THE FLYING LOVERS OF VITEBSK to Open Theater J Season

Theater J will present the DC premiere of Daniel Jamieson's The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, beginning October 7 and running through November 1, 2026. Theater J Artistic Director Hayley Finn will direct.

The play follows the relationship between artist Marc Chagall and his wife and muse, Bella, using music and movement to trace their lives from their youth in Vitebsk through Chagall's later reflections on their relationship. The play begins with an older Chagall looking back on his life and revisiting their story through time and memory.

Dani Stoller will play Bella opposite Jamie Smithson as Marc. The production will also feature musicians Jeremy Allen Crawford and Katrina Michaels and aerialists Thomas Martin and Rachael Small.

Live music is by Ian Ross and Sarah O'Halloran, with aerial choreography by Gwynne Flanagan. The incorporation of aerial performance will place the circus artists within the storytelling and emotional narrative of the play.

“I was drawn to the play because it felt like entering one of Chagall's paintings; it was filled with mystery, love, Jewish culture, and history, and through gorgeous imagery, movement, and music has a transcendent quality that, in my mind, is much like a shared dream,” said Finn. “This production is truly a love letter to the theater.”

“This is an extraordinary collaboration between circus arts and live performance,” said Flanagan. “To have the aerialist performers not only as spectacle on stage but as part of the storytelling and the emotional narrative of the play is incredibly innovative and unlike anything that's been on stage in DC in decades.”

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk was originally produced by British theater company Kneehigh.

Press Night will take place October 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk start at $69, with discounts available for groups of eight or more, EDCJCC members, preview performances, students, educators, military personnel and U.S. veterans. $5 Community Access Tickets are available to individuals who receive government assistance through state-issued EBT cards.