Molly Smith News

Artistic Director Molly Smith tackles a unique, in-the-round staging of Bertolt Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Iconic stage and screen actress and Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage following her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to make her professional singing debut as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage-a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war. Mother Courage and Her Children runs January 31-March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at Turner and the cast below!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces a rare opportunity for D.C.-area theatergoers to hear groups of distinguished actors, directors, playwrights and artistic directors discuss their work and the myriad challenges facing their art form, in a special series of three Monday evening panels entitled The Summit. Organized and moderated by The Washington Post Theater Critic Peter Marks, the three free installments will gather some of the region's most accomplished theater professionals to talk about everything from their passion for their craft to the problems of trying to lure new audiences to live theater.

Following the world premiere co-production at Kansas City Repertory Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse, playwright and performer Daniel Beaty brings The Tallest Tree in the Forest to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Beaty, whose work has been seen at Arena Stage as a playwright with his play Resurrection and as a performer in his award-winning solo play Emergency, channels close to 40 characters in The Tallest Tree in the Forest in a 'tour de force' (San Diego Reader) performance, giving audiences an intimate look at one of the most dynamic and controversial figures in history-artist and activist Paul Robeson. Tony Award nominee Moises Kaufman (playwright and director for Broadway's 33 Variations, which received its world premiere at Arena Stage in 2007) directs this music-infused new play that features 14 songs and an onstage band. Developed and produced by Tectonic Theater Project, The Tallest Tree in the Forest runs tonight, January 10-February 16, 2014 in the Kreeger Theater and will play the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles following the Arena Stage run.

Tickets for the new American play THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN are now on sale at Telecharge.com (212-239-6200 or 800-447-7400). THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMNwill begin previews Tuesday, April 1, 2014, at Broadway's Booth Theatre (222 West 45 Street) for a limited engagement, following a sold-out, critically acclaimed run at Washington DC's Arena Stage (Edgar Dobie, Executive Producer) in the Fall of 2013. THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN is a 90-minute powder keg dark comedy byEric Coble that stars Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons (Bonnie and Clyde, "Roseanne") and two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Spinella (Angels In America, Spring Awakening), is directed by Molly Smith and will open Monday, April 21, 2014. THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN will mark the Broadway debuts of playwright Eric Coble and director Molly Smith. Check out the just-released artwork for the show below!

The 2013/14 Kogod Cradle Series continues in the new year with the Helen Hayes Award-winning Commedia dell'Arte troupe Faction of Fools, who are bringing their devilish sense of humor and trademark masked comedy style to Thornton Wilder's classic Our Town. The following month, award-winning Resident Playwright Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale) invites audiences to join him for open workshops for two of the new plays created during his residency, Lewiston and Clarkston. In March, the six members of the inaugural Playwrights' Arena (Norman Allen, Randy Baker, Jacqueline E. Lawton, Heather McDonald, Danielle Mohlman and Shawn Northrip) will introduce selections from the six plays they have each been working on independently as part of their yearlong collaborative program. Our Town runs January 9-12, 2014, Lewiston and Clarkston run February 6-9, 2014 and Playwrights' Arena-A Weekend of New Work runs March 6-9, 2014 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.

Ars Nova kicks off 2014 with Game Play, this year's incarnation of Ars Nova's annual Play Group production. An evening of original short plays and live music inspired by classic board game titles, Game Play features Peter Benson, Marcia DeBonis, Dashiell Eaves, Brandon Gill, Ben Graney, Susan Heyward, Jessica Love and Carmen Zilles. This production plays 10 performances, January 29 - February 8.

The 2013/14 Kogod Cradle Series continues in the new year with the Helen Hayes Award-winning Commedia dell'Arte troupe Faction of Fools, who are bringing their devilish sense of humor and trademark masked comedy style to Thornton Wilder's classic Our Town. The following month, award-winning Resident Playwright Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale) invites audiences to join him for open workshops for two of the new plays created during his residency, Lewiston and Clarkston. In March, the six members of the inaugural Playwrights' Arena (Norman Allen, Randy Baker, Jacqueline E. Lawton, Heather McDonald, Danielle Mohlman and Shawn Northrip) will introduce selections from the six plays they have each been working on independently as part of their yearlong collaborative program. Our Town runs January 9-12, 2014, Lewiston and Clarkston run February 6-9, 2014 and Playwrights' Arena-A Weekend of New Work runs March 6-9, 2014 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.

Artistic Director Molly Smith tackles a unique, in-the-round staging of Bertolt Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Iconic stage and screen actress and Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage following her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to make her professional singing debut as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage-a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war. Using the David Hare translation, the show fuses politics and satire to paint an unforgettable and provocative portrait of war, incorporating more than 10 pieces of original music composed in a rollicking, gypsy-punk style and performed by cast members doubling as musicians. Mother Courage and Her Children runs January 31-March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage.

The B Street Theatre presents Elemeno Pea, Molly Smith Metzler's sharply funny comedy. Elemeno Pea was first presented at the Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival on March 10, 2011.

Ars Nova kicks off 2014 with Game Play, this year's incarnation of Ars Nova's annual Play Group production. Game Play, set to play 10 performances from January 29 - February 8, features original short plays and live music inspired by classic board game titles.

Artistic Director Molly Smith tackles a unique, in-the-round staging of Bertolt Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Iconic stage and screen actress and Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage following her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to make her professional singing debut as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage-a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war. Using the David Hare translation, the show fuses politics and satire to paint an unforgettable and provocative portrait of war, incorporating more than 10 pieces of original music composed in a rollicking, gypsy-punk style and performed by cast members doubling as musicians. Mother Courage and Her Children runs January 31-March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces its Voices of Now devised theater program has been selected from a competitive proposal process with the United States Department of State to send all nine members of the theater's community engagement department to Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad, India to create original plays, based on the lives of the local participants and inspired by the cities in which they take place. The three-week program, January 13-29, 2014, becomes the third international partnership with the U.S. Department of State and Arena Stage, following a successful two-and-a-half week program in India in October 2012 and a three-week residency in December 2013 in Zagreb, Croatia.

Larry Kaye and HOP Theatricals, and Van Dean and The Broadway Consortium just announced that the new American play THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN will begin previews Tuesday, April 1, 2014, at Broadway's Booth Theatre (222 West 45 Street) for a limited engagement, following a sold-out, critically acclaimed run at Washington DC's Arena Stage (Edgar Dobie, Executive Producer) in the Fall of 2013. THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN is a 90-minute powder keg dark comedy by Eric Coble that stars Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons (Bonnie and Clyde, 'Roseanne') and two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Spinella (Angels In America, Spring Awakening), is directed by Molly Smith and will open Monday, April 21, 2014. THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN will mark the Broadway debuts of playwright Eric Coble and director Molly Smith.

Following the world premiere co-production at Kansas City Repertory Theatre and La Jolla Playhouse, playwright and performer Daniel Beaty brings The Tallest Tree in the Forest to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Beaty, whose work has been seen at Arena Stage as a playwright with his play Resurrection and as a performer in his award-winning solo play Emergency, channels close to 40 characters in The Tallest Tree in the Forest in a "tour de force" (San Diego Reader) performance, giving audiences an intimate look at one of the most dynamic and controversial figures in history-artist and activist Paul Robeson. Tony Award nominee Moises Kaufman (playwright and director for Broadway's 33 Variations, which received its world premiere at Arena Stage in 2007) directs this music-infused new play that features 14 songs and an onstage band. Developed and produced by Tectonic Theater Project, The Tallest Tree in the Forest runs January 10-February 16, 2014 in the Kreeger Theater and will play the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles following the Arena Stage run.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner makes his D.C.-area theater debut as Dr. John Prentice in Todd Kreidler's stage adaptation of GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER directed by David Esbjornson. Warner first rose to national prominence appearing as Theo in the television series THE COSBY SHOW. His work on the show garnered him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He is not only a seasoned actor, but an accomplished musician, director and producer. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER runs through January 5, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage. Below, check out a look back at the opening night festivities!

Elemeno Pea by Molly Smith Metzler opens tonight, Dec 5, at the Redtwist Theatre. Elemeno Pea is directed by Goodman Theatre Artistic Associate, Steve Scott. The play is a Humana Festival's runaway hit from 2011 and a hilarious, scathing satire on money and class in post-modern America.

Following an open submission process, six projects have been selected for the 2013/14 Kogod Cradle Series, as part of the American Voices New Play Institute at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 Sixth St., S.W.). Focused on the development of new and emerging work by artists from throughout Greater Washington and around the country, this series of workshops, readings and performances invites artists and audiences to actively explore the development process.

Nearly two dozen characters, spanning race, religion and class, come together on Christmas Eve in 1864 in Paula Vogel's work, "A Civil War Christmas"

Tony nominated Brad Oscar talks about replacing Nathan Lane, working with Susan Stroman and appearing the the new musical BIG FISH

Lifelong performer and Tony Award nominee Maurice Hines (Broadway's Sophisticated Ladies and Eubie!) captivates audiences with stories, songs and smooth choreography for his return to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater with Maurice Hines is Tappin' Thru Life. Scroll down for photos from the opening night reception, featuring Maurice Hines, cast members and brothers John & Leo Manzari and Max & Sam Heimowitz, director Jeff Calhoun, Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith, Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton!