Molly Smith News

In Spring 2009, actress Alice Ripley will reprise her role as Diana in Next to Normal on Broadway, one of two productions Arena Stage is proud to have transferred to Broadway this spring. Due to this exciting development, Ripley will no longer be able to perform in Arena Stage's upcoming 17th Annual Benefit for Community Engagement, as was previously announced. Replacing Ripley in the role of Dorothy for the evening's entertainment will be Lindsay Czarniak, anchor and reporter for Washington's News4 Sports.

Music Director Robert Spano will lead the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus in an ASO Theater of a Concert presentation of Haydn's The Creation. Set designer Anne Patterson and Projection Designer Adam Larsen, whose work has enhanced the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's performances of St. John Passion and Gorecki's Third Symphony, return to design Joseph Haydn's The Creation in Atlanta Symphony Hall on February 26 and 28, 2008 at 8:00 pm. Soloists include soprano Janice Chandler, tenor Thomas Cooley, and bass Derrick Parker.

The International Ticketing Association (INTIX) has selected Arena Stage as the recipient for the 2009 Outstanding Box Office Award. INTIX-a nonprofit organization of ticketing professionals in the performing arts, entertainment, athletics and more-represents over 1,200 members from 23 countries. This yearly honor recognizes only one box office. According to INTIX, the INTIX Awards program was created 'to honor and showcase those who have demonstrated leadership, service, professionalism and special achievements through innovative, informative and creative management.'

Winner of the 1967 Pulitzer Prize, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance comes to Arena Stage in a contemporary and provocative new staging under the direction of experienced Albee collaborator Pam MacKinnon. Featuring Broadway stars Kathleen Chalfant (Wit, Angels in America), Terry Beaver (Henry IV, The Last Night of Ballyhoo), Ellen McLaughlin (Angels in America) and Carla Harting (Eurydice),joined by Helen Hedman and James Slaughter, A Delicate Balance runs February 6-March 15, 2009 at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The press opening performance is Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. 'Albee is fearless about writing stories that get us in the solar plexus, and he does so with his brilliant wit, dynamic storytelling and rigorous use of language,' shares Artistic Director Molly Smith. 'His work draws the best artists, and with this production audiences are fortunate to have an enormously strong cast and creative team-approved by Albee himself.' A frequent director of Albee plays, MacKinnon has directed The Play About the Baby, the world premieres of Peter and Jerry: Homelife and The Zoo Story (now titled At Home at the Zoo) and Occupant, as well as the U.S. regional and European premieres of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

The previously announced Kathleen Chalfant (Obie Award-winner for Wit) and Ellen McLaughlin (original Angel in Broadway's Angels in America) will be joined by Terry Beaver, Carla Harting, Helen Hedman and James Slaughter for the upcoming production of Edward Albee's provocative drama A Delicate Balance. Directed by Pam MacKinnon, A Delicate Balance will officially open February 12, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The show will run February 6 through March 15, 2009. Full release to follow at a later date.

I Love a Piano, an enchanting revue of the music and lyrics of Irving Berlin, spans over seven decades of American history and includes 64 of Berlin's most enduring and popular favorites. Under the direction and choreography of Ray Roderick (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang national tour), who co-created the show with Michael Berkeley, these show-stopping song and dance numbers performed by a cast of talented young actors bring fresh energy to Berlin's material. I Love a Piano runs January 29-February 15, 2009 at Arena at the Lincoln Theatre.

Arena Stage announces eight winners of the 2009 Student Playwrights Project Ten-Minute Play Competition - an annual event in which Washington, D.C. metropolitan area students submit ten-minute original plays into competition. More than 500 works were submitted from students in 61 middle and high schools. The eight winning playwrights will receive master classes in playwriting and work with an Arena Stage dramaturg to develop their plays. The plays will then be directed by an Arena Stage director and performed by professional actors. In addition, Arena Stage will host two evenings of readings for the middle school and high school honorable mention plays. Admission to the Student Playwrights Project performances is free, but reservations through the Arena Stage Sales Office are required: (202) 488-3300. All performances take place at Source, 1835 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Note: Some of the plays contain mature content and language and may not be appropriate for younger children. Performances of Winning Plays Monday, March 2 - 7:30 pm Tuesday, March 3 - 7:30 pm Honorable Mention Readings Middle School Readings - February 9, 7:30 p.m. High School Readings - February 10, 7:30 p.m. The Student Playwrights Project is a direct outgrowth of Arena Stage's mission to expand the American canon with new work from diverse voices.

A musical about depression? Yes. You'll not only enjoy it, you may even learn something.

Winner of the 1967 Pulitzer Prize, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance comes to Arena Stage in a contemporary and provocative new staging under the direction of experienced Albee collaborator Pam MacKinnon. Featuring Broadway stars Kathleen Chalfant (Wit, Angels in America), Terry Beaver (Henry IV, The Last Night of Ballyhoo), Ellen McLaughlin (Angels in America) and Carla Harting (Eurydice),joined by Helen Hedman and James Slaughter, A Delicate Balance runs February 6-March 15, 2009 at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The press opening performance is Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. 'Albee is fearless about writing stories that get us in the solar plexus, and he does so with his brilliant wit, dynamic storytelling and rigorous use of language,' shares Artistic Director Molly Smith. 'His work draws the best artists, and with this production audiences are fortunate to have an enormously strong cast and creative team-approved by Albee himself.' A frequent director of Albee plays, MacKinnon has directed The Play About the Baby, the world premieres of Peter and Jerry: Homelife and The Zoo Story (now titled At Home at the Zoo) and Occupant, as well as the U.S. regional and European premieres of The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

Producer David Binder announced today additional casting and the design team for the upcoming Broadway production of Mois?s Kaufman's 33 VARIATIONS starring Oscar & Emmy Award winning actress Jane Fonda.Rehearsals began for the cast including Jane Fonda (Katherine Brandt), Samantha Mathis (ClaraBrandt), Colin Hanks (Mike Clark), Zach Grenier (Beethoven), Don Amendolia (Anton Diabelli), Susan Kellerman (Dr. Gertie Ladenburger), Erik Steele (Anton Schindler) and Diane Walsh (Pianist).

In Arena Stage's upcoming pre-Broadway showing of Matthew Lombardo's Looped, actor Jarrod Emick has been replaced by Chad Allen. Allen joins previously announced four-time Emmy Award-winning Valerie Harper (Rhoda in The Mary Tyler Moore Show) who stars as Tallulah Bankhead in this uproarious new comedy. Allen originally created the role of Danny Miller for the world premiere production of Looped at Pasadena Playhouse, and he is presently performing the role with Harper at the Cuillo Center in West Palm Beach Florida. Looped will play May 29-June 28, 2009 at Arena Stage at the Lincoln Theatre.

I Love a Piano, an enchanting revue of the music and lyrics of Irving Berlin, spans over seven decades of American history and includes 64 of Berlin's most enduring and popular favorites. Under the direction and choreography of Ray Roderick (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang national tour), who co-created the show with Michael Berkeley, these show-stopping song and dance numbers performed by a cast of talented young actors bring fresh energy to Berlin's material. I Love a Piano runs January 29-February 15, 2009 at Arena at the Lincoln Theatre.

During an all-day open casting event at the Lincoln Theatre on Saturday, January 3, 2009, 60 young, ambitious actresses auditioned for the role of Yolanda, the teenage character central to Regina Taylor's musical Crowns. Winner of four Helen Hayes Awards, including Best Resident Musical, Crowns runs March 27-April 26, 2009 at Arena Stage at the Lincoln Theatre.

A musical about depression? Yes. You'll not only enjoy it, you may even learn something.

Arena Stage offered a round-the-clock sale, The Arena Stage New Deal, which made available a limited number of $25 tickets for the preview performances of each upcoming show.

Arena Stage recently received news that an actor cast in a leading role of the upcoming production of Sweet Bird of Youth is no longer available. At the same time, Arena was presented with the opportunity to produce a pre-Broadway comedy about an American icon starring a four-time Emmy Award-winning actress. With the major artist no longer available to perform in Sweet Bird of Youth, the theater has decided to seize the limited-time opportunity to share Looped?starring Valerie Harper (Rhoda in The Mary Tyler Moore Show) as Tallulah Bankhead?with its audiences prior to the show's Broadway engagement.

In Regina Taylor's musical Crowns, Yolanda is a young woman who faces a change in her life and through it finds her true promise and identity. Arena Stage has decided to change the life of one lucky, local talent by opening auditions to the D.C. area for the role of Yolanda in the theater's upcoming production of Crowns. The Finding Yolanda Casting Search will be an all-day event on Saturday, January 3, 2009 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009).

The previously announced Kathleen Chalfant (Obie Award-winner for Wit) and Ellen McLaughlin (original Angel in Broadway's Angels in America) will be joined by Terry Beaver, Carla Harting, Helen Hedman and James Slaughter for the upcoming production of Edward Albee's provocative drama A Delicate Balance. Directed by Pam MacKinnon, A Delicate Balance will officially open February 12, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The show will run February 6 through March 15, 2009. Full release to follow at a later date.

THE ARENA STAGE NEW DEAL: FOR 24 HOURS GET 7 SHOWS FOR $25 EACH (Washington, D.C.) Arena Stage has issued theater-goers a one-day-only bailout plan, The Arena Stage New Deal.

The 2009 Arena Stage Student Playwrights Project invites all students between 5th and 12th grades in the District of Columbia and its neighboring counties to enter into competition an original ten-minute play. Entries must be delivered to Arena Stage by Friday, December 5, 2008.