Fantastic news: On October 2, 2007, the Arena Stage Board of Trustees voted to
commence construction on the new Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American
Theater! After planning our new home for many years and raising more than $106
million toward our $125 million goal, we are thrilled to announce that
construction has begun.
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is named in honor of an
extraordinary gift by Life Trustee Dr. Jaylee Mead and her husband, longtime
Arena Stage Trustee Gilbert Mead, who passed away in May.
For more information on the Mead Center,
please click here. >
In order to allow for a timely and cost-effective renovation, Arena Stage
moved to a temporary home in Crystal City (1800 S. Bell
Street, Arlington, VA 22202) and plans to stage future performances at the
Lincoln Theatre (1215 U Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009).
A five
minute drive from our permanent home in Southwest DC, our temporary location in
Crystal City is
close to Reagan National Airport and one block away from the Crystal City Metro
station, which is serviced by both the Blue and Yellow Metro lines. If you’ve
been to Crystal City recently, you know that the area has been completely
reinvigorated in recent years, with many restaurants—including several from
Washington’s most famous chefs—within walking distance to the theater, as well
as abundant free parking during the evenings and on weekends. We are confident
that once you attend a show there, you will agree that it’s an ideal solution to
our temporary need for performance space.
Arena Stage renovated the Crystal City theater specifically to
accommodate our patrons and our productions for the next two and a half seasons
while Arena’s new home is being built. The theater itself is roughly the
same size as the Kreeger, though the lobby is larger than we currently have for
that space. We began productions in Crystal City with Ella starting on
December 28, 2007 and do not anticipate changing any existing performance dates
for the rest of the 2007/2008 season except for The Mystery of Irma Vep which
will now run from June 6, 2008 through July 13, 2008. Production dates for Kiki
& Herb: Alive on Broadway may also change, but we will keep you
informed.
In the interim, please see the "Plan Your Visit" section of the website for Frequently Asked Questions, directions and other relevant information
. >
We at Arena are extremely excited to build our new
home and we hope that you share our anticipation and exhilaration at having
reached this milestone. Take the short trip to Crystal City and the Lincoln
Theatre with us, and we will
come back to a fabulous new home in 2010–all thanks to your ongoing support of
Arena Stage.
