Arena Stage

Arena Stage

Arena Stage is a theatre production company in Southwest Washington, D.C. The theatre company's home is on the DC waterfront and consists of three stages:

*The Fichandler Stage, a theatre in the round
*The Kreeger Theater
*The Old Vat Room (no longer in use)

The nearest metro station is Waterfront-SEU on the Green Line.

The theatre has temporarily moved to Crystal City, a neighborhood in Arlington, VA, while the permanent theatre undergoes renovation. Additional works will be staged at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, DC.

History

The theatre company was founded in 1950. One of its founders, Zelda Fichandler, remained its artistic director until 1990. Its first home was the Hippodrome Theatre, a former movie house. In 1956, the company moved into the gymnasium of the old Heurich Brewery in Foggy Bottom, which was demolished to make way for the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and the Kennedy Center. In 1960, they moved into their current location.

Arena Stage was not only one of the first not-for-profit theaters in the United States but has served as a pioneer of the regional theater movement. Arena was the first regional theater to transfer a production to Broadway when "The Great White Hope", which opened at Arena Stage in 1967 went on to Broadway with its original cast, including James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander. In 1973, it was also the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour behind the Iron Curtain. In 1976, Arena Stage became the second theater outside of New York to receive a special Tony Award for theatrical excellence. The first went to Robert Porterfield of the Barter Theatre in 1948 [ cite web|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/tonyawardsyear.cfm?year=1948 |title=1948 Tony Award Winners |accessdate=2008-08-11 |publisher=BroadwayWorld ] .

Renovation 2008 - 2010

A major renovation of its facilities is currently underway. Plans include leaving the Fichandler Stage and Kreeger Theater untouched, but tearing down the rest of the building. Once that is done, the new facility will have a large central lobby, a new smaller theater for debuting experimental pieces (The "Cradle"), and apartments on site for visiting actors and directors.

The entire complex will be re-named "The Arena Stage Mead Center for American Theater". [Marks, Peters. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/09/AR2008040904259.html "Arena Stage to Expand Its Season From Eight to 10 Plays This Fall",] "Washington Post" April 10, 2008]

Notable actors

*Jane Alexander
*Debbie Allen
*Stanley Anderson
*Angela Bassett
*Blair Brown
*Hume Cronyn
*Ruby Dee
*Jill Eikenberry
*Morgan Freeman
*Victor Garber
*John Glover
*ME Hart
*Samuel L. Jackson
*James Earl Jones
*Raul Julia
*Kevin Kline
*Robert Prosky
*Phylicia Rashad
*Roy Scheider
*Yeardley Smith
*Jean Stapleton
*Jessica Tandy
*Rip Torn
*Kathleen Turner
*Jon Voight
*Dianne Wiest
*Alfre Woodard

External links

* [http://www.arenastage.org Arena Stage official website]
*

References


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