Theater and Dance

THEATER

Anna Christie

• Eugene O’Neill’s poignant portrait of a Swedish barge captain and the mysterious past of his estranged daughter. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Through June 19. Arena Stage, Kreeger Theater, 1101 Sixth St. SW. $45-$66. 202/488-3300.

Big Death and Little Death

• A dark comedy about the end of the world as we know it. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Through June 12. Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St. NW. $30-$48. 202/393-3939.

Cigarettes and Moby Dick

• Miranda must choose either her lover or her partners in this seductive play by Migdalia Cruz. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. Through May 29. Venus Theatre Company at the Warehouse Theater, 1021 Seventh St. NW. $20. 202/236-4078.

The Clandestine Marriage

• A father wants his two daughters to marry into wealth, but one daughter’s fiance falls in love with the other sister. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Through May 22. Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. $25-$48. 202/554-7077.

The Colorado Catechism

• Ty is the handsome darling of the New York arts scene, Donna is a divorced Midwestern mom in a custody battle, and they both are in rehab to salvage their lives. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Through May 21. Journeymen Theatre Ensemble at Clark Street Playhouse, 601 S. Clark St., Arlington. $20, or pay what you can. 800/494-8497.

Continente Viril (Virile Continent)

• An Encounter with Antarctica: Why are penguins committing suicide? This satire combines biting attacks on society’s love of order with mankind’s war against nature. 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday. May 20-June 18. Teatro de la Luna, 2700 S. Lang St., Arlington. $15-$25. 703/548-3092.

Dora the Explorer Live! Dora’s Pirate Adventure

• Dora, her cousin Diego, Boots the monkey and the rest of their friends embark on an exciting trip to Treasure Island. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Friday; 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m., 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Through May 22. Warner Theatre, 13th and E streets NW. $15-$45. 202/397-SEAT.

Electra

• Sophocles’ tale of family betrayal, coldblooded murder, civil war, political intrigue and the obsessive desire for revenge. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Through May 29. MetroStage, 1201 N. Royal St., Alexandria. $25-$35. 800/494-8497.

Hannah and Martin

• Celebrated journalist Hannah Arendt is forced to confront charges that philosopher Martin Heidegger, her lover and former professor, is a Nazi sympathizer and must choose whether to indict or forgive him. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Through June 5. Theatre J at the D.C. Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW. $10-$36. 800/494-8497.

Hecuba

• Euripides’ tragedy about the captive Queen of Troy. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday. May 21-June 12. The Royal Shakespeare Company at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater, F Street and New Hampshire Avenue NW. $25-$78. 202/467-4600.

Humble Boy

• This recent London hit offers a stinging look at an anything-but-typical family group in Moreton-on-the-Mold. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Through May 22. Washington Stage Guild, 1901 14th St. NW. $23-$30. 240/582-0050.

Jason and the Argonauts

• Jason becomes intoxicated by the beauty and sorcery of Medea, which drives them into a tangled web of witchcraft, fiery passion and bloodstained victory. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. Through June 26. Synetic Theater at the Rosslyn Spectrum, 1611 N. Kent St., Arlington. $30-$35. 703/824-8060.

Lend Me a Tenor

• It’s 1934 and the Cleveland Grand Opera Company has managed to persuade world-renowned tenor Tito Merelli to star in its production of Othello — and the company can’t let anything get in the way of its success. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Through June 11. Olney Theatre Center for the Arts, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney. $29-$39. 301/924-3400.

Mamma Mia!

• ABBA’s greatest musical hits woven into three love stories. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Through July 2. The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. $40-$85. 800/447-7400.

Of a Sunday Morning

• Can one woman’s spiritual exploration threaten national security? Find out in this tale of a futuristic society so gripped by fear that every expression of thought is monitored. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Sunday; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Through June 5. The Charter Theatre Company, 1556 Wisconsin Ave. NW. $20-$25. 202/333-7009.

Pacific Overtures

• The Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical about America’s relationship with Japan from 1853 to the present. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Through July 3. Signature Theatre, 3806 S. Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington. $25-$39. 703/218-6500.

Pretty Fire

• A young black woman tells funny and often moving stories of growing up and finding her voice within a diverse, supportive family. 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Through May 22. The African Continuum Theatre Company at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1335 H St. NE. $20-$30. 800/494-8497.

Real Women Have Curves

• A comedy about five Latina women toiling in a sweatshop. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 4 p.m. Sunday. Through May 29. GALA Teatro Hispano, 14th and Park Road, NW. $18-$32. 800/494-8497.

Shear Madness

• The long-running whodunit comedy continues indefinitely. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 9 p.m. Friday, 6 and 9 p.m. Saturday, 3:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Kennedy Center Theater Lab, F Street and New Hampshire Avenue NW. $34. 202/467-4600.

The Shakespeare Project

• Seven actors with “blood as their argument” tear into and rebuild “Macbeth” from a visceral and physical place. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Through June 11. Catalyst Theatre Company at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 Seventh St. SE. $15-$30. 800/494-8497.

Side Man

• The Tony Award-winning play told from the standpoint of a jazz trumpet player and set in an era when the glory days of big bands were fading away. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Through June 5. The Keegan Theatre at Church Street Theater, 1742 Church St. NW. $25. 703/527-6000 Ext. 2.

Take Me Out

• The 2003 Tony Award-winning comedy that takes a hilarious, hard-hitting look at celebrity, homophobia and the love of baseball. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Through June 26. Studio Theatre, 14th and P streets NW. $25-$48. 202/332-3300.

The Tempest

• Shakespeare’s play about a world of illusions and magic — where the angry sorcerer Prospero manipulates spirits and humans alike in his search for revenge. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Through May 22. The Shakespeare Theatre, 450 Seventh St. NW. $12.75-$68. 202/547-1122.

The Voysey Inheritance

• Harley Granville Barker’s 1905 play, Trenchard Voysey Sr. runs an august British investment firm with a spotless reputation — except that he and his father before him have been defrauding customers. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Through June 5. Centerstage, 700 N. Calvert St., Baltimore. $10-$60. 410/332-0033.

STAGE

The Capitol Steps

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202/397-SEAT.

• The musical and political satire troupe. 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. $31.50.

Comedy Sportz D.C.

Ballston Common Mall, Old Vic Arena, 4238 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. 703/294-LAFF

• Teams of comedians battle each other in competitive improv comedy sketches. 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday. $8-$12.

Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants

Studio Theatre, 14th and P streets NW. 202/332-3300.

• Noted magician Ricky Jay amazes audiences with his sleight-of-hand card tricks. 7:30 p.m. $71-$75. Through May 22.

Under the Beltway

Stage Door Restaurant and Bar, 1324 King St., Alexandria. 703/798-1064.

• Improvisational comedy. 8:30-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. $7.

DINNER THEATER

Beauty and the Beast

• A larger-than-life romance between Belle, an innocent young girl with a heart of gold, and a beguiling creature whose tender soul belies his beastly exterior. Through July 3. 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday; 12:30 and 8:15 p.m. Wednesday; 12:30 and 7:15 p.m. Sunday. $25.50-$44. Toby’s Dinner Theatre, 5900 Symphony Woods Road, Columbia, Md. 301/596-6161.

Murder Upon Request

• The interactive comedy-mystery group performs plays at two locations: ?A Deadly Private Party? at Alfio’s La Trattoria, 4515 Willard Ave., Chevy Chase, and ?Just Killing Time? at the Arlington Hilton, 950 N. Stafford St., Arlington. 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday. $55. Both run indefinitely. 703/379-8108.

Mystery in Mo’town II

• Blair Mansion Mysteries performance. 7:30 p.m. May 20-21; 27-28. Blair Mansion Inn Restaurant, 7711 Eastern Ave., Silver Spring. $52.95. 301/588-6646.

DANCE

Dance Place

3225 Eighth St. NE. 202/269-1600.

• Merian Soto. 8 p.m. May 21; 7 p.m. May 22. $6-$18.

• Washington Reflection Dance Company. 8 p.m. May 24. $6-$18.

Metz Middle School

9700 Fairview Ave., Manassas. 800/955-5566.

• Manassas Dance Company, ?Giselle.? 7 p.m. May 21; 5 p.m. May 22. $32.

SOCIAL DANCING

Adelphi Mill Recreation Center

8402 Riggs Road, Adelphi. 301/699-1477.

• Square Roots square-dance-teaching club presents a series of dance lessons. 8 p.m. Monday. $32.

Avalon Studio

15 Mellor Ave., Catonsville, Md. 410/869-9771.

• Swing dancing second and fourth Saturdays. Beginners workshop 8-9 p.m., dancing 9 p.m.-midnight. $10.

• Swing dancing 8:30-10:30 p.m. Thursday. $5.

Dance Factory

954 N. Monroe St., Arlington. 703/528-9770. www.dancefactory.com.

• Beginning to advanced ballroom, Latin and swing classes. 7-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Four weeks. $59.

• Ballroom, Latin, swing combo dances. 7-10:30 p.m. Friday. $10-$11; admission includes lessons.

• Country and swing dance every second Saturday. 8:30 p.m. lesson, 9 p.m.-midnight dance. $10.

• Contemporary ballroom dances and practice parties. Saturday nights. $9-$10. Call for times.

• Social ballroom dancing. 7-10 p.m. Sunday. $9.

Dance Studio Lioudmila

18 Roth St., Alexandria. Private lessons and group classes, beginning to advanced ballroom, Latin and swing; no partners necessary. 703/751-8868.

• Tea dance, includes lesson and refreshments. 1-3:15 p.m. Fridays. $8.

• Dance party. 7:30-8:30 p.m. group class, 8:30-11 p.m. dance party. Saturdays. $10.

Friday Night Swing Dance Club

Several locations. Free refreshments. No smoking, no alcohol, no partners necessary. Dance workshops at 8 p.m. 410/583-7337. $12 admission, $10 for members.

Hollywood Ballroom

2126 Industrial Parkway, Silver Spring. 301/622-5494.

• Singles dance party. 8 p.m. lesson, 9 p.m. dance. Friday. $10-$15.

• Social ballroom dancing. 8 p.m. Wednesday, 9 p.m. Saturday. $10-$15.

• Contemporary ballroom dancing. 7 p.m. lesson, 8 p.m. dance. Sunday. $10-$15.

Irish ceili and set dancing

• Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann: Ceili. 8 p.m. second Saturday (September-June). John C. Wood Center, 3730 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax. Bogwanderers Ceili Band. $6-$12. 703/521-4340.

• Greater Washington Ceili Club: Ceili. 5-9 p.m. last Sunday of month (September-June). Cherry Hill Park Conference Center, 9800 Cherry Hill Road (north of Interstate 495), College Park. $12 adults, $8 seniors and students, $5 ages 11-15, $30 family maximum. Band members vary. 301/294-3568.

Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia

8900 Little River Turnpike, Fairfax. 703/982-0937.

• Israeli dancing with Ethan Halpern. 8-10 p.m. Tuesday. $4-$6.

Knights of Columbus Hall

6111 Columbian Way (state Route 3), Bowie.

• LA Singles Friday Dance. Large wood dance floor accommodates up to 300 singles. Music is top-40s and old favorites. Suits or dressy casual. 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. every Friday. $9. 410/721-6666 or 410-674-3737. during band break. 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. every Tuesday. $7 singles, $10 couples.