E. Wright News

As the leaves are turning into a rainbow of colors, and we await the first snowflakes to fall, DC theatergoers are anticipating Arena Stage's first two productions in their new Mead Center, while Harry Connick, Jr. introduces children to a friendly elf, and Snow White and a red rose and a guy named Fred make a stop at The Kennedy Center. That red-haired orphan brings Sandy and a bitchy Ms. Hannigan and a pooch named Sandy to Olney, MD. Synetic Theater Artistic Director and his wife/choreographer reunite on the stage, a Ziegfeld Folly stars in a one-woman show, and doughnuts are served at The Studio Theatre.

As Arena Stage begins a new life in its renovated home at the Mead Center for American Theater in Southwest D.C., it opens its inaugural season with a classic American musical that similarly embraces life on a new frontier. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! is the first production at the Mead Center and features an all-star cast under the direction of Artistic Director Molly Smith. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! runs October 22-December 26, 2010 in the Fichandler Stage.

As Arena Stage begins a new life in its renovated home at the Mead Center for American Theater in Southwest D.C., it opens its inaugural season with a classic American musical that similarly embraces life on a new frontier. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! is the first production at the Mead Center and features an all-star cast under the direction of Artistic Director Molly Smith. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! runs October 22-December 26, 2010 in the Fichandler Stage.

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) and 3-Legged Dog will present THE HUMAN SCALE, an unsparing and graphic exploration of the ongoing crisis in Gaza

Nice People Theatre Company (NPTC) brings its fourth season to a close with a powerful piece of musical theatre and Philadelphia premiere, LOVE JERRY by Megan Gogerty. This play with bluegrass music, directed by Rebecca Wright with musical director Daniel Perelstein, will run June 3 - June 20, 2010.

According to a report from Variety, the critically-acclaimed production of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies may be remounted as a national tour due to the overwhelmingly positive reception it has received in its run at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

Arena Stage has announced that its smash-hit production of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies will extend its run at the historic Lincoln Theatre with six additional performances through June 6, 2010. The production, choreographed by and starring the legendary Maurice Hines and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, has broken several long-standing sales records, and is on track to become the highest grossing show in Arena's history, replacing the 2002 production of South Pacific directed by Molly Smith.

Arena Stage today announced that its smash-hit production of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies will extend its run at the historic Lincoln Theatre with six additional performances through June 6, 2010.

Nice People Theatre Company (NPTC) brings its fourth season to a close with a powerful piece of musical theatre and Philadelphia premiere, LOVE JERRY by Megan Gogerty. This play with bluegrass music, directed by Rebecca Wright with musical director Daniel Perelstein, will run June 3 - June 20, 2010.

Nice People Theatre Company (NPTC) brings its fourth season to a close with a powerful piece of musical theatre and Philadelphia premiere, LOVE JERRY by Megan Gogerty. This play with bluegrass music, directed by Rebecca Wright with musical director Daniel Perelstein, will run June 3 - June 20, 2010.

Big band sound transforms the Lincoln Theatre into a Duke Ellington jazz club as Arena Stage presents Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, choreographed by and starring Maurice Hines (Broadway's Sophisticated Ladies and Uptown... It's Hot!) with direction by Charles Randolph-Wright (Arena's Guys and Dolls and Blue).

Big band sound transforms the Lincoln Theatre into a Duke Ellington jazz club as Arena Stage presents Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, choreographed by and starring Maurice Hines (Broadway's Sophisticated Ladies and Uptown... It's Hot!) with direction by Charles Randolph-Wright (Arena's Guys and Dolls and Blue).

Arena Stage has announced that its smash-hit production of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies will extend its run at the historic Lincoln Theatre with six additional performances through June 6, 2010. The production, choreographed by and starring the legendary Maurice Hines and directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, has broken several long-standing sales records, and is on track to become the highest grossing show in Arena's history, replacing the 2002 production of South Pacific directed by Molly Smith.

Arena Stage today announced that its smash-hit production of Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies will extend its run at the historic Lincoln Theatre with six additional performances through June 6, 2010.

Big band sound transforms the Lincoln Theatre into a Duke Ellington jazz club as Arena Stage presents Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, choreographed by and starring Maurice Hines (Broadway's Sophisticated Ladies and Uptown... It's Hot!) with direction by Charles Randolph-Wright (Arena's Guys and Dolls and Blue).

Big band sound transforms the Lincoln Theatre into a Duke Ellington jazz club as Arena Stage presents Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, choreographed by and starring Maurice Hines (Broadway's Sophisticated Ladies and Uptown... It's Hot!) with direction by Charles Randolph-Wright (Arena's Guys and Dolls and Blue).

Billed as the 'Confucius of Comedy' by the New York Post, Academy Award winner and Grammy nominee Steven Wright brings his trademark wit, absurdist one-liners and monotone voice to The Orleans Showroom, April 11.

Billed as the 'Confucius of Comedy' by the New York Post, Academy Award winner and Grammy nominee Steven Wright brings his trademark wit, absurdist one-liners and monotone voice to The Orleans Showroom, April 10 and 11.

Big band sound transforms the Lincoln Theatre into a Duke Ellington jazz club as Arena Stage presents Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, choreographed by and starring Maurice Hines (Broadway's Sophisticated Ladies and Uptown... It's Hot!) with direction by Charles Randolph-Wright (Arena's Guys and Dolls and Blue).

As the Helen Hayes Awards ceremony on April 5th honors performances and productions from the past year, DC theatergoers will be hearing two gorgeous scores by Jason Robert Brown and Jeanine Tesori, and seeing a new opera about a boxer, a splashing pool on stage, Tyne Daley as diva Maria Callas, Maurice Hines tapping his way on the Lincoln Theatre stage, Mrs. Robinson seducing Benjamin, a red balloon thrilling young audiences, Harvey Fierstein wishing he was a rich man, tales and songs from a Scottish Jewish composer, a new children's show with lots of princesses, a little musical with the title in [ ], a triumphant mounting of a short-lived Broadway musical, and a wordless Kafka classic performed in Georgian style. The crocuses, cherry blossoms, and azaleas will be in full bloom, as the nation's capital will be awash in beautiful colors. It's the perfect time to visit and see some great shows in our DC area theatres.