It's a thriving cultural capital where each season approximately 65 professional theatres in the metropolitan area produce more than 350 productions that run more than 8,000 performances and play to more than 2,000,000 audience members. Beyond the numbers, Washington - the theatre town - is more than 200 years old. In 1791 architect Pierre L'Enfant's plan for the new capital city included a congressional house and a presidential palace connected by a grand avenue lined with academies...and playhouses. More than two hundred years later, on any given night curtains are rising on upwards of 200 performances at theatres in the District, Virginia and Maryland.
And the theatre scene in Washington, DC is only getting bigger. Several of the city's most popular playhouses are responding to the demand for live entertainment through capital improvement campaigns, adding playing spaces, educational facilities and more.
The magnificent National Theatre is the "Theatre of Presidents" located only a short walk from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. The National Theatre has operated longer than any other major touring house in the United States. Though it is still located in the same place on ceremonial Pennsylvania Avenue the structure itself has been rebuilt six times since it opened in 1835. Because of the National Theatre's scope and size it is best suited to stage touring Broadway spectacles like Les Miserables or Cats. A bit of history: Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth's father Junius Brutus Booth was an actor in the first production at the National Theatre.
Having opened in 1971, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts doesn't have the storied past of the National Theatre, however it has become one of the world's premiere performance spaces showcasing the classics in performance art while also fostering new talent. Its roots date back to 1958, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed bipartisan legislation creating a National Cultural Center. The Kennedy Center complex includes two main performance halls, several rehearsal spaces and smaller stages. The newly renovated Opera House is the main performance space for the Washington National Opera, which performs under the artistic direction of Plácido Domingo. The Center enabled Washington to become an international stage, hosting the American debuts of the Bolshoi Opera and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, as well as the first-ever U.S. performances by Italy's legendary La Scala opera company. Each September, Washington, DC is treated to the Prelude Festival, a two-week gala of performances to open the season. Since 2000, the Kennedy Center has featured the Millennium Stage, which offers free performances every night of the week. And now, the Kennedy Center is home to a 324-seat Family Theater, allowing the Center to expand its vibrant family and children's programming.
The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company was founded in Washington, DC in 1980. Today, Woolly Mammoth operates out of a 268-seat theatre and arts education complex at the corner of 7th and D Streets, NW in downtown Washington, DC. A pioneer in using theatre to reach out to the broader community, it was one of the first American arts organizations to offer "Pay-What-You-Can" performances to make theatre affordable to all. For more than two decades, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company has held its place at theatre's leading edge. It is widely considered Washington's most daring theatre company, as a regional and national leader in the development of new plays, and as one of the best known and most influential small theatres in America.
The African Continuum Theatre Company is a professional theatre company which works to illuminate the human condition and the African-American experience through a wide variety of productions, while serving as a training ground for emerging professionals. ACTCo is part of the Atlas Performing Arts Center.
A 150-seat black box theatre, rehearsal studio and home of Gallery H, the H Street Playhouse is currently home to performances by the Theater Alliance - an organization spearheading an attempt to revitalize the area in Northeast Washington surround the Playhouse. Other companies presenting works at the H Street Playhouse include the African Continuum Theatre Company, Essential Theatre Company, Capital Renaissance Theatre and others.
Arena Stage was the first not-for-profit theatre in the United States as well as a pioneer of the regional theater movement. It was the first regional theatre to transfer a production to Broadway, the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour behind the Iron Curtain, and the first to receive a Tony Award outside of New York. While it typically produces American classics, Arena Stage premieres new American plays and supported works-in-progress. In 2008, Arena Stage temporarily relocates to Crystal City, Virginia to begin constructing a new $120 million facility, the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. The 24-hour theatre campus will delight Arena's patrons and other community groups with three theatres, multiple workspaces and artist apartments, enabling artists to live, work and perform in the same space.
Since 1986 the Shakespeare Theatre Company has dedicated itself to becoming the nation's premier classic theatre. The theatre recently opened a new 800-seat stage downtown, the Harman Center for the Arts, joining its former 451-seat home at the Lansburgh Theatre in Penn Quarter and creating more opportunities for audiences to connect with the most famous works of the Bard and his contemporaries. The Shakespeare Theatre also produces two weeks of free Shakespeare during the Shakespeare Theatre Free For All, held each summer at Carter Barron Amphitheatre in Rock Creek Park.
The Studio Theatre has built a national reputation for the production of bold American and European works, innovative revivals and original performance art. A highly energetic and urban theatre, The Studio is a centerpiece in the artistic revival of Logan Circle and the 14th Street area. Now sporting a new expansion, The Studio Theatre has become an economic lynchpin in rebuilding this neighborhood, with its two new theatres and additional classroom space.
Located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, Gala Hispanic Theatre makes its home in the city's historic Tivoli Theatre as the East Coast's only National Center for the Latino Performing Arts. Gala seeks to promote the culture of Hispanics in North America through the presentation of bilingual theatre. Like The Studio Theatre, Gala is helping to reinvigorate a DC neighborhood, Columbia Heights, which will welcome new retail, restaurant, and residential developments in the near future.
On Capitol Hill, the Folger Shakespeare Theatre is the performing arts extension of the Folger Shakespeare Library. The theatre works to engage scholars and artists who present Shakespeare and other period writers' works both traditionally and in the avant-garde. The Folger also stages premieres that are related to Shakespeare, mimic his style or embody the value system of Elizabethan theatre.
The Warner Theatre's place in the history of Washington began in the 1920s when dozens of grand theatres and movie houses lit up downtown. Built first for vaudeville and silent movies, the Theatre opened as the Earle Theatre in 1924. It was converted in the 1950s to a cinema-only format and continued as such through the 1960s. During the 1970s the theatre reinvented itself as a major concert venue and as a stop for touring Broadway and pre-Broadway shows.
Based on its association with the Lincoln assassination, Ford's Theatre is arguably the most famous stage in DC. Although it’s currently closed for renovations, Ford's Theatre serves as a living legacy to Lincoln and his appreciation of theatre. Plans call for the expansion of the theatre and its Lincoln assassination museum and the addition of new resources to the block surrounding the historic stage.
The Washington Ballet is Washington, DC's only permanent ballet company. Since 1976 when ballet pioneer Mary Day founded the organization, the Washington Ballet has put on annual reviews at the Kennedy Center, the Warner Theatre and the Center for the Arts at George Mason University. The company performs under the direction of acclaimed artistic director Septime Webre, and is well-known for creating a DC-based version of "The Nutcracker."
Opera lovers count the Washington National Opera among the best in the nation. Artistic director and opera luminary Placido Domingo shapes each season’s lineup with world premieres and popular favorites. In 2009, the Opera will produce a new American Ring Cycle, performing the classic Wagner works in order.
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts is America's National Park for the Performing Arts. A typical season at Wolf Trap includes pop, country, folk, blues, orchestra, dance, theater and opera, as well as innovative performance art and multimedia presentations. The Filene Center season runs from the end of May to the beginning of September with an average of 90 performances each year. From October to early May, the indoor venue, The Barns of Wolf Trap presents a diverse line-up of artists in a casual atmosphere.
Signature Theatre, located just outside the District in Arlington, Virginia, is an award-winning theatre committed to producing new works. Signature presents Broadway-quality productions in its facility in Arlington's Shirlington neighborhood. Signature also specializes in presenting the works of luminary Stephen Sondheim, a tradition that began in 2001 with the production of "Sweeney Todd." Since then Signature has presented Sondheim classics including "Into the Woods," "Passion," "Gypsy," and "Company."
Theatre festivals and repertory performances are also growing in popularity among DC visitors. The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Free for All draws large crowds of classic theatre fans to Rock Creek Park each May and June. Each summer, the Capital Fringe Festival attracts residents and visitors for a showcase of edgy and unusual productions. Local, regional, national and international artists converge on the nation’s capital to present hundreds of traditional and non-traditional performances including theatre, dance, spoken word, puppetry and even genres that are so edgy, they can't be categorized. The Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Arena Stage and other local stages have found winning formulas by grouping common themes and playwrights in performances in repertory.
