Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces casting for Octavio Solis' Mother Road, a sequel to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Mother Road premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2019 and will run at Arena Stage from February 7 - March 8, 2020 in the iconic in-the-round Fichandler Stage.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the company for A Thousand Splendid Suns, adapted for the stage by Ursula Rani Sarma and based on the 2007 New York Times bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini (Kite Runner). Set in 1992 in war-torn Afghanistan, this gripping story centers around a friendship that develops between two Afghan women following a tragedy. While facing insurmountable odds of a brutal and oppressive way of life, the two form an unlikely bond in a heart-rending fight for survival. Directed by Carey Perloff, A Thousand Splendid Suns runs January 17 - March 1, 2020 in the Kreeger Theater.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces casting for Disney's Tony Award-winning musical Newsies, an inspiring story about kids who fight for what is right at the turn of the century, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman and book by Harvey Fierstein. Inspired by the real-life Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City, this family-friendly musical follows the story of newsboys and newsgirls who dream of a better life and lead a crusade for justice. Just in time for the holidays, the score features fan favorites, including 'King of New York,' 'Carrying the Banner' and 'Seize the Day.' Newsies, directed by Molly Smith, with choreography by Parker Esse and music direction by Laura Bergquist, will run November 1-December 22, 2019 in the iconic in-the-round Fichandler Stage.
Mary Kathryn Nagle's world premiere play Crossing Mnisose weaves together Sacajawea's story with that of the contemporary fight to protect the Mnisose (what Europeans named the Missouri River) from the Dakota Access Pipeline. As in her celebrated playsManahatta and Sovereignty, Nagle draws a clear, urgent line between the past and the present. Nagle's frequent collaborator Molly Smith (Sovereignty at Arena Stage) will direct.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb, Croatia and the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, sent four Arena Stage Voices of Now (VON) devisers/directors to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina for three weeks from January 26-February 17, 2019. The artists worked with three ensembles of young people, two in Croatia and one in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and through workshops and rehearsals, three original plays were created and performed by the ensembles. The U.S. Ambassador to Croatia attended one of the performances featuring the Croatia ensemble's piece, and much to the students' delight, they were featured on the evening news.
Theater Alliance launches Season 16 with the WORD BECOMES ACTION FESTIVAL. Building on the success of last year's inaugural festival, this second annual festival explores themes from upcoming productions and bringing together performances, readings, and workshops to illuminate divergent perspectives. The festival is made possible thanks to the support of The Revada Foundation and DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
Arena Stage presents the D.C.-area premiere of Turn Me Loose, Gretchen Law's intimate, no-holds-barred drama about the extraordinary and explosive life of Dick Gregory, who spent his later years in the nation's capital.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Director Edgar Dobie announce that Anita Maynard-Losh, who is entering her 15th season with the organization, will become Senior Artistic Advisor in addition to responsibilities under her current title of Director of Community Engagement.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full cast and creative team for the world-premiere musical Snow Child, based on Eowyn Ivey's Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel. Infused with a score that combines Alaskan string band-traditions with contemporary musical theater, Snow Child follows a couple rebuilding their lives in the Alaskan wilderness when they meet a magical and mysterious snow child who transforms them.
In March more than 130 community engagement practitioners, educators and artists from 26 states and 76 organizations will convene at Milwaukee Repertory Theater for the Intersections Summit, a first of its kind conference for regional theaters.
The World-Premiere of SOVEREIGNTY opened January 12th and runs through February 18th at Arena Stage as part of the Women's Voices Theater Festival. Mary Kathryn Nagle's play, which features flashbacks spanning to the 1830s, follows a modern-day Native American woman, trying to use her powers as a lawyer to restore rights to the Cherokee Nation. SOVEREIGNTY explores anger over injustice, and how long it takes things to reach a boiling point.
The World-Premiere of Mary Kathryn Nagle's SOVEREIGNTY is currently playing at Arena Stage as part of the Women's Voices Theater Festival. The play, which features flashbacks spanning to the 1830s, follows a modern-day Native American woman, trying to use her powers as a lawyer to restore rights to the Cherokee Nation. SOVEREIGNTY opened January 12th and runs through February 18th.
Milwaukee Repertory Theater will host the first of its kind, Intersections Summit, a national convening for community engagement practitioners in regional theaters across the country.
Good fences make good neighbors...right? Neighborly rivalry escalates into an all-out border dispute in Karen Zacar as' newest hot-button comedy Native Gardens, which makes its D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Blake Robison directs this hilarious new play about the clash of class and culture that pushes well-meaning neighbors over the edge. Native Gardens is a co-production with Guthrie Theater and runs now through October 22, 2017 in the Kreeger Theater. The show just celebrated its opening and BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities below!
Good fences make good neighbors...right? Neighborly rivalry escalates into an all-out border dispute in Karen Zacarias' newest hot-button comedy Native Gardens, which makes its D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.
Good fences make good neighbors...right? Neighborly rivalry escalates into an all-out border dispute in Karen Zacarias' newest hot-button comedy Native Gardens, which makes its D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.