As well as being a great leisure option, going to the theater is an alternative for those who enjoy good stories of different genres. That’s why we’ve made a selection of some of the best plays on in Rio de Janeiro that you won’t want to miss!
An Almost Perfect Babysitter
This musical super-production in Rio de Janeiro is coming to an end, but there’s still time to see it!
So don’t miss ‘An Almost Perfect Nanny’, this 90s classic that tells the story of a father who, after a difficult divorce, disguises himself as the lovely and eccentric British nanny Mrs. Doubtfire in order to be closer to his children.
Actor Eduardo Sterblitch brings this iconic character to life on stage.
📅 Until 24/11 (Wednesday to Sunday)
📌 Multiplan VillageMall Theater | Avenida das Américas, 3.900 – Barra
💵 From R$ 19.80 (half-price)
Fantastical Exhibition of the Word
In this show, playwright and actress Cecilia Ripoll reflects on our relationship with words in a world dominated by images.
“If we could ask letters, syllables and sentences how they are feeling, I suppose the answers would be plural, and it is this plurality of perspectives and feelings that makes up the text of the play,” explains Cecília.
📅 21 to 24/11 (Thursday to Sunday)
📌 Espaço Cultural Sérgio Porto | Rua Visconde de Silva, next to n° 29 – Humaitá
💵 From R$20 (half-price)
Mist
After a season in São Paulo, the show ‘Névoa’ has arrived in Rio, exposing a current and worrying issue: bullying.
It also portrays violence against the LGBTQIA+ community, in which the characters are confronted with the harsh reality of their choices and the impacts of their attitudes on the digital scene.
📅 Until 26/11 (Tuesdays)
📌 Teatro dos Quatro | Rua Marquês de São Vicente, 52 – Shopping da Gávea
💵 From R$45 (half-price)
Clarice & Nelson – A biography based on interviews
Can you imagine meeting two of the greatest names in Brazilian literature? That’s the idea behind the play ‘Clarice & Nelson – A biographical excerpt based on interviews’, currently showing in Rio.
In the play, Clarice Lispector and Nelson Rodrigues have a fictitious meeting in Jardim Botânico in mid-1949, when they were still young.
This meeting didn’t happen, but the play creates these conversations from excerpts of interviews given by the writers throughout their lives, who had a lot in common in both journalism and literature.
📅 Until 18/12 (Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
📌 Teatro Poeirinha | Rua São João Batista, 104 – Botafogo
💵 From R$25 (half-price)
Tom Jobim Musical
In the year that marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Tom Jobim, an icon of the musical genre, the story of this genius of Brazilian music comes to life with the musical show ‘Tom Jobim Musical’.
Written by Nelson Motta and Pedro Brício, the show travels from the iconic Ipanema beach in the 1950s to Tom Jobim’s international achievements in New York, where he spread Bossa Nova to the world.
It also highlights his importance in the country’s musical culture!
📅 Until 15/12 (Thursday to Sunday)
📌 Teatro Casa Grande | Avenida Afrânio de Melo Franco, 290 – Leblon
💵 From R$ 42, (half-price)
Camille on the Run
The play ‘Camille on the Run’ is inspired by Monet’s famous painting, “Woman with an Umbrella”, in which the artist recorded his first wife, Camille, and their son Jean, in a poppy field.
In the show, however, the family moment recorded by the French artist raises discussions about sorority, motherhood, freedom of the body, social imprisonment, women’s fears and insecurities. All this from the sensitive relationship between three women, two human and one in oil on canvas.
Until 01/12 (Thursday to Sunday)
📌 Sesc Copacabana | Rua Domingos Ferreira, 160 – Copacabana
💵 From R$15 (half-price)
My Eyes
The play “My Eyes” tells the story of a day in the life of a couple from Rio who have lived together for eight years.
She is the mother of a prisoner who will be released the next day. He, 20 years younger than her, was the best friend of the violent young man who will be returning home and is unaware of their relationship. What kind of love remains when the harshness of life supplants any romantic fantasy?
📅 Until 30/11 (Thursday to Sunday)
📌 Espaço Abu | Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana, 249 – Loja E – Copacabana
💵 From R$25 (half-price)
The Girl in the Middle of the World – Elza Soares for Children
Did you know that, as a child living in the favela of Moça Bonita (now Vila Vintém), Elza Soares believed that the lights on the houses, cars and everything else ‘on the asphalt’ were stars? And that the girl was crazy to go down and meet the stars up close and, who knows, become a star herself ?
This story, which has already been told by the artist herself, inspired the musical “A Menina do Meio do Mundo – Elza Soares para Crianças”, which couldn’t be left out of our list of plays in Rio de Janeiro!
📅 From 16/11 to 08/12 (Saturdays and Sundays)
📌 Ecovilla Ri Happy | Rua Jardim Botânico, 1.008 – Jardim Botânico
💵 From R$40 (half-price)
Jungle: Solitude
A fast food worker, a call boy and a retired university professor: three gay men whose lives intersect.
Through the trajectories and relationships established between them, the play ‘Selva: Solidão’ invites the audience to reflect on the effects of growing up as an LGBTQIAPN+ person in a heteronormative world, and on the constant feeling of loneliness present in the community.
📅 Until 27/11 (Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
📌 Teatro Ziembinski | Rua Urbano Duarte – Tijuca
💵 From R$20 (half-price)
The King of Rock – The Musical
On the stage of the recently reopened Teatro João Caetano, the musical ‘The King of Rock’ arrives this month for a special short season at popular prices.
That’s why you can’t miss this show that recaptures key moments in Elvis Presley‘s history, from his first recording at the age of 18 to the height of his fame and the sad end of his life at the age of 42.
📅 From 15/11 to 08/12 (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays)
📌 Teatro João Caetano | Praça Tiradentes, s/n – Centro
💵 From R$2.50 (half-price)
So, which of these plays in Rio de Janeiro are you going to see?