Ben is an avid theatergoer who has seen more than 350 musicals and plays. Some of his most memorable theatrical experiences include: accidentally insulting Andrew Lloyd Webber at a performance of Love Never Dies, attending the last Broadway performance of Elaine Stritch at Liberty and watching George Bizet’s opera The Pearl Fishers from the Presidential Box at the Kennedy Center Opera House.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Ben works for a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, and previously served in The White House. Ben has a Bachelor of Arts degree from George Mason University and a Master’s degree in strategic public relations from The George Washington University.
Rather than simply characterized as a comedy or tragedy, this Winter's Tale is a poignant tale about forgiveness, the passage of time and folly of old men.
It is not uncommon for actors to have multiple credits at the same theatre. However, to say that David Emerson Toney has appeared at Arena Stage several times would be a bit of an understatement.
So "start the car, I know a whoopee spot. Where the gin is cold, but the piano's hot," and it is Keegan Theatre.
Giuseppe Verdi's epic opera is being staged for the first time in two decades at WNO and features a sterling cast in a grand production.
It is wrong to keep a lady waiting, and in this case, a mistake to miss her altogether.
As a nation, we owe it to ourselves to ponder how men who advocated for liberty could also advocate for slavery. It is a question for serious discussion, not just the cursory glances provided by Jefferson's Garden.
In The Great Society, we follow Johnson as he seeks to pass his landmark legislative anti-poverty programs, the Great Society, while struggling to deal with a military quagmire in Vietnam and domestic strife over ongoing civil rights issues.
Led by the sensational Michael Urie, Director Michael Kahn has given us a Hamlet for our times.
When Mary Kathryn Nagle's play Sovereignty begins performances at Arena Stage later this week, they'll hear something rarer than an original musical and of immense importance to America's history and story the Cherokee Language.
Washington is awash in holiday parties this month; however you'd be remiss to skip the celebration of life, dance, art, and Gershwin that is the swanky touring production of An American in Paris.
From the cast to the production design, Theater J's production is as good as it gets. We just wish Uhry's play was the same way.
Watching Top Girls you can't help but have a feeling of d j vu that many of the issues raised by Churchill are still ongoing. You also have a sense of sadness that little progress seems to have been made. Still, and despite that problematic third act, Top Girls remains timely and relevant.
Starting November 10, Theresa Cunningham gets to channel the pioneering songstress and make her Arena Stage debut with the East Coast premiere of Nina Simone: Four Women. Before there was Bono or John Lennon, there was Nina Simone and Christina Ham's new play follows her transformation from artist, to artist and activist.
Part history lesson, party fantasy, all-around study of when the American dream goes disastrously wrong, NextStop Theatre's aim is ambitious with Assassins and they not only hit the target, they nail the bullseye.
Ford's Theatre's must-see production is raw and gripping in its emotional intensity. Led by Craig Wallace's powerhouse performance as Willy Loman, Miller's Pulitzer Prize winning play is as relevant now, maybe more so, in its questioning of the American dream as it was when it first opened.
Skeleton Crew has all the makings of a great drama: vibrant characters, crackling dialogue, and an engaging and identifiable story, which is why it is such a shame that the play fails to achieve the heart wrenching effect of Lynn Nottage's Sweat or Arthur Miller's Death of Salesman.
We have all had them. Whether they were the apartment down the hall that blasted their stereo or the house next door that held parties till the wee small hours of the morning, everyone has had a problem neighbor. And while many a comedy has taken place when the mantra 'good fences makes good neighbors' goes south, Native Gardens aims to do much more than make people laugh. When Native Gardens begins performances at Arena Stage next week it hopes to start a conversation.
Director Eric Schaeffer has found the intimacy, charm and humor that was sorely lacking in the 2009 Broadway revival, restoring Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's musical to its full glory.
Lincoln Center's epic and sweeping production of The King and I is Broadway done right and not to be missed!
If you are in need of a pick-me-up or a fun night out, pack a picnic and head to Wolf Trap for a trip down the aisle you'll never forget.
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