Beth Newburger News

Arena Stage will host a live wine auction on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 Sixth St., SW). The wine auction is helmed by event co-chairs Judith N. Batty, Arena Stage board chair, and board member Sandra E. Taylor.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater hoted An Evening with Bebe Neuwirth on Monday, May 1, 2017. The exclusive benefit features the presentation of the second annual Beth Newburger Schwartz Award to Arena Stage Emeritus Trustee Arlene R. Kogod. The evening, helmed by event chair Susan Haas Bralove and diplomatic chair His Excellency Bjorn Lyrvall, Ambassador of Sweden, includes a VIP cocktail reception, three-course seated dinner, one-night-only performance and post-show music, wine and dessert reception.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater will host An Evening with Bebe Neuwirth on Monday, May 1, 2017.

Arena Stage hosted a Power Lunch on Monday, February 27, to officially kick off the theater's ambitious Power Plays initiative, which will commission and develop 25 new plays over the next 10 years, focused on politics & power. Scroll down for photos from the event!

Set sail on an epic adventure this holiday season with a dramatically reimagined production of Moby Dick. Adaptor and director David Catlin brings his daring new adaptation of the classic seafaring tale to Arena Stage, using bold trapeze and acrobatic work to bring to life Captain Ahab's harrowing quest for the legendary great while whale. Straight from its acclaimed 2015 debut at Lookingglass Theatre Company, the production fuses innovative staging with aerial storytelling. Based on the book by Herman Melville, Moby Dick is a co-production with the Alliance Theatre and South Coast Repertory and runs now through December 24, 2016 in the Kreeger Theater. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Director Edgar Dobie are pleased to announce that two-time Tony and Emmy Award winner Bebe Neuwirth will headline the theater's 2017 exclusive benefit on Monday, May 1, 2017 at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 Sixth St., SW).

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces that Judith N. Batty, a Trustee since 2010, has been elected by the Board of Trustees to a three-year term as Board Chair, effective July 1, 2016. Beth Newburger Schwartz, who served in that position since July 2013 and as a Trustee since 1993, will begin a new role as Board President. Outgoing Board President David Shiffrin, a Trustee since 1992, will continue to serve on the Board as a Vice Chair.

Arena Stage hosted An Evening with Ana Gasteyer, an exclusive celebration that included the inaugural presentation of the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award, last week on May 9, 2016 at the Mead Center for American Theater. BroadwayWorld brings you an inside look at the benefit below!

As previously announced, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater will host An Evening with Ana Gasteyer, an exclusive celebration that includes the inaugural presentation of the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award, Monday, May 9, 2016. Additional details for the exclusive evening have been confirmed, including a host of D.C. luminaries serving on the honorary committee led by Event Chair and Arena Stage Board of Trustees Vice Chair Michele G. Berman. The evening will kick off with a VIP cocktail reception and three-course seated dinner, followed by the performance, after which guests will enjoy a post-show party with desserts and dancing.

Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie are pleased to announce An Evening with Ana Gasteyer, an exclusive celebration that includes the inaugural presentation of the Beth Newburger Schwartz Award, Monday, May 9, 2016 at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 Sixth St., SW).

Molly Smith directs her 30th production as Artistic Director of Arena Stage with a gritty and relevant take on the Tony Award-winning musical OLIVER!, blending the chaotic worlds of 19th-century Victorian London with 2015 London. OLIVER! runs now through January 3, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

'If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?' Erma Bombeck, the award-winning humorist and syndicated columnist known for her wry and humorous take on family life, is the subject of the newest project from twin-sister journalists and playwrights Allison Engel and Margaret Engel -- the world-premiere drama ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT'S END debuting at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. The Engels reunite with director David Esbjornson (Arena Stage's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner) following their collaboration on the smash hit Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, which starred Kathleen Turner in its celebrated 2012 run at Arena Stage. ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT'S END now through November 8, 2015 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle. Scroll down for photos from the opening night festivities!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents DEAR EVAN HANSEN, which opened last night, July 30, in the Kreeger Theater (read the reviews!) for a run through August 23. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad will join Event Chair and Arena Stage Board member Shawna Watley (Senior Policy Advisor with Holland & Knight) as the Honorary Chair for The Blood Quilt World Premiere Celebration tonight, May 7, 2015. The new play by Katori Hall (The Mountaintop, Our Lady of Kibeho) is directed by Kamilah Forbes and runs now through June 7, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad will join Event Chair and Arena Stage Board member Shawna Watley (Senior Policy Advisor with Holland & Knight) as the Honorary Chair for The Blood Quilt World Premiere Celebration on Thursday, May 7, 2015. The new play by Katori Hall (The Mountaintop, Our Lady of Kibeho) is directed by Kamilah Forbes and runs April 24-June 7, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater.

Come and dance the blues away with Five Guys Named Moe! Helen Hayes Award winner Robert O'Hara (Bootcandy, director of The Mountaintop at Arena Stage) returns to Arena Stage to direct an explosive, reimagined tribute to the 'King of the Jukebox'-legendary composer and saxophonist Louis Jordan. A co-production with Cleveland Play House, the show opened last night, November 20, in the Kreeger Theater and continues through December 28, 2014. Below, BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities, featuring book writer Clarke Peters!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater kicks off the 2014/15 season with the world premiere of Morris Panych's The Shoplifters, a biting comedy about society's haves and have-nots and how much they might actually have in common. The Shoplifters runs through October 19, 2014 in the Kreeger Theater. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening night festivities below!

Opening night for SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE-THE SONGS OF LEIBER AND STOLLER was last night (Thursday, May 8) at Arena Stage. Check out the photos below! The show runs April 25-June 8, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage.

Scroll down for photos from the opening night celebration for THE TALLEST TREE IN THE FOREST at Arena Stage in Washington, DC!

The Velocity of Autumn, a new two-character play from Cleveland-based playwright Eric Coble, opened last night at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater under the direction of Artistic Director Molly Smith and by special arrangement with HOP Theatricals, LLC. Check out a look back at the opening night festivities and arrivals below!