Theater and Dance

Birds

• A wealthy woman falls into the city’s urban underbelly after she gives a homeless man her lover’s coat. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Through July 29. Rorschach Theatre, 1459 Columbia Road NW. $12-$20. 202/452-5538.

Brooklyn Boy

• A successful author returns to his hometown when his father’s health fails. 1:45 and 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday; 7:45 p.m. Thursday-Friday. Through Aug. 12. Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney. $25-$46. 301/924-3400.

Democracy

• Michael Frayn’s intellectual drama of mid-century West German politics and the spy scandal that engulfed Chancellor Willy Brandt’s government. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 7:30 Sunday. Through Aug. 12. Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney. 301/924-3400.

The Drunkard

• Irish playwright Tom Murphy adapts a 19th-century American temperance play to Ireland in the 1800s. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. Through July 29. Solas Nua at Georgetown University’s Devine Theatre, Davis Arts Center, 37th and O St. NW. $15-$20. 800/494-TIXS.

Godspell

• The Gospel according to St. Matthew, told through clowning, charades and vaudeville. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 1:30 and 7:30 Saturday, 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Through July 29. Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney. $25-$46. 301/924-3400.

Hamlet

• Commanded by his father’s ghost to seek revenge, Hamlet struggles with the human and spiritual costs of pursuing justice. 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 July 29. Shakespeare Theatre Company, 450 Seventh St. NW. $19-$76.25. 202/547-1122.

Margherita

•Lovers renew a tumultuous affair after a three-year separation in pre-World War II Italy. 8:45 p.m. Friday. 1:45 p.m. Sunday. 7 p.m. Monday. Through July 29. Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St. NW. $15. 202/393-3939.

My Name is Rachel Corrie

• A monologue inspired by the true story of an American peace activist who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza. Showtimes vary. Through July 29. Contemporary American Theater Festival, Studio Theater, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, W.Va. $26-$36. Festival packages available. 800/999-2283.

1001

• This take on the classic “1001 Nights” investigates the human condition like a freely associative time machine. Showtimes vary. Through July 29. Contemporary American Theater Festival, Frank Center Theater, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, W.Va. $26-$36. Festival packages available. 800/999-2283.

The Phantom of the Opera

• Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical about a mysterious man who lives under the Paris Opera House and his obsession with a chorus girl named Christine Daae. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Through Aug. 12. Kennedy Center Opera House, F Street and New Hampshire Avenue NW. $36-$94. 202/467-4600.

The Pursuit of Happiness

• A middle-class family in Maine mounts a quest for wealth, joy and intellectual challenge. Showtimes vary. Through July 29. Contemporary American Theater Festival, Frank Center Theater, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, W.Va. $26-$36. Festival packages available. 800/999-2283.

Pygmalion

• A British linguistics expert meets his match when he transforms a cockney girl into a refined young lady. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Through Aug. 6. Quotidian Theatre Company at The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda. $20. 301/816-1023.

Reefer Madness: The Musical

•The classic parody of the 1936 anti-marijuana propaganda film of the same name. 8:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Through Aug. 5. Studio Theatre 2ndStage. 1501 14th St. NW. $35. 202/332-3300.

Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins

• The biographical tale of a tone-deaf socialite who finances her own private operas. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Sunday. Through July 29. Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. $39-$42. 202/332-3300.

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.

365 Days/365 Plays Festival

Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks’ tour de force, a play for each day of the year, presented by different arts organizations in weekly cycles of seven plays each. Week 37 performances at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. July 26. Olney Theatre Center, 641 D St. NW. Free. studiotheatre.org/365.

Three Sistahs

• The blues musical set in the 1960s showcases the lives of three “sistahs” as they revel in their past and present and look forward to their future. 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday. July 26-Sept. 9. MetroStage, 1201 North Royal St., Alexandria. $35-$38. 800/494-8497.

STAGE

Capital Fringe Festival

More than 500 performances by more than 200 companies in 30 venues July 19-29. Performance times vary by date and show. Tickets $15. Six-ticket package $75, all-access pass $300. Purchase tickets at 507 Seventh St. NW, by phone at 866/811-4111 online at capfringe.org. Selected performances include:

• “69 Ways to Fall in Love.” Basso Moderno Duo and Love Your Mother Performance Projects. Dance. Warehouse Arts, Mainstage. 1021 Seventh St. NW. Through July 29.

• “Cabaret Extraordinaire.” Dance Performance Group. Experimental dance. Atlas Performing Arts Center, Lang Theater. 1333 H St. NE. Through July 26.

• “Death Before Dying: A Modern Dance Drama.” Nautch. Dance drama. Warehouse Arts, Mainstage. 1021 Seventh St. NW. Through July 28.

• “deFINDing moments.” Floyd Project Dance Company. Atlas Performing Arts Center, Lang Theater. 1333 H St. NE. Through July 29.

• “The Lesbian and the Flying Pig.” Twenty-first Century Production. Drama. Flashpoint, Mead Theater Lab. 816 G St. NW. Through July 28.

• “On your soapbox slipping …” Paulina Guerrero. Post-modern dance. Atlas Performing Arts Center, Lang Theater. 1333 H St. NE. Through July 29.

• “One In Two.” Lynette Long. Multimedia drama. Atlas Performing Arts Center, Lab 1. 1333 H St. NE. Through July 29.

• “Our Love Is Empty.” Transport (Nicholette Routhier and Wendell Cooper). Dance. Warehouse Arts Mainstage. 1021 Seventh St. NW. Through July 28.

• “Pop Up Dances.” Momentum Dance Theatre. See Web site for locations. Through July 28.

• “Super Glossy!” Courtney McLean. Solo satire on women’s magazines. Warehouse Arts, Next Door. 1021 Seventh St. NW. Through July 28.

• “Tokaji: Works for the Living.” Weerd Sisters. Dance. Warehouse Arts, Mainstage. 1021 Seventh St. NW. Through July 29.

• “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.” The Neo-Futurists. Thirty plays in 60 minutes. Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. 641 D St. NW. Through July 29.

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 improvisational comedy sketches. 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday. $8-$12.

Heisei Nakamura-za Kabuki Troupe of Tokyo

Warner Theatre, 513 13th St. NW. 202/783-4000.

• Two performances only by Japan’s most famous theater group. 2 and 7 p.m. July 26. $65-$127. 877-407-8497.

DINNER THEATER

Here’s Killing You, Kid

Blair Mansion Mysteries performance. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday through Oct. 30. Doubletree Hotel, Crystal City, Arlington. $42.95. 888/471-4802.

Little Shop of Horrors

A down-and-out skid-row floral assistant becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving. Through Aug. 19. 8:15 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 12:30 and 7:15 p.m. Sunday. $28.50-$47. 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.

The So-So-Sopranos

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

Clue

The world’s best-known suspects come to life in the board-game-turned-musical. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Through Oct. 14. Lazy Susan Dinner Theater, 10712 Richmond Highway, Lorton. $39.95-$42.95. 703/550-7384.

DANCE

Dance Place

3225 Eighth St. NE. 202/269-1600

Gravity Optional. 8 p.m. July 29. 7 p.m. July 30. $7-$20.

Lesole’s Dance Project with Jessica Marchant and Emily Berry. 8 p.m. Aug. 5. 7 p.m Aug. 6. $20.

Joy of Motion Dance Center

Jack Guidone Theater, 5207 Wisconsin Ave. NW. 202/276-2599

Jazz Dance: An American Original. 8 p.m. July 28. 7 p.m. July 29. $12-$15.

Performance Dance Camp Showcase. 7 p.m. Aug. 4. $5.