By Janine Sobeck It will really be Oz as politics, the arts and even sports come together to for our annual benefit to support our Community Engagement program.  Who will you find on stage? E. Faye Butler (Crowns) Marva Hicks (Crowns, The Women of Brewster Place) Brad Oscar (Damn Yankees, Caba...

by Travis Ballenger, Crowns Assistant Director and Allen Lee Hughes Casting/Producing Fellow   As I write this blog post, the cast celebrates Mary Milben's birthday. After a resounding round of the jazz version of "Happy Birthday to You", the cast eats chocolate cake and talks of...

by Janine Sobeck, A Delicate Balance Production Dramaturg I love opening nights.  The excitement around the theatre is usually palpable and everyone  is eager to see how all the hard work and long hours of the past few weeks will pay off.  We've been learning a lot during the p...

By Amrita Mangus Interested in experiencing one short day in the Emerald city - Arena style? Then check out Arena's 17th annual benefit for Community Engagement! On March 16th the benefit will kick off with a Taste of Crystal City dinner and live auction. Auction items include a spri...

by Katherine Eatinger In honor of A Delicate Balance beginning previews tonight, I would like to share my story of the time that I did not meet Edward Albee.  I came very close – within five feet – but in the end, I remain Albee-less.  I will first note that I have a hard-core crush ...

by David Dower We are about to announce the remaining projects of the Arena Restaged Festival and I suddenly realized much has already happened around this whole event.  For those of you new to the conversation, this Festival spans the full two years of our 'diaspora'-- the period in w...

By Amrita Mangus, Allen Lee Hughes Dramaturgy Fellow The suggestions are in! Check out our reading list for the next session of the Arena Restaged Play Reading Club, starting in February and ending in July. Read along with us and blog your thoughts. 1) NEA Finalists: Damn, that's diversity! -- I...

by Stephanie McLean This past Friday, December 12th, marked a major milestone in Arena Stage's journey to the Mead Center for American Theater (named to Jaylee and the late Gilbert Mead) as Clark Construction hosted a "Topping Out Celebration" for Clark Concrete.  In the construc...

Recently the opportunity arose to produce a pre-Broadway engagement about an American icon starring a four-time Emmy Award-winning actress. As discussions progressed, it became obvious that this opportunity would only be available for a limited time, and if we wanted our audiences to experience the ...

By Amrita Mangus, 2008-2009 Allen Lee Hughes Dramaturgy Fellow Who wants more musicals? From the enthusiastic turnout at the "Where Are You Taking Me?: What's Next in Musical Theater" performance, apparently many people do! On November 10th, Arena Stage and Georgetown University hosted...