Before a Friday evening game against the Atlanta Braves, the Nationals will help promote Arena Stage's production of The Music Man, which opens May 11, with an assembly of as many as 500 trombonists. more ›

Signature Theatre's production of Hairspray and Synetic's silent version of King Lear cleaned up at the 28th annual Helen Hayes Awards. Arena Stage's Ruined won for outstanding resident play. more ›

Janis Joplin, Eliza Doolittle, Martin Luther King Jr. and a play that had to be bumped from the current season are the big attractions on Arena Stage's schedule for the 2012-2013 season. And the lineup looks pretty enticing. more ›

Looking at President Obama's proposed budget for fiscal year 2013, it appears the White House is still trying to turn a small, but vital arts grant program over to District control, but the lack of specifics isn't promising. more ›

Take Doug Henning's magic, the goofiness of Wayne's World, add a healthy dose of '70s kitsch, and you have Elephant Room, a charming and funny show currently running at Arena Stage. more ›

Arena Stage's adaptation of Red, about the painter Mark Rothko in his later, angrier years, steadies an otherwise fast-moving script. It runs through March 11. more ›

It was a rough year for government support of the arts in 2011. Federal and local governments scaled back their funding, in some cases forcing cultural institutions to make significant programming cuts. more ›

Ruined is a play for those who want some real good laughs with their moral outrage or vice versa. The show is twice as funny as it would otherwise have been, precisely because it is set in dark times, and twice as painful because the characters making us laugh one moment are suffering not too long after. more ›

Did you think we were just being cheeky when we reported that "One City has to be branded on everything" story? Well, here's the proof that we're serious about the manner in which Vince Gray's mayoral campaign slogan has infiltrated even the tinest nooks and crannies of the District's business. more ›

Seeing Arena Stage's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is one of the most emotionally engaging — and draining — theatrical experiences I've had in recent memory. It's a show that could get me keyed up, choked up or tensed up in an instant, sometimes even without a clear explanation for why. more ›

The house lights dim, signaling a cacophony of drums and chanting, white sheets covering the in-the-round stage are removed and a dozen intricately designed carpets are unfurled. Ornamental lamps descend from the ceiling and a troupe of colorfully dressed actors take their positions on the rugs and on carved wooden tables. Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age, this is the setting of The Arabian Nights, a bold and imaginative production currently running at Arena Stage as part of its inaugural season at the beautifully constructed Mead Center for American Theater. Written and directed by Mary Zimmerman, the play is an adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights, the famed collection of fables and fairy tales with roots throughout ancient Arabia, Persia and South Asia. more ›

Some might prejudge Oklahoma!, Arena Stage's season opener, as a throwback, a safe choice, a corny, hoedown-punctuated museum piece. But director Molly Smith has injected Oklahoma! with an optimistic sense of immediacy, and seeing this fresh production as the debut performance in the company's stunning new home helps underscore how significant the work has been in the innovation of American musical theater. more ›

Finally, after a huge 2.5 year $135 million remodel, Arena Stage is back open. Anchoring the burgeoning Waterfront neighborhood, Arena is celebrating its opening with a plethora of free events -- today, of note: more ›

Hot news today from Arena Stage! The Associated Press has it that Arena Stage will be putting full-time playwrights on the payroll. The three-year residency is the product of a $1.1 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which provides for a full-time salary, bennies, and office space. My back-of-the-envelope math puts it at around $70,000 a year for the playwrights, discounting any administrative costs, etc. Not bad! Those resident playwrights are Amy Freed, Katori Hall, Lisa Kron, Charles Randolph-Wright, and Karen Zacarías. The Arena Stage has brief bios for each. Jealous, New York? more ›

Man, those dashing, accented Italians. How are you going to resist them, really? more ›

Arena Stage's holiday musical, Striking 12, comes with equal helpings of grouch and optimism and a healthy dose of witty banter sprinkled on top. The comedy is not your standard musical production, with a set that equals that of a rock concert in lieu of any theatrical props or backdrops. The audience is left to imagine the visuals as the narrative unfolds in speech and song. more ›

is a show already heavy on charm, but it never hurts to throw a little magic into the proceedings. more ›

Like an experiment exploring the limits of psychic pain, Jane Anderson's Quality of Life seems determined to pile tragedy upon tragedy to see just how much she can throw on the backs of her beleaguered characters before they cease bending and simply collapse into a pile of rubble. more ›

There are two stars in Arena Stage’s new production, . Audiences might be drawn to the show for the familiar name above the marquee, TV actress Valerie Harper. But the play's real star is her character, film actress Tallulah Bankhead, a woman notorious for unapologetic appetites and ego. Both women are captivating, and it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. more ›

patters through the opening number, "Just Another Day," it's hard not to feel a little cynical – another testament to the mundane trappings of suburban life? Is there really anything more to say on the subject? more ›

Josh Kornbluth wants you to think about Democracy. With an election less than a month away, that's not exactly surprising. more ›

Brad Oscar and J. Fred Shiffman are the newest odd couple to hit the D.C. stage in Arena’s The Mystery of Irma Vep. And they pull it off twice in one night, first matching wits as a pursed-lipped housekeeper and a gauche stableman, then as a histrionic former actress and her brooding Egyptologist husband. Along the way, they don the roles of tomb guide, ancient mummy and mysterious intruder to boot. more ›

Willy Loman is a tired, pitiable, senile man, older than his 60 years. But in the canon of 20th century American drama, he’s the Alpha dog, the big man, the Steve McQueen. He’s become an iconic figure, like Icarus or Hamlet, and lots of people who have never seen Arthur Miller’s defining 1949 Pulitzer-and-Tony-Award-winning Death of a Salesman probably know that to say somebody is “Willy Lomanesque,” is to call him pathetic and defeated, the epitome of self-effacement-as-cowardice rather than generosity. more ›

Victory — not the concept, but the statue at State Place and 17th Street NW — is the Ghost of Christmas Past. Freedom — the Eastward-facing statue atop the Capitol Dome; not that thing that The Terrorists hate us for — is the Ghost of Christmas Present. And the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives draped in the inky robes of Grief. more ›

It’s November, so most minds are on turkey and stuffing, but two theater companies are getting a jump on Christmas festivities. While we won’t see Ford Theater’s annual production of A Christmas Carol until December, both Arena Stage and Synetic Theater have their own take on the classic. Arena's Christmas Carol 1941 emphasizes the DC Christmas experience (Nov 16), while Synetic's promises to be more choreography-driven (Nov. 24). The relatively new company Spooky Action Theater... more ›

Meat and Potato, the low-fi theatre company devoted to reviving disused devices such as puppetry and masks, has taken on Rashomon as their latest experiment. Is this a good idea? No, it's a great idea, which makes it all the more disappointing that the show, despite the obvious care and labor that has gone into it, arrives half-formed. more ›

>> DC9's hosting a Dubstep party featuring DJs Beatcarnival and Gavin Holland. Get your bass-heavy electro-dance Thursday groove thing on for $8. >> Novelist Porochista Khakpour to discuss her debut, Sons and Other Flammable Objects, at The Modernist Society's event at Bourbon in Adams Morgan. Free drinks from 8 to 9 p.m., then questions from the audience until 10 p.m. >> Tickets are still available to the opening night of the DC Asian Pacific American... more ›

We wanted to remind you about this weekend's upcoming photo contest sponsored by DCist and non-profit Cultural Tourism DC as part of the semi-annual WalkingTown DC event. On Sept. 29, photographers are encouraged to attend any of the free walking tours on offer as part of WalkingTown DC, and enter their photos to win great prizes. Details and rules below, and also feel free to sign up for the unofficial Flickr group. more ›

Photo by Scott Suchman." src="http://dcist.com/attachments/dcist_heather/2007_0924_well.jpg" width="404" height="271" class="right"/>Do you ever eye someone suspiciously when they tell you they suffer from allergies (or irritable bowel, or ADD), and just always seem to be sick? You might find yourself in similar company with Lisa Kron (Emily Ackerman), who just doesn't understand why some people seem to get well and some (like, for example, her mother) don't. more ›

DCist is once again an official media sponsor of the free walking tours offered twice a year by non-profit Cultural Tourism DC. This time around, WalkingTown DC, a day-long event scheduled for Sept. 29, is teaming up with us to sponsor a photo contest to encourage people to come out to the free tours and snap photos as you explore new neighborhoods. more ›