basquiat. It all adds up to how one man’s attempt to reclaim his life may connect to the deeper parts of ourselves and to each other. How Shakespeare Saved My Life is an epiphany that begins with Shakespeare but becomes a ritual of salvation and forgiveness that invites the audience to save themselves and each other.
Season subscriptions are on sale now, starting at only $150. Special rates for patrons under 35, students, seniors, members and family of the military, educators, and groups may be purchased through the Folger Theatre Box Office at (202) 544-7077 or at www.folger.edu/whats-on/. Single tickets will go on sale on July 29.
