Beginning on October 7 and running through November 1, 2026, Theater J brings The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk to the stage. The DC premiere is written by Daniel Jamieson and directed by Theater J Artistic Director Hayley Finn.
Before the paintings, poems, and fame, Bella and Marc Chagall were two young dreamers whose love transformed the world around them. Through music, movement, and theatrical magic, their journey unfolds from a small Jewish town to a vivid landscape of imagination, devotion, and resilience. Tender, whimsical, and visually enchanting, The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is a love story that reminds us how art and love can lift us beyond the gravity of everyday life.
The play was originally produced by the world-renowned British theater company, Kneehigh, and was hailed as “gorgeous” by The New York Times and “a heart-lifting, heart-piercing delight” by The Stage. Theater J’s production will feature live music by Ian Ross and Sarah O’Halloran and aerialist performances choreographed by Gwynne Flanagan, bringing Daniel Jamieson’s passionate words to life for the first time in DC. The play is constructed in such a way that it begins with Marc Chagall as an older man looking back on his life and telling the story of his relationship with his love and muse, Bella, through the kaleidoscope of time.
The cast of The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is centered around the characters of Bella and Marc, played by acclaimed DC actors Dani Stoller (This Much I Know, Hester Street) and Jamie Smithson (Appropriate, Frozen, At the Wedding, Arcadia). The performance also includes the unique aspects of live music performed by musicians Jeremy Allen Crawford and Katrina Michaels and breathtaking aerialist performances by Thomas Martin and Rachael Small.
Artistic Director Hayley Finn shares, “I was drawn to the play because it felt like entering one of Chagall’s paintings; it was filled with mystery, love, Jewish culture, and history, and through gorgeous imagery, movement, and music has a transcendent quality that, in my mind, is much like a shared dream. This production is truly a love letter to the theater.”
“This is an extraordinary collaboration between circus arts and live performance,” said Choreographer Gwynne Flanagan, “to have the aerialist performers not only as spectacle on stage but as part of the storytelling and the emotional narrative of the play is incredibly innovative and unlike anything that’s been on stage in DC in decades.”
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk runs October 7 – November 1, 2026, presented by Theater J in the Edlavitch DCJCC’s Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theatre, 1529 16th St NW, Washington, DC. Single ticket prices for regular tickets start at $69. Discount tickets are available for groups of 8+, EDCJCC members, preview performances, students, educators, military personnel, and U.S. Veterans. $5 Community Access Tickets are available to individuals who receive government assistance through state-issued EBT cards (EBT is not accepted as a form of payment, only as proof of status). Purchase tickets online or call the ticket office at 202-777-3210.
About Theater J
Theater J is a nationally renowned, professional theater that celebrates, explores, and struggles with the complexities and nuances of both the Jewish experience and the universal human condition. As the nation’s largest and most prominent Jewish theater, Theater J aims to preserve and expand a rich Jewish theatrical tradition and to create community and commonality through theater-going experiences.
About the Edlavitch DCJCC
Theater J is a proud program of the Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center (EDCJCC). Guided by Jewish values and heritage, the EDCJCC engages individuals and families through its cultural, recreational, educational, and social justice programs by welcoming people of all backgrounds to connect, learn, serve, and be entertained together in ways that reflect the unique role of the Center in the nation’s capital.
THEATER J INFORMATION
LOCATION: Edlavitch DCJCC’s Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater (1529 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC). Four blocks east of Dupont Circle.
PARKING: The latest information on available parking in the area can be found at edcjcc.org/theater-j/visit/
METRO: Dupont Circle Station Red line
TICKET OFFICE: 202.777.3210 or email boxoffice@edcjcc.org
