WE TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING!
NO DRIVING. NO PARKING. NO WORRIES!
That’s right! Our ever-popular UMW Theatre Road Trips are back this season! Join us for exceptional performances in Washington, D.C.
We make it easy for you! Park your car at duPont Hall and board our charter bus where your host will talk with you about the production you are about to experience as you travel to the theatre. The bus will drop you at the front door and will return to pick you up. On the way home, your host will lead you and your fellow theatregoers in a post-performance discussion about the show.
Come along for the ride—going to the theatre in Washington could not be easier!
Merrily We Roll Along
music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by George Furth
Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 2 pm • Signature Theatre
Sondheim’s masterwork about friendship, ambition, and the compromises that shape a life takes the Signature stage again after 20 years and is directed by Matthew Gardiner. Told in reverse chronological order, the musical follows three longtime friends as they navigate idealism, loyalty, and disappointment over the course of twenty years. The successes and failures of their adulthoods unwind as the cynicism of age erases back to the glowing optimism of youth. Crackling with wit and a rich musical score, Sondheim’s gem features the gorgeous songs “Our Time,” “Good Thing Going,” and “Not a Day Goes By.”
Come From Away
book, music & lyrics by Irene Sankoff & David Hein
Sunday, October 4, 2026, at 1 pm • Ford’s Theatre
Ten years after making its Ford’s Theatre debut, Tony Award-winning Come From Away returns to our historic stage and tells the heart-warming true story of how a small Canadian town cared for 6,579 airline passengers stranded there on 9/11. When 38 planes were diverted to its doorstep, the town of Gander doubled in size, playing host to an international community of strangers and offering food, shelter and friendship. Featuring a rousing score of folk and rock, Come From Away honors the better angels of our nature, revealing hope and humanity in a time of darkness.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by William Shakespeare • Sunday, Dec 13, 2026, at 2 pm
The Shakespeare Theatre Company
Lives are thrown topsy-turvy when four young Athenians flee into a forest ruled by mischievous fairies hell-bent on sowing confusion and merriment. Add a mysterious love potion, a befuddled group of amateur actors, and the miraculous transformation of a man into a donkey and you have Shakespeare’s most magical romantic comedy. Simon Godwin directs this joyous production, surrounding the acting company with eye-popping puppets directed and designed by Basil Twist (My Neighbour Totoro, Petrushka).
The Secret Garden
book & lyrics by Marsha Norman, music by Lucy Simon
Sunday, January 24, 2027, at 2pm • Signature Theatre
Lucy Simon and Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman’s Tony Award-winning musical adaptation of the classic Victorian novel receives a gorgeous new production shaped for Signature’s intimate stage. After losing her parents, 11-year-old Mary is sent to live with a wealthy, reclusive uncle she’s never met. As she explores his manor on the wild hills of England’s moors, Mary unearths many secrets, from the haunted inhabitants to the magic of a dormant garden. Sadness fades with the blossoms of spring as Mary’s determination to revive the garden’s beauty transforms the entire household. Enchanting and heartfelt, with a radiant score, including songs “Lily’s Eyes,” “Come to My Garden” and “How Could I Ever Know,” The Secret Garden is a life-affirming testament that seasons of loss will one day bloom into joy.
A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry • Sunday, Feb. 21, 2027, at 2pm
The Shakespeare Theatre Company
Love, struggle, and shelved dreams bind the Younger family under their single roof on the South Side of 1950s Chicago. When a life insurance check arrives after the death of their father, it sparks a chance to break free—but each family member sees a different future, and the choices they make test everything they believe about identity, pride, and possibility. As urgent now as when it first debuted in 1959, witness this powerful revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s seminal work that The New York Times called “The play that changed American theatre forever.”
Purpose
by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins • Sunday, March 21, 2027, at 2pm • Arena Stage
One unexpected overnight visit is all it takes to crack the carefully protected legacy of one of America’s most powerful Black political families. Meet the Jaspers—a Black political dynasty of civil rights leaders, pastors, and congressmen who have long anchored Black American life. But beneath the surface, cracks and secrets simmer. When the youngest son, Naz, returns home with an unexpected guest, long-buried resentment boils over, fracturing the family’s foundation. Wickedly smart, outrageously funny, and ultimately devastating, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Purpose is a provocative, deeply felt exploration of legacy, belonging, and the cost of believing in something bigger than yourself.
When you purchase a UMW Theatre Road Trip ticket, you are securing a ticket to the performance, but you will not receive your ticket to the performance until we arrive at the theatre. This is part of taking the worry out of the trip for you. We will be responsible for everything until you arrive. You will also receive an email (typically on Monday or Tuesday) prior to that week’s Road Trip. If you do not receive an email by Wednesday, please email Taryn Snyder at tsnyder3@umw.edu to be sure we have the correct information. We will be using the email address that you use when you purchase your tickets, so please be sure this is an email address you check regularly. We are committed to making this as easy as possible for you!
Specific information will be relayed to Road Trippers via email about departure and return times from the theatre.
Buses usually depart Fredericksburg at 12 pm (posted times are show start times), and return no later than 6 pm.
We will keep you posted on all information as your trip approaches.
FredTix Convenience Fees and Handling Fees apply to Road Trip tickets.
A $7 per ticket convenience fee will apply to all UMW Theatre and UMW Theatre Road Trip tickets.
All sales are final. No refunds. No exchanges.
