Best of Arlington 2020

Live Theater

A Signature production of Billy Elliot. Photo by Christopher Mueller

For three decades, this Tony Award-winning beacon for the performing arts has staged some of the best-loved and most thought-provoking shows in musical theater, from West Side Story and My Fair Lady to Angels in America and The Scottsboro Boys. It also has championed dozens of new works through initiatives such as The American Musical Voices Project and SigWorks, and takes its outreach seriously—in 2019, Signature’s menu of educational programs served some 3,200 students and adults alike. Though the theater once made its home in a dormant auto garage on Four Mile Run, today its high-wattage lights shine out on the glittering Village at Shirlington. And yet, for all the glitz, the company led by artistic director Eric Schaeffer and managing director Maggie Boland still strives for relatability. As associate artistic director Matthew Gardiner recently told Arlington Magazine, Signature’s winter production of A Chorus Line aims to be “as honest and fresh as possible.” –Eliza Berkon

sigtheatre.org

Other top vote-getters:

Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse

Encore Stage & Studio

The State Theatre

Synetic Theater