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Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater

1101 6th St. SW
Washington, DC 20024

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is a theatre in Washington, DC.

Upcoming Shows

The Fruits of Our Labor

The Fruits of Our Labor

Sep 10 – Nov 1, 2026

In commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary, Step Afrika! premieres The Fruits of Our Labor —a powerful new production exploring rhythm, resilience, and the unfinished story of the American experience. Blending stepping, percussion, and striking visual imagery, this visceral...

Playtime Pantomime

Oct 6 – Nov 10, 2026

An interactive theater class for ages 3-5 blending imaginative movement with interactive theater games. Young creators explore silent storytelling as they act out picture books and dream up original adventures. The class boosts body awareness, sparks early literacy, and burns...

Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?

Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?

Oct 17 – Dec 6, 2026

Straight from Off-Broadway comes a timely and important play — Eric Bentley's Are You Now or Have Your Ever Been? , directed by Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro. This electrifying docudrama drops you into the tense world of the 1940s House Committee on Un-American Activities...

Step Afrika!'s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show

Step Afrika!'s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show

Dec 4 – Dec 23, 2026

Step into the holiday spirit with the joyful return of Step Afrika!'s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show , where the rich tradition of African American stepping blends with the magic of the season. Enjoy laughter, songs, and dance with the award-winning Step Afrika! performers...

Articles

Review: HUNDRED DAYS at The Keegan Theatre

Review: HUNDRED DAYS at The Keegan Theatre

by Doug Poms · October 12, 2026

What would you do if you knew that your newly-found significant other had only a 100 days to live? Hundred Days, a heartfelt musical about living life to the fullest is having its Washington DC regional premiere at The Keegan Theatre though November 15.…

Review: BEATRICE LIKES THE DARK at Adventure Theatre MTC

Review: BEATRICE LIKES THE DARK at Adventure Theatre MTC

by Elliot Lanes · October 9, 2026

Adventure Theatre MTC begins it’s 75th anniversary season in rare form with the World Premiere of Beatrice Likes The Dark. The show is based on the book of the same name by April Genevieve Tucholke and is adapted for the stage by the multi-talented Dani Stoller.…

Review: MAYBE HAPPY ENDING at National Theatre

Review: MAYBE HAPPY ENDING at National Theatre

by David Friscic · October 9, 2026

Bittersweet poignancy permeates underneath and amidst the charismatic and subversive musical that is Maybe Happy Ending ---now playing at the National Theatre. This totally involving musical is suffused with numerous creative, surprising twists and subplots by insightful writers Will Aronson and Hu…

Review: COMING TO AMERICA: AN IMMIGRANT CABARET at Atlas Performing Arts Center

Review: COMING TO AMERICA: AN IMMIGRANT CABARET at Atlas Performing Arts Center

by Peter Rouleau · October 2, 2026

It may be the case that any theatrical work dealing with political or social themes gains an added level of immediacy and urgency by virtue of being staged in or near Washington, DC.  That's certainly the case with ExPats Theatre's new production 'Coming to America: an Immigrant Cabaret.'  Now sho…

Review: DIRTY DANCING at The National Theatre

Review: DIRTY DANCING at The National Theatre

by Peter Rouleau · September 30, 2026

In August of 1963, sheltered Jewish teenager Frances 'Baby' Houseman (Annalese Starzec) arrives at the Catskills resort Kellerman's with her father Jake (Bryan Fenkart), a successful doctor, mother Marjorie (Gina Lamparella) and her more worldly older sister Lisa (Lily Kren).…

Past Shows

63 total · showing 11–20

Damn Yankees

FeaturedDamn Yankees

Sep 9 – Nov 9, 2025

One of America’s most beloved musicals is coming back, dusted off and spit-shined for a new generation. All the elements that made it famous are there: a diehard love of baseball, one man’s fateful (and hilarious) pact with the Devil, and Broadway's sexiest femme fatale...but...

Step Afrika!'s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show

Step Afrika!'s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show

Dec 9 – Dec 18, 2022

As the world’s first holiday show highlighting the African American tradition of stepping, Step Afrika!'s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show is a feast for the eyes and ears. Fabulous and furry friends from the Arctic Kingdom — Popper the Penguin and Polo the Polar Bear — along...

Snow Child

Snow Child

Apr 13 – May 20, 2018

Eowyn Ivey’s debut novel The Snow Child, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, is reborn as a magical new musical with a bluegrass-infused score. The 1920 Alaskan wilderness is a brutal place to try to save a marriage. Reeling from the loss of an unborn child, Mabel and Jack...

Two Trains Running

Two Trains Running

Mar 30 – Apr 29, 2018

It’s 1969 and the Civil Rights Movement is sending tremors through Pittsburgh’s Hill District. At the center of the community is Memphis Lee’s diner, slated to be demolished—a casualty of the city’s renovation project. Confronted with a rapidly changing world, Memphis and his...

Hold These Truths

Hold These Truths

Feb 23 – Apr 8, 2018

There is a Japanese proverb that says, “The nail that sticks out is the one that gets hit.” In 1941, one American, the son of Japanese immigrants, was the nail threatened by the hammer of the United States government. Reeling from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and driven...

The Great Society

The Great Society

Feb 2 – Mar 11, 2018

Robert Schenkkan’s Tony Award-winning play All the Way set the stage for President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s sudden ascent to the White House. In its D.C. premiere, The Great Society brings the second half of Schenkkan’s epic story to its harrowing conclusion. As America is...

Sovereignty

Sovereignty

Jan 12 – Feb 18, 2018

Some wounds refuse to heal. Mary Kathryn Nagle’s daring new work, which debuts as the fourth production in Arena Stage’s Power Plays initiative, travels the intersections of personal and political truths, historic and present struggles. Sarah Ridge Polson, a young Cherokee...

Nina Simone: Four Women

Nina Simone: Four Women

Nov 10 – Dec 24, 2017

Velvet-throated songstress Nina Simone hypnotized audiences with her signature renditions of standards from the American songbook. But on September 15, 1963, a devastating explosion in Birmingham, Alabama rocked our entire nation to the core, and from the memory of the four...

The Pajama Game

The Pajama Game

Oct 27 – Dec 24, 2017

The Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory is a tiptop model of efficiency—so why are things getting so steamy? It could have something to do with how hard new superintendent Sid Sorokin has fallen for Babe Williams, the trouble-making head of the union grievance committee. Sparks really...

The Price

The Price

Oct 6 – Nov 5, 2017

Everything has a price—even our dreams. Victor Franz has returned home to settle his late father’s estate. In an attic overflowing with memories and furniture he meets the enigmatic Gregory Solomon (Hal Linden), a professional appraiser committed to turning a profit off Victor’s...

BroadwayWorld TV


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Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (10/09-10/18)
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Shakespeare Theatre Company (9/11-10/25)
Coming to America: An Immigrant Cabaret in Washington, DC Coming to America: An Immigrant Cabaret
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