2012/2013 Season
“D.C.’s smartest, most ambitious theater.”— Washington City Paper
“Programmatically and artistically,
Arena is lighting this theater town up.” — Washington Post
Welcome to our dazzling 2012/13 season which includes introductions to new, exciting American voices, the return of some of our favorite artists, and an enormous pool on the Fichandler Stage. From the incomparable score of My Fair Lady to the spectacular visuals of Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, to the D.C. premieres of acclaimed Broadway hits like Other Desert Cities and resident playwright Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop, the coming season is bursting with the best of American theater.
Molly Smith
Artistic Director
Subscription Season
Don't Mess With TexasRed Hot PatriotThe Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins
Kathleen Turnerdirected by David Esbjornson
AUGUST 23 – OCTOBER 28, 2012
Academy Award and Tony Award nominee, Kathleen Turner, brings her sizzling blend of sensuality and intelligence to the bravado of newspaper columnist Molly Ivins. A dyed-in-the-wool liberal from deep in the heart of Texas, Ivins’ rapier wit made her one of America’s highest-regarded columnists, satirists and beloved rabble-rousers. The incomparable Turner “excels” (Variety) in this searing, 75-minute show that weaves personal anecdotes and a look at our national pastime – politics.
Rock ‘n’ Roll BiographyOne Night with Janis Joplin
Cat Stephani as Janis Joplin in One Night with Janis Joplin, photo by Owen Carey from the original production at Portland Center Stage 2011.
Randy Johnsonin the Kreeger
SEPTEMBER 28 – NOVEMBER 4, 2012
“If you never got the chance to see Joplin live… this feels as close as you’re going to get.”
– The Oregonian
With a voice like whiskey and a laugh like pure joy, Janis Joplin took the music scene by storm. Simultaneously rough and vulnerable, Joplin was dubbed the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, proving music wasn’t just a man’s world anymore. Packed with classic songs (“Piece of My Heart, “Summertime,” “Mercedes Benz”), the show also shines the spotlight on trailblazers who influenced Janis – like Bessie Smith, Etta James and Aretha Franklin. Now, in a new musical event featuring more than a dozen singers and band members, playwright-director Randy Johnson creates “a compelling portrait of an artist” (Culturemob) through the words, inspiration and music of one of America’s greatest rock ’n’ roll originals.
Gold Standard American musicalMy Fair Lady
Photo of Katie Murphy in My Fair Lady by David Cooper. Courtesy of the Shaw Festival ©2011.
Molly Smith book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
music by Frederick Loewe
directed by Molly Smith
in the Fichandler
NOVEMBER 2, 2012 – JANUARY 6, 2013
“A touching, intelligent … magical evening.”
– National Post
Just as Molly Smith’s record-breaking production of Oklahoma! was enthralling audiences at Arena, her fresh reinterpretation of My Fair Lady set the all-time box office record at the prestigious Shaw Festival in Canada. And now Molly is reassembling her creative team to bring this breathtaking musical to Arena Stage. When Professor Henry Higgins wagers he can transform a Cockney flower girl into an aristocratic lady, he never guesses that Eliza Doolittle will in turn transform him. Lerner and Loewe’s sparkling score includes such enduring favorites as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “The Rain in Spain,” “On the Street Where You live,” and “Get Me to the Church on Time.” Based on Shaw’s most incisive social satire, My Fair Lady is a joyful, crowd-pleasing celebration for the entire family.
Blues-Fueled LocomotivePullman Porter Blues
Cheryl L. West
Lisa Peterson directed by Lisa Peterson
a co-production with Seattle Repertory Theatre
in the Kreeger
NOVEMBER 23, 2012 – JANUARY 6, 2013
“A fearless, compassionate dramatist.”
– Seattle Times
Jam-packed with 14 original and classic blues songs, including “Sweet Home Chicago,” Pullman Porter Blues is the world-premiere production that reveals the true heroes hidden within every man. It’s June 1937 and the Panama Limited, bound from Chicago to New Orleans, is bouncing to the beat of the rollicking Midwest blues. Most folks are tuned in to the Joe Louis/James Braddock championship bout, but the men of the Sykes family – three generations of porters – know there’s more at stake than just a boxing title, as they battle each other, racial tensions, and an uncertain future. Will the hope they get from the Brown Bomber be the fuel this family needs to make a better life or will progress tear them apart?
Powerful Social DramaGood People
David Lindsay-Abaire
Jackie Maxwelldirected by Jackie Maxwell
in the Kreeger
FEBRUARY 1 – MARCH 10, 2013
“Very fine … one of the more subtly surprising treats of this theater season.” – New York Times
Enter South Boston’s Lower End, where minimum wage is the maximum wage and hard work and sacrifice don’t ensure success. Facing eviction, single mother and mouthy “Southie” native Margaret Walsh reunites with an old flame who “made good,” hoping that his fortune can somehow improve her own. But not every man wants to relive his past, and with each surprising twist of their meeting they discover the di re costs the truth can hold. From Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole) and named the Best Play by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle during its Broadway run, Good People is a “poignant, brave and almost subversive” (New York Post) drama about life in a broke and broken American town.
Special Limited-Run Event
Double Edge Theatre presentsThe Grand Parade (of the 20th Century)
Photos courtesy of Double Edge TheatreFEBRUARY 6 – 10, 2013
“Double Edge’s artists surround us with stunning visual imagery, haunting vocal harmonies, musical accompaniment, and jaw-dropping aerial feats.”
– Boston Globe
Immerse yourself in the “unpredictable and imaginative” (American Theatre) world of acclaimed theater troupe Double Edge Theatre. Inspired by the life and works of visionary artist Marc Chagall, The Grand Parade is an original world premiere event that will fill the theater with physically daring spectacle that is at once as emotionally nuanced as it is visually thrilling. This imaginative, kaleidoscopic mash-up of the century echoes Chagall’s life, which spanned nearly a century, and summons the artist’s sensibilities and personal memories. This world premiere limited engagement is available only to full season subscribers.
Dazzling TheatricalityLookingglass Theatre Company’s production ofMetamorphoses
Photo of Anne Dudek and Doug Hara by Liz Lauren courtesy of Lookingglass Theatre Company ©1998
Mary Zimmermanbased on the original work by Ovid
in the Fichandler
FEBRUARY 8 – MARCH 17, 2013
“Gorgeous … a work of pure enchantment.”
– New York Daily News
Back in D.C. for the first time since her smash hit productions of The Arabian Nights and Candide, and ten years after this exquisite production stormed Broadway and earned her the Tony Award for Best Director, MacArthur “Genius” Mary Zimmerman returns with Metamorphoses. Zimmerman’s magical interpretation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses proves myths about romance, family, loss and redemption never go out of style. Through lyrical storytelling and stunning imagery, Zimmerman constructs a wondrous world where gods and mortals interact in a giant pool on our famous in-the-round stage. These timeless stories – “powerful, moving, and funny” (Talkin’ Broadway) – ripple through the depths of imagination, reminding us of the transformative power of theater.
World-Premiere PlayMary T. & Lizzy K.
Tazewell Thompsonin the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle
MARCH 15 – APRIL 28, 2013
“Smashing … staged with theatrical dash by Tazewell Thompson.” – Washington Post (M. Butterfly)
Writer-director Tazewell Thompson (dir. M. Butterfly, Yellowman) stitches together an insider’s look at the unlikely friendship between First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and her talented seamstress, the successful freed slave Elizabeth Keckly. As one woman’s skilled hands work overtime, creating the most beautiful garments of her career, the other’s reality continues to slip ever further from her grasp. Old wounds and new recriminations explode in this riveting drama about loss, love and the importance of promises, both kept and broken. This world premiere drama is the first commission of Arena Stage’s American President’s Project.
Award-Winning DramaThe Mountaintop
Katori Halldirected by Robert O’Hara
in the Kreeger
MARCH 29 – MAY 12, 2013
“The Mountaintop is a wonderful trip, as audacious as it is inventive.” – Associated Press
Hailed as “daring, rousing and provocative” by Entertainment Weekly, The Mountaintop is Katori Hall’s bold reimagining of the last night of the historic life of Dr. Martin Luther King. Exhausted from delivering a significant speech, Dr. King rests in his room at the Lorraine Motel when an unexpected visit from a feisty, young maid compels him to confront his own humanity and the fate of our nation. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play, The Mountaintop’s “soul-stirring” (Variety) storytelling fuses theatricality with spirituality to reach a summit that will leave audiences breathless.
Insightful Comedy-DramaOther Desert Cities
Jon Robin Baitzdirected by Kyle Donnelly
in the Fichandler
APRIL 26 – MAY 26, 2013
“The best new play on Broadway.” – New York Times
After a six-year absence, Brooke Wyeth returns to her Reaganite parents’ Palm Springs enclave for the holidays. But the warm desert air turns chilly when news of her upcoming memoir threatens to revive the most painful chapter of the family’s history. Perception and reality grapple with love and mercy as old family wounds are opened, childhood memories are tested, and the Wyeth clan learns that some secrets cannot stay buried forever. Full of surprisingly touching moments, Pulitzer Prize nominee Jon Robin Baitz (A Fair Country) brings dysfunctional family drama to new heights in this witty, deeply enjoyable work NY1 called “one of the best new plays of the decade.”
