Suzanne Blue Star News

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater today announced that Artistic Director Molly Smith has decided to retire in July of 2023. The Arena Stage Board of Trustees will conduct a nationwide search to appoint a new Artistic Director to build on the pioneering legacy of Smith and Arena’s Founder Zelda Fichandler.

Stage actor Edward Gero has made a name for himself in the DC theatre scene, appearing in plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, and everyone in between. In 2015, Gero played Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia in John Strand's The Originalist at Arena Stage. He shares how his experiences on stage led him to meet the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and how she left a lasting impression.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater’s latest world premiere film, “The 51st State', is now available to stream. You can watch the film by clicking here.  The hyper-local 60-minute docudrama created by Washington, D.C. artists through the voices of 11 residents was inspired by protests and the reignition of a movement after the murder of George Floyd and the quest for creating the 51st state and sovereignty in Washington, D.C. From a first-time protestor to a fourth-generation Washingtonian political scientist, to artists, an attorney, people of faith, and a retired couple moved to take part in the movement despite the COVID-19 risks, these diverse perspectives and real-life stories are vividly told and transformed into affecting narratives by 10 local playwrights. 

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater's latest world premiere docudrama, The 51st State, will receive its world premiere through Arena Stage's Supper Club on September 16 at 7 p.m. Following the premiere, viewers can join artists and creatives for a post-film discussion and after-party on Zoom.

Despite being set in 1899, NEWSIES feels marvelously modern. It is sharp, slick, and explosive. Even if, like me, you saw the bright new production of NEWSIES on Broadway in 2012, the Arena Stage setting is instantly memorable. Being emerged in the theater-in-the-round is like the difference between seeing a beloved film on the big screen and walking into the middle of the action in the Disney theme parks.

Arena Stage presents  Cole Porter's madcap seafaring musical, Anything Goes, with music and lyrics by Porter; original book by P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton, with co-authors Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse; and new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman.

This week, Molly Smith and the cast of Anything Goes at Arena Stage chose to honor and support Indigenous Peoples' Day (Oct 8). Just as those at sea use Morse code to send SOS alerts, the cast of Anything Goes -- joined by Molly's partner, Suzanne Blue Star Boy -- taps out a call to action in the video below to bring awareness to the epidemic of murdered, kidnapped, and missing Native women in the United States and Canada:

Continuing its cross-country tour, John Strand's critically-acclaimed political drama The Originalist, based on the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, is playing at 59E59 Theaters under the direction of Artistic Director Molly Smith July 14-August 19, 2018. The production recently celebrated opening night, check out the photos below!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents the world-premiere musical Snow Child, based on Eowyn Ivey's Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel. The show recently celebrated opening night, view the photos below!

Mary Kathryn Nagle's daring new work Sovereignty makes its world premiere at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.

Mary Kathryn Nagle's daring new work Sovereignty makes its world premiere at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents Carousel, directed by Artistic Director Molly Smith, with music by Richard Rodgers and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Featuring Musical Direction by Paul Sportelli and Choreography by Parker Esse, Carousel runs October 28-December 24 in the iconic in-the-round Fichandler Stage. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the opening night pics below!

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!

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Broadway production this fall, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater mounts a new staging of Fiddler on the Roof, the iconic musical that has captured the hearts of audiences worldwide. Helmed by Artistic Director Molly Smith, the production features choreography by Arena favoriteParker Esse, who adapts the original Jerome Robbins choreography for an in-the-round staging, and a 10-piece orchestra led by Musical Director Paul Sportelli (Arena's My Fair Lady, Light in the Piazza). The production celebrated its opening on November 12 with Sheldon Harnick and more, and BroadwayWorld has photos below!

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 through March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage. BroadwayWorld has a first look at opening night below!

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!

NoPassport Theatre Alliance & Press and The Vicious Circle announce GUN CONTROL THEATRE ACTION WEEK 2013 - a week of international performances and readings from the anthology 24 GUN CONTROL PLAYS, intended to raise awareness and discourse around the immediate need for Gun Control legislation.

NoPassport Theatre Alliance & Press and The Vicious Circle announce GUN CONTROL THEATRE ACTION WEEK 2013 - a week of international performances and readings from the anthology 24 GUN CONTROL PLAYS, intended to raise awareness and discourse around the immediate need for Gun Control legislation.

My Fair Lady, featuring Manna Nichols and Nicholas Rodriguez, is currently curring at Arena Stage through January 6, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the show below.