David Shiffrin News

In this time of social distancing, we need music now more than ever. While concert halls, movie theaters, restaurants and pubs are closed, the Grand Rapids Symphony is reaching into its archives to bring you concerts performed live in DeVos Performance Hall.

Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Director Edgar Dobie are pleased to announce that Broadway legend Maurice Hines will serve as the Master of Ceremonies and international touring artist and global humanitarian Mary McBride will headline the 2018 Arena Stage Gala honoring Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday, May 10, 2018 at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 Sixth St., SW). As previously announced, the Gala features the presentation of the third annual Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and will recognize Jessica Stafford Davis as an Emerging Leader. The Gala is helmed by event chairs and Arena Stage Trustees Lavern Chatman and Maggie FitzPatrick.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces that Judith N. Batty, a Trustee since 2010, has been elected by the Board of Trustees to a three-year term as Board Chair, effective July 1, 2016. Beth Newburger Schwartz, who served in that position since July 2013 and as a Trustee since 1993, will begin a new role as Board President. Outgoing Board President David Shiffrin, a Trustee since 1992, will continue to serve on the Board as a Vice Chair.

As previously announced, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater will host An Evening with Ana Gasteyer, an exclusive celebration that includes the inaugural presentation of the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award, Monday, May 9, 2016. Additional details for the exclusive evening have been confirmed, including a host of D.C. luminaries serving on the honorary committee led by Event Chair and Arena Stage Board of Trustees Vice Chair Michele G. Berman. The evening will kick off with a VIP cocktail reception and three-course seated dinner, followed by the performance, after which guests will enjoy a post-show party with desserts and dancing.

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!

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!

Helen Hayes Award winner and former Arena Stage Associate Artistic Director Kyle Donnelly (Ah, Wilderness!) directs the D.C.-area premiere of Jon Robin Baitz's smash hit OTHER DESERT CITIES with a cast that features Tony Award nominee and two-time Helen Hayes Award winner Helen Carey (Arena Stage's Long Day's Journey into Night, Broadway's Hedda Gabler) and two-time Daytime Emmy Award winner Larry Bryggman (Broadway's Harvey, CBS's As the World Turns). The show opened last night, May 2, and BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities!

Following its acclaimed 16-week run at the Lookingglass Theatre Company this fall, Metamorphoses brings the mythical tales of Ovid to life at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, 10 years after the Broadway premiere. Metamorphoses dives onto the Fichandler Stage now through March 17, 2013. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night celebrations below!

Coinciding with AIDS 2012, the biennial International AIDS Conference in D.C. July 22-27, 2012, Arena Stage hosted a special benefit performance of The Normal Heart along with the Washington AIDS Partnership Monday, July 23 at the Mead Center for American Theater. View photos below!

On Monday, March 26, 2012, Arena Stage hosted the Golden Gala: A Glittering Evening of American Musical Theater to celebrate the vibrancy of the performing arts in Washington. This black-tie signature event, chaired by WUSA9 news anchor JC Hayward, supports Arena's robust Community Engagement programs and featured a special performance by two-time Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin and legendary composer Sheldon Harnick. View photos from the event below!

Ah, Wilderness!, Eugene O'Neill's depiction of American family life at the turn of the 20th century, kicked off the two-month citywide Eugene O'Neill Festival at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. From a playwright better known for his darker stories comes the brilliant Ah, Wilderness!, O'Neill's singular comedy that represents a fantasy of what his own childhood might have been. Helen Hayes Award winner and former Arena Stage Associate Artistic Director Kyle Donnelly directed her 21st show at Arena Stage, which features an almost entirely local cast led by Rick Foucheux, Nancy Robinette and June Schreiner. Ah, Wilderness! runs March 9-April 8, 2012 in the Fichandler Stage. Check out the opening night photos below!

Arena Stage presents Stick Fly, a thought-provoking comedy that explores the role of race and privilege in the African-American social aristocracy.

Arena Stage presents Stick Fly, a thought-provoking comedy that explores the role of race and privilege in the African-American social aristocracy.

Arena Stage presents Stick Fly, a thought-provoking comedy that explores the role of race and privilege in the African-American social aristocracy.