angela n.
Yelp
Fine contemporary space for DC's best contemporary theater. I haven't had a bad seat in the house, and Studio consistently puts on high-quality shows. Recent plays I've really liked include Charlie Victor Romeo, Fat Pig, Guantanamo, and Frozen. All had top notch actors. All had thought-provoking themes (voyeurism, prejudice against fat people, terror suspects' rights, and free will, respectively) that had me and my friends discussing (arguing?) long after the shows ended. Now you won't see your favorite TV and screen stars like you would in the NY or LA plays (e.g. Fat Pig in NYC featured the amazing Jeremy Piven, oh how I have NY-envy!), but Studio offers much more intimate and affordable theater. Keep an eye out for the Pay What You Wish matinees (usually the first Saturday of a new show's run). This page will give you a heads up on those: http://dctheatrescene.com/hot-tickets/
Update 1/6/2007: Just saw Labute's dark comedy "This is How it Goes," whose power to disturb really sneaks up on you. It has a most unreliable narrator who withholds crucial details, tells his stories out of order, and uses deception so often that we're never sure if what we see on stage is really "how it went." This character is by turns charmingly sweet and viciously prejudiced -- the actor shockingly bares the racism that can seethe just under the surface of even the most educated, polite, apparently normal people. If I'd seen this play a few months ago, I would have found it dated and unrealistic - surely people these days would never say the stuff Labute's characters say, would they? But now, after the real-life Kramer n-word episode, I have to sadly admit that this play has some relevance.