Molly Smith News

PlayMakers Repertory Company proudly announces its 2016/17 Season.  Dynamic plays from three important women playwrights, plus a landmark drama by Arthur Miller, a romantic Shakespearean romp and a beloved musical masterpiece will highlight the new Mainstage Season from PlayMakers Repertory Company. The new season is the first selected for the theater by Vivienne Benesch, PlayMakers' new  Producing Artistic Director.

Arena Stage just announced an exciting, starry 2016/17 season, which will showcase the theater's mission of American voices and artists.

Wide Eyed Productions and Mastodon Theatre Company will present the world premiere of KEEP by Francesca Pazniokas. Directed by Stephanie C. Cunningham, previews begin April 7 at TBG Theatre. Opening night is slated for Friday, April 14.

Arena Stage announces casting for the final production of the 2015/16 season, Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Disgraced. Director Timothy Douglas (Arena's King Hedley II) tackles this emotionally-charged play by Akhtar, author of the novel 'American Dervish' and currently the most produced playwright in the United States. Hailed as 'emotionally shattering, a smart and provocative work of unusual daring that should be seen by anyone who cares about serious theater' by Newsday, Disgraced runs April 22-May 29, 2016 in the Kreeger Theater.

When Anthony Giardina's The City of Conversation opened at New York's Lincoln Center Theater in 2014, the depiction of a Georgetown political salon seemed so perfectly reflective of Washington, Arena Stage's Molly Smith rushed to get it staged here, and even succeeded in obtaining the same director, Doug Hughes.

Robert Schenkkan's Tony Award-winning drama All the Way, about President Lyndon Baines Johnson's impassioned struggle to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, makes its Washington, D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Kyle Donnelly, who has directed more than 20 productions at Arena Stage, returns to helm this "sure-fire, action packed hit" (Huffington Post) about a country still reeling from the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the man tasked with calming the storm. Hailed as a "sensational night of theater" (NPR), All the Way runs April 1-May 8, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage.

Anthony Giardina's Off-Broadway smash hit THE CITY OF CONVERSATION, about a Georgetown political hostess, makes its Washington, D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater beginning tonight, January 29. Following his direction of the 2014 world premiere at Lincoln Center Theater, Tony Award winner Doug Hughes returns to direct this political drama spanning three decades, from Carter's presidency through the Reagan era and ending with Obama's inauguration. THE CITY OF CONVERSATION runs through March 6, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces three projects that have been selected for the 2015/16 Kogod Cradle Series as part of the American Voices New Play Institute. Focused on the development of new plays and devised work by artists from the Greater Washington, D.C. area and around the country, this series of readings and workshops invites artists and audiences to actively explore the new work development process.

The new drama SWEAT by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (Ruined; By The Way, Meet Vera Stark) comes toArena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater following a critically-acclaimed debut at Oregon Shakespeare Festival as part of a co-commission between the two theaters. The play is directed by Nottage's longtime collaboratorKate Whoriskey and runs January 15-February 21, 2016 in the Kreeger Theater. Check out photos from opening night below!

The new drama SWEAT by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (Ruined; By The Way, Meet Vera Stark) comes to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater following a critically-acclaimed debut at Oregon Shakespeare Festival as part of a co-commission between the two theaters. The play is directed by Nottage's longtime collaborator Kate Whoriskey and runs tonight, January 15, through February 21, 2016 in the Kreeger Theater. The company just kicked off rehearsals, and BroadwayWorld has photos below!

Award-winning singer/songwriter Benjamin Scheuer's solo musical The Lion makes its Washington, D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Scheuer uses his guitar-actually, six guitars-to take audiences on a rock 'n' roll journey and tell a heartwarming coming-of-age story that explores his transition from boyhood to manhood. Called an "irresistible winner" and "deeply moving" by New York Daily News, The Lion is presented in association with Eva Price and runs February 26-April 10, 2016 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.

In 1949, Death of a Salesman explored the disillusionment of the American dream. Arena Stage's new play Sweat will expand on that theme and the adversity experienced by one community as rumors of layoffs swirl at a local steel mill.

The new drama SWEAT by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (Ruined; By The Way, Meet Vera Stark) comes to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater following a critically-acclaimed debut at Oregon Shakespeare Festival as part of a co-commission between the two theaters. The play is directed by Nottage's longtime collaborator Kate Whoriskey and runs January 15-February 21, 2016 in the Kreeger Theater. The company just kicked off rehearsals, and BroadwayWorld has photos below!

Arena Stage and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE) will host the Devise and Conquer Symposium this weekend, January 8-10, 2016, a hands-on symposium to explore a variety of approaches to devising original theater.

The PGA has announced its nominations for the 27th Annual Producers Guild Awards Winners will be announced January 23 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

Anthony Giardina's Off-Broadway smash hit THE CITY OF CONVERSATION, about a Georgetown political hostess, makes its Washington, D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Following his direction of the 2014 world premiere at Lincoln Center Theater, Tony Award winner Doug Hughes returns to direct this political drama spanning three decades, from Carter's presidency through the Reagan era and ending with Obama's inauguration. THE CITY OF CONVERSATION runs January 29-March 6, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage. The company just kicked off rehearsals and you can check out photos below!

New Musicals at 54 is a series presented by Feinstein's/ 54 Below Programming Director Jennifer Ashley Tepper. Some of the 10 new and diverse musicals by a selection of today's most talented writers have had out-of-town productions, some have had workshops... now's your chance to be first to see them in NYC! Join us at New Musicals at 54 for one-night-only concerts celebrating each new show with songs, behind-the-scenes stories, and all-star casts!

Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie are pleased to announce An Evening with Ana Gasteyer, an exclusive celebration that includes the inaugural presentation of the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award, Monday, May 9, 2016 at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 Sixth St., SW).

Anthony Giardina's Off-Broadway smash hit THE CITY OF CONVERSATION, about a Georgetown political hostess, makes its Washington, D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Following his direction of the 2014 world premiere at Lincoln Center Theater, Tony Award winner Doug Hughes returns to direct this political drama spanning three decades, from Carter's presidency through the Reagan era and ending with Obama's inauguration. THE CITY OF CONVERSATION runs January 29-March 6, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage.