Arena Stage Announces 18th Arena Stage Benefit for Community Engagement 5/4

Join Maurice Hines and cast members of Arena Stage's Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies for the 18th Annual Arena Stage Benefit for Community Engagement: Swingin' with Sophisticated Ladies, Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at the Lincoln Theatre. The evening will include cocktails and dinner followed by an original, one-night-only performance featuring prominent leaders from Capitol Hill and a select group of Washingtonians, who will share their Ellington-inspired sophisticated talents and show us why "they think they can dance." Special guests will include some of the area's most notable women who will be recognized as the metro region's sophisticated ladies during the performance. Also during the evening, legendary actor James Earl Jones and Representative Norman D. Dicks (D-WA) will be honored by Arena Stage with the American Artist and American Voice awards respectively for their contributions to the national arts community.

The annual benefit raises over one-third of the funds necessary to run Arena's Community Engagement programs, which educates and enriches the lives of more than 20,000 students across the region.

Lead Sponsors of the Arena Stage 18th Annual Benefit for Community Engagement include Clark Construction Group and LockheEd Martin.

The American Artist Award honors an artist who has made a significant contribution to American theater and who represents all that is passionate, exuberant, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. The recipient for 2010 is legendary actor James Earl Jones, who jump-started his career in the 1967/68 Arena Stage premiere of The Great White Hope, in which he starred as boxing champion "Jack Jefferson" along with co-star Jane Anderson. This award has been given previously to Robert "Bob" Alexander, August Wilson and Arena Stage co-founder Zelda Fichandler.

The American Voice Award, established to honor individuals recognized as both advocates for the arts and leaders who articulate all that is passionate and profound in the American spirit, will be presented to Representative Norman D. Dicks (D-WA). Past recipients include former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts Dana Gioia, Representative Bob Matsui (D-CA), Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and representatives Tom Davis (R-VA) and Jim Moran (D-VA).

18th Annual Arena Stage Benefit for Community Engagement
Swingin' with Sophisticated Ladies
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St N.W., Washington, D.C.)
6:00 p.m. Cocktails followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m.
8:00 p.m. Performance followed by dessert and champagne reception
Attire: Cotton Club Couture
Complimentary Valet Parking Available

Dinner, show and reception tickets start at $500
Show and reception only tickets are $100
For tickets or further information contact April Irwin at amirwin@arenastage.org or (202) 554-9066, ext. 207.
For corporate sponsorship opportunities contact Desirée Urquhart at durquhart@arenastage.org or (202) 554-9066, ext. 250.

18th Annual Arena Stage Benefit for Community Engagement Participants as of 4/7/2010
"So They Think They Can Dance" Swingin' Washingtonians:
Lindsay Czarniak Sportscaster, NBC 4
Jack Evans D.C. Councilmember (D-Ward 2)
Jesse Jackson Jr. U.S. Congressman (D-IL)
Jim Graham D.C. Councilmember (D-Ward 1)
Eleanor Holmes Norton Delegate to Congress (D-D.C.)
Tommy Wells D.C. Councilmember (D-Ward 6)

D.C.'s Sophisticated Ladies & featured guests during show:
Sharon Ambrose Former D.C. Councilmember, (D-Ward 6)
Marilynn M. Bland Councilmember (District 9), Prince George's County Council
A'Lelia Bundles Author and Biographer "Madam C.J. Walker"
Johnnetta B. Cole Director, National Museum of African Art
Carol Thompson Cole President and CEO, Venture Philanthropy Partners
Jennifer Corey Miss D.C. 2009, Miss America Organization
Jennifer Cover Payne President, Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington
Artis Hampshire-Cowan Senior Vice President, Howard University
Dina Curtis Director, Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project
Donna Edwards U.S. Congresswoman (D-MD)
Angela Fox President and CEO, Crystal City B.I.D.
Linda Levy Grossman Executive Director, Helen Hayes Awards
Linda Donovan Harper Executive Director, Cultural Tourism D.C.
Barbara Harrison Anchor, NBC 4
JC Hayward Noon Anchor/VP Media Outreach, WUSA Channel 9
Anne Ashmore Hudson Chair, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Amanda Hyndman General Manager, Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Kay Kendall Trustee, F.P. Kendall Foundation
Kitty Kelley Author
Paula Kerger President and Chief Executive Officer, PBS
Bobbie Greene Kilberg President and CEO, Northern Virginia Technology Council
Ann F. Lewis President, No Limits Foundation
Barbara Lang President and CEO, D.C. Chamber of Commerce
Carol A. Melton Executive Vice President for Global Public Policy, Time Warner
Doris Matsui U.S. Congresswoman (D-CA)
Dorothy McSweeny Former Chair, D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanity
JayLee Mead Theater Philanthropist, ret. NASA Mathematician & Astronomer
Kate Michael "K Street Kate"
Gwen Moore U.S. Congresswoman (D -WI)
Mertine Elizabeth Moore Brown COO, The Designer's Goldfinger
Eleanor Holmes Norton Delegate to Congress (D-D.C.)
Beverly Perry Sr. VP, Gov't Affairs & Public Policy, Pepco Holding Inc.
Heather Podesta Lobbyist, Heather Podesta & Partners
Lola Reinsch CEO. E.G. Reinsch Companies
Vivian Schiller President and CEO, National Public Radio
Ann Stock Former White House Social Secretary for President Clinton
Mary Terrell Judge D.C. Superior Court (ret.), Founder High Tea Society
Nina Totenberg Legal Affairs Correspondent, National Public Radio
Barbara (Mrs. Charlie) Wilson Former Professional Ballerina and Arena Stage Choreographer

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Managing Director Edgar Dobie, Washington, D.C.-based Arena Stage has become the largest theater in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Founded in 1950 by Zelda Fichandler, Thomas Fichandler and Edward Mangum, Arena Stage was one of the nation's original resident theaters and has a distinguished record of leadership and innovation in the field. With the opening of the new Mead Center for American Theater in 2010, Arena Stage will be a leading center for the production, presentation, development and study of American theater. Now in its sixth decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 200,000. For more information please visit www.arenastage.org.

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