Signature Theatre’s 2024-2025 season in Arlington, Virginia, will feature five musicals and two plays, four of which are D.C.-area premieres.

The 35th season will launch August 6–September 15 in the MAX Theatre with the D.C. premiere of the musical Soft Power, featuring a book and lyrics by Tony winner David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) and music and additional lyrics by Tony winner Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Kimberly Akimbo). Signature Associate Artistic Director Ethan Heard will direct the musical, which is set after the 2016 election, when a Chinese American playwright is attacked by an unknown assailant and hallucinates a King and I-esque Golden Age musical comedy about a Chinese theatre producer and Hillary Clinton falling in love.

The new season in the ARK Theatre will kick off with the D.C. premiere of Eboni Booth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Primary Trust, running September 10–October 20. Taylor Reynolds will direct the play, which is set in Wally's Tiki Bar and follows Kenneth, whose job loss upends his static existence. In this story of finding connection and moving forward, Kenneth must discover the courage to change his life.

READ: Eboni Booth's Primary Trust Wins 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

The Stephen Sondheim-Burt Shevelove-Larry Gelbart musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum—the 1963 Tony winner for Best Musical—will end the year in the MAX, beginning performances October 29, 2024, and continuing through January 12, 2025. Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner will direct the comedic musical, which is based on the work of Roman playwright Plautus and follows the exploits of a quick-thinking Roman slave, a braggart soldier, a beautiful courtesan, a lovesick young man, and more.

Max Wolf Friedlich’s Job, which just announced a summer engagement on Broadway, will play Signature's ARK January 28–March 16. Gardiner will also direct this psychological thriller about an employee at a big tech company who, placed on leave after becoming the subject of a viral video, arrives in the office of a crisis therapist determined to be reinstated to the job that gives her life meaning.

Another Tony-winning musical will be presented at the Signature beginning February 11, when Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes' joyful In the Heights begins performances in the MAX. Directed by James Vásquez, the 2008 hit following the diverse residents of Washington Heights—all with their own dreams—will continue through May 4.

The final performance in the ARK will be John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, running April 15–June 22. Heard will direct the cult classic rock musical, which follows performer Hedwig, as she tells her story in her own terms, including growing up in Communist East Germany, the botched sex change operation that allowed her to come to the United States, and life beyond the binary. 

The 2024-2025 Signature season will conclude with the D.C. premiere of The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical, June 3–July 13 in the MAX. Tony winner Christopher Ashley will direct the Joe Iconis-Gregory S. Moss musical about the infamous author, who "invents Gonzo journalism, attempts to take down a corrupt president, and quests for equality for his fellow weirdos, outsiders, and freaks," according to press notes.

Signature’s Cabaret Series will include Summertime: Awa Sal Secka Sings Ladies of Jazz (July 23–August 4, 2024), I’ll Take You There: Stax Record Co. (November 12–24, 2024), and You’ve Got a Friend: Women Pop Songwriters (July 2–13, 2025).

Casting and additional creative team members will be announced for the upcoming season at a later date.

"For 35 years, Signature has been an important voice in championing new work, especially in musical theatre,” said Signature Theatre Artistic Director Gardiner in a statement. “This year, we are proud to share four D.C. premieres with our audiences as well as beloved musicals in all new productions. Soft Power and The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical are two new musicals receiving their second productions here at Signature. Eboni Booth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Primary Trust, will have its D.C. premiere in our intimate ARK Theatre, while Max Wolf Friedlich’s critically acclaimed hit, Job, will receive its regional premiere this January fresh off a recently announced Broadway run. In its 35th season, Signature continues to demonstrate the ambitious range of its programming.”

Season subscription packages are now on sale; single tickets for the entire season will go on sale mid-July. Visit Sigtheatre.org/Subscribe.