You can find the curtains rising on everything from beloved musicals to national debuts, new dramatic voices, and creative shows for kids at theaters and performance venues throughout Montgomery County.
Adventure Theatre MTC
The theater presents professional productions for children and offers training for budding actors and actresses. The musical Fantastagirl and the Math Monster was its best-selling show of 2022.
7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, 301-634-2270, adventuretheatre-mtc.org
AMP by Strathmore
Top-selling concerts at the club have included Shades of Django, Two Pianos: Mark G. Meadows and James Fernando, and The String Queens.
11810 Grand Park Ave., North Bethesda, 301-581-5100, strathmore.org/our-spaces/amp
Arts Barn
The horse stable–turned–visual and performing arts center, offers a stage for community performances of all types and classes for children and adults. Magic, comedy and improv shows, concerts, musical theater and dramas have all been presented here.
311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg, 301-258-6394, gaithersburgmd.gov
Bethesda Theater
Formerly a historic art deco movie palace, the venue was home to the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club until July 2023, when it rebranded to more fully encompass the variety of genres that are featured there. The blues and jazz haven’t gone away, but now there are also Motown, R&B, rock and comedy acts. Sellouts have included Chanté Moore, The Isley Brothers, Brian McKnight.
7719 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, 240-330-4500, bethesdatheater.com
BlackRock Center for the Arts
Established in 2002 as a home for performing and visual arts, the venue has evolved to present concerts by regional, national and international talent plus contemporary theatrical performances and its own professional productions. Best-selling shows have included the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and the Ladies of Hip Hop Drag Show.
12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, 301-528-2260, blackrockcenter.org
Cultural Arts Center–Montgomery College
The complex includes a 500-seat theater and concert hall, and a 116-seat lecture hall and lab theater space. See future professionals perfect their craft in student productions, or catch a regional or national touring act, such as the musical show Fairytales on Ice, which covered the stage with a synthetic “ice” surface, allowing performers to skate.
7995 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, 240-567-5775, mcblogs.montgomerycollege.edu/cac
The Fillmore Silver Spring
A spin-off of the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco, the 2,000-capacity venue honors its rock ’n’ roll heritage with vintage posters on the walls and large chandeliers hanging over the dance floor, a nod to the original. In the past year, notable acts included Lil Wayne, Ava Max, Bryson Tiller, Brett Young, and Coheed and Cambria.
8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, 301-960-9999, fillmoresilverspring.com
F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre
The 428-seat theater is the home stage for community groups including Rockville Musical Theatre, Rockville Little Theatre, Rockville Civic Ballet, Victorian Lyric Opera Co. and Rockville Chorus. National touring groups also perform there occasionally.
603 Edmonston Drive, Rockville, 240-314-8690, rockvillemd.gov/382/F-Scott-Fitzgerald-Theatre
Imagination Stage
Imagination Stage offers year-round professional theater for young audiences, and also classes in acting, musical theater and dance for ages 1-18. In 2023, Aquarium and Wake Up, Brother Bear, shows for children ages 1 to 4, sold out, and the musical Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience for kids age 5 and older won a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences.
4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda, 301-961-6060, imaginationstage.org
Olney Theatre Center
A professional regional theater, Olney Theatre Center offers productions year-round. In the 2022-2023 season, the theater saw a record number of sellouts, including performances of 2022’s Beauty and the Beast. Olney won five Helen Hayes awards in 2023. Its outdoor summer season includes cabaret, comedy, drag shows, movies and concerts.
2001 Olney Sandy Spring Road, Olney, 301-924-3400, olneytheatre.org
Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center
On the Rockville campus of Montgomery College, the center hosts concerts, dance and theatrical productions by student, community and touring groups. Performances by the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine; Dublin Irish Dance; and Bruce Campbell all sold out in the 2022-2023 season. 51 Mannakee St., Rockville, 240-567-5301, mcblogs.montgomerycollege.edu/reppac
Round House Theatre
With more than 200 nominations for Helen Hayes Awards and 42 wins through 2023, Round House Theatre presents a six-show season of new plays, modern classics and musicals, including many world and regional premieres.
4545 East West Highway, Bethesda, 240-644-1100, roundhousetheatre.org
Silver Spring Black Box Theatre
The intimate space is home to the Theatre Consortium of Silver Spring, which includes resident companies. The theater hosts everything from magic, improv and stand-up comedy shows to plays, concerts, dance shows and youth performances.
8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, 301-588-8279, silverspringblackbox.com
Silver Spring Stage
Silver Spring Stage is a community theater with a mission to present contemporary plays. It produces a season of full-length productions and a one-act festival. The 2022-2023 season included Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson.
10145 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, 301-593-6036, ssstage.org
Strathmore
The Music Center presents major international folk, blues, pop, R&B, jazz, world and classical music, and show tunes artists. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the National Philharmonic also perform there. Popular shows of the 2022-2023 season included Afro-Cuban All Stars, The Manhattan Transfer, Mandy Patinkin and Angélique Kidjo.
5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda
The Mansion, built in 1899, consists of the 100-seat Dorothy M. and Maurice C. Shapiro Music Room, a tearoom, The Shop at Strathmore and art galleries.
10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, 301-581-5100, strathmore.org
The Puppet Co. Playhouse
The 200-seat theater presents professional puppetry productions based on fairy tales and classic children’s literature, plus a variety of Tiny Tots performances designed for children 18 months to 4 years old.
7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, 301-634-5380, thepuppetco.org
This story appears in the 2023-2024 Insider’s Guide.
