Washington Stage Guild Unveils 40th Season Including U.S. Premiere of Joe Bravaco’s THE ONE GOOD THING

The Washington Stage Guild has announced the plays to be produced in its 40th season. The 2025-26 productions feature the U.S. premiere of Joe Bravaco’s THE ONE GOOD THING – or “Are ya’ Patrick Swayze?”, Samuel Beckett’s existential classic Happy Days, Patricia Milton’s Accused! (the third play in her Victorian Ladies Detective Collective series), and the company’s first take on George Bernard Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra in a slimmed-down version by Artistic Director Bill Largess. Performances begin September 25, 2025 at the Washington Stage Guild's home, The Undercroft Theatre in the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, 900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.

2025-2026 SEASON

THE ONE GOOD THING – or “Are ya’ Patrick Swayze?” by Joe Bravaco
Directed by Steven Carpenter, WSG Associate Artistic Director
September 25 – October 19, 2025 (Press/Opening: September 28, 2025 at 2:30pm)

Heaven may not always be what you’d expect! Brothers Jamie and Tommy share a small cottage overlooking the sea in Southern Ireland. One morning, after a violent storm, Jamie announces that he is dead…he is a ghost. Disbelieving this ridiculous claim, Tommy is convinced his brother’s delusion is simply the aftereffects of grief he suffered following their mother’s death. With wit and pathos, American playwright Bravaco explores the emotional depths of these Irish siblings as they grapple with love, grief, forgiveness – and the afterlife. U.S. Premiere.

ACCUSED! by Patricia Milton
Directed by Morgan Duncan
The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective Returns
November 20-December 14, 2025 (Press/Opening: November 23, 2025 at 2:30pm)

The Victorian Ladies ARE BACK – and yes, there’s another murder. The tenacious Detective Collective, sisters Loveday and Valeria, with American actress Katie, take on a new murder case to sleuth. Soon, the clues lead them into a dangerous web of anarchists and religious fanatics, immigrants being scapegoated, and ultimately Katie accused as the prime suspect. It’s their most daring caper yet! Welcoming back Stage Guild’s Escape from the Asylum cast and director. Area Premiere.

HAPPY DAYS by Samuel Beckett
Directed by Alan Wade
Featuring WSG Founding Company Members Lynn Steinmetz and Bill Largess (WSG Artistic Director)
January 29-February 22, 2026 (Press/Opening: February 1, 2026 at 2:30pm)

Samuel Beckett's critically acclaimed final full-length play, essentially a one-woman tragicomic monologue, has been a tour-de-force for many an actress since it’s 1961 premiere. Winnie, a woman in her 50s, is inexplicably buried waist-deep in a mound of scorched earth in a bleak landscape, while nearby, her husband Willie dozes. She spends her day going through familiar routines, endlessly chattering and reminiscing about better days almost as a vaudeville routine for one. Then a bell rings, and she starts again. Is she trapped in this cycle or free to leave? Beckett’s absurd satire about the human condition lets you ponder what it all means.

CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Bill Largess
April 9-May 3, 2026 (Press/Opening: April 12, 2025 at 2:30pm)

Caesar and Cleopatra come to Stage Guild for the first time! Under an Egyptian moon, the aging Julius Caesar meets teenage Cleopatra by chance one night. With turmoil afoot as Cleopatra and her younger brother vie for the throne, Caesar helps the young queen grow into a great ruler favoring wisdom, honor, and clemency. With the palace under siege by insurgents, Caesar might not be able to keep the country together or even escape alive -- let alone manage the headstrong Cleopatra. DC’s premiere producer of Shaw stages this slimmed down version (by artistic director Bill Largess), a riveting exploration of power, politics, vengeance, and mercy.

ABOUT THE THEATRE

Founded in 1986 by a professional company of theatre artists dedicated to producing literate, challenging works in a collegial and supportive atmosphere, the Washington Stage Guild quickly established itself as an indispensable component of the D.C. area theatre scene; recognized as early as the end of the first season (1987) by The Washington Post. The ensemble theatre company’s acclaimed repertoire of neglected classics, unfamiliar works by familiar playwrights, and stimulating new plays from around the world is presented in a style that is the Guild’s own—direct and clear, with a strong commitment to adhering to the author’s intent.