2013/2014 Season
Welcome to the 2013/14 Season at Arena Stage.
Filled with some of our country’s finest theater artists, we are proud to share with you a season of dynamic new works as well as classics that will captivate and entertain you. What a spectacular time to subscribe to Arena Stage. Join us!
Molly Smith
Artistic Director
Exclusive Pre-Broadway Engagement
Estelle Parsons starring inthe Velocity of Autumn
directed by Molly Smith
in the Kreeger Theater
SEPTEMBER 6 – OCTOBER 20, 2013
In a simple Brooklyn brownstone, 79-year-old Alexandra lives a solitary existence with her fleeting memories and enough explosives to take down most of the block. At an impasse with her family over how she should spend her autumn years, Alexandra's long-absent son enters as a most unlikely mediator, to try and save his mother's life as much as his own. Funny and sweet, aching and revelatory, this perceptive play reveals both the fragility and ferocity of life. Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons (Bonnie and Clyde, Roseanne) makes her Arena Stage debut. View details
World Premiere DramaLove in Afghanistan
directed by Lucie Tiberghien
in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle
OCTOBER 11 - NOVEMBER 17, 2013
From resident playwright Charles Randolph-Wright (Blue, Cuttin' Up) comes a daring world premiere drama set to take audiences on a thrilling, romantic adventure in a chaotic land. Meet Duke and Roya, two fantastically different people discovering love in the most unlikely of places: war-torn Afghanistan. One, an emerging hip-hop artist, the other, a high-level Afghan interpreter, both fight to navigate the pitfalls of romance, religious differences and political unrest. View details
A Life in Song and DanceMaurice Hines is Tappin’ Thru Life
Created by and Starring Maurice Hines
directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun
in the Kreeger Theater
NOVEMBER 15 - DECEMBER 29, 2013
Broadway legend Maurice Hines teams up again with the unforgettable Manzari Brothers for the first time since the smash hit production of Sophisticated Ladies to tap us through his incredible 40 years in show business. With song and dance, Hines pays tribute to his brother, Gregory, and the singers who have inspired him, from Frank Sinatra to Lena Horne. To help bring the history of American tap to life, Hines brings The Diva Orchestra, an all-female nine-piece big band. Get ready to laugh, smile and tap your feet to the infectious song and dance of Maurice Hines! View details
Classic Family ComedyGuess Who’s Coming to Dinner
based on the screenplay by William Rose
directed by Kenny Leon
in the Fichandler Stage
NOVEMBER 29, 2013 - JANUARY 5, 2014
Broadway and Arena Stage favorite Kenny Leon (every tongue confess) returns to direct a new adaptation of the beloved film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. A progressive white couple's proud liberal sensibilities are put to the test when their daughter, fresh from an overseas romance, brings her African-American fiancé home to meet them. Personal beliefs clash with the mores of the late 60's in this warm and witty exploration of family and culture and knowing which of them has the greater hold on our hearts. View details
World Premiere PresentationThe Tallest Tree in the Forest
directed by Moisés Kaufman
The Kansas City Repertory Theatre / La Jolla Playhouse Production
in association with Tectonic Theatre Project
in the Kreeger Theater
JANUARY 10 - FEBRUARY 16, 2014
Bursting with soulful music and poetic storytelling, The Tallest Tree in the Forest combines the theatrical talents of award-winning artist Daniel Beaty (Emergence-See!) with acclaimed director, Moisés Kaufman (33 Variations, The Laramie Project). Discover the true story of Paul Robeson, hailed as the ‘best known black man in the world’ for his incomparable singing and acting, brought low by accusations of disloyalty to America. Backed by a live band, Beaty brings “his signature wit, grit and piercing lyricism” (New York Times) to more than 20 characters, asking the question, how does a man remain an artist when his soul cries out to be an activist? View details
Epic Classical Drama
Kathleen Turner inMother Courage
and her children
translated by David Hare
directed by Molly Smith
in the Fichandler Stage
JANUARY 31 - MARCH 9, 2014
Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage after her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to star in the mother of all roles. Tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage profits off the very war that steals her children from her one by one. But will the cost of war be higher than she's prepared to pay? Artistic Director Molly Smith helms this unique in-the-round staging of Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play fusing politics, satire and music into an epic theatrical experience. View details
World Premiere Historical DramaCamp David
directed by Artistic Director Molly Smith
in the Kreeger Theater
MARCH 23 - MAY 4, 2014
Sixty-two miles north of Washington, DC, nestled in Catoctin Mountain Park, lies the clandestine retreat known as Camp David. For thirteen tumultuous days, President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn host Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in an attempt to create the impossible: Peace in the Middle East. How could such a massive thing be done in such a short amount of time? Artistic Director Molly Smith directs the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright's incredible new play based on incredibly true events. View details
Rock, Rhythm and Blues RevueSmokey Joe’s CafÉ
The Songs of Leiber and Stoller
directed by Randy Johnson
choreography by Parker Esse
in the Fichandler Stage
APRIL 25 - JUNE 8, 2014
Staged by Randy Johnson, the visionary behind One Night with Janis Joplin, Smokey Joe’s Café transports us to the Golden age of Rock, Rhythm and Blues showcasing nearly 40 popular hits from Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame legends Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Bursting with infectious tunes like “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Stand By Me,” “Love Potion #9” and “On Broadway” it’s no wonder this electrifying show received seven Tony nominations and became the longest-running musical revue in Broadway history. Get ready to raise the roof at Smokey Joe’s Café! View details
Special Add-on Events
World Premiere Dance EventHealing Wars
featuring Bill Pullman
in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle
JUNE 7 - JUNE 29, 2014
A pioneer in the world of contemporary dance, Liz Lerman’s newest theatrical dance piece explores the experiences of the healers tasked with treating the physical and psychic wounds of battle. Joined by Bill Pullman (Independence Day, 1600 Penn), an ensemble of dancers represent medics and soldiers from the Civil War to today. Called “the source of an epochal revolution in the scope and purposes of dance art,” (Washington Post) Lerman’s work has been performed throughout the U.S. and abroad. After thirty-four years as founding artistic director of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Lerman presents her singular aesthetic to audiences in this exciting world premiere about how we experience and recover from war. View details
Rock ‘n’ Roll ExtravaganzaOne Night With Janis Joplin
created, written and directed by Randy Johnson
in the Kreeger Theater
JUNE 21 – AUGUST 11, 2013
Get ready to relive the summer of love! Back by popular demand, One Night with Janis Joplin returns to rock Arena Stage for another round of “exhilarating” (Washington Post) performances packed with classic songs like “Piece of My Heart, “Summertime” and “Mercedes Benz.” Don't miss one of America's greatest rock 'n' roll originals, performing with the goddesses of the blues who influenced her, as they deliver "no-holds-barred vocal fire through one classic song after another." (TheaterMania) View details
