at the Mead Center for American Theater
Founded August 16, 1950 in Washington by Zelda Fichandler, Tom Fichandler, and Edward Mangum, Arena Stage is a flagship American theater. We were one of the first nonprofit theaters in the U.S. and a pioneer of the regional theater movement. We were the first regional theater 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 the Regional Theater Tony Award. Taking a leadership role in extending theater’s horizons, we have implemented groundbreaking policies and programs, promoting diversity in all aspects of theater, from theatergoing to production.
From the monumental to the developmental, we’ve helped build the canon of American theater through nurturing artistic growth and engaging our community, broadening and intensifying the theatrical experience for one and all. In addition to numerous world premieres and over 100 Helen Hayes Awards, Arena Stage has nurtured and produced 22 productions that have had a life on Broadway, including Dear Evan Hansen (winner of the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical); Next to Normal (winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama) Sweat (winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama); and The Great White Hope, the first transfer to Broadway in 1968.
Arena Stage is the voice of American theater resident in our nation’s capital. Focused on American artists, our productions are innovative and representative of stories from across the country. We nurture new plays and reimagine classics. We celebrate our democracy and diversity through a multitude of voices in our productions and community engagement programs to inspire people to action. We produce all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, entertaining, deep, and dangerous in the American spirit.
Arena Stage Fact Sheet | History of Arena Stage | Past Leadership | Building Timeline | Production History
Zelda Fichandler (pictured here in 1950), Tom Fichandler, and Edward Mangum converted The Hippodrome, a former burlesque and movie house at Ninth Street and New York Avenue, NW, into a 247-seat theater-in-the-round. In 1990, Zelda celebrated her 40th and final season as Arena Stage’s Producing Director and became a Life Trustee of the theater.
In 1956, Arena Stage converts the Hospitality Hall of the Old Heurich Brewery into a 500-seat theater-in-the-round. Arena Stage calls its second home the Old Vat, taking the name from the brewery’s huge kettles and playfully referencing Britain’s famed Old Vic theater.
On October 18, 1960, ground broke on the construction of what is now called the Fichandler Stage.
Cross Section of Arena Stage in rendering, as designed by architect Harry Weese.
On January 15, 1971, Arena opened a second performance space, the Kreeger Theater, designed again by Harry Weese and named in honor of Washington philanthropist David Lloyd Kreeger. The Kreeger seats 514, has a modified thrust stage, and a fan-shaped house. Zelda Fichandler took a sabbatical during the1973/74 season. Alan Schneider, a long-time Arena director, planned the season and led the theater during Zelda's leave of absence.
Zelda Fichandler, Tom Fichandler and Edward Mangum convert the Hippodrome, a former burlesque and movie house at Ninth Street and New York Avenue, NW, into a 247-seat theater-in-the-round. At the end of the 1954/55 season, Arena Stage closes and begins searching for a larger space.
can we also add the gala 75th video xoxo
Fenwick Library, MS2FL, 4400 University Dr.. Fairfax, VA 22030
Donated to George Mason University in fall of 2000, the Arena Stage Collection contains materials which span the more than 50 years of the theater's history including production notebooks, photographs, playbills, scrapbooks and handwritten correspondence.
Phone: 703-993-2220
Email: speccoll@gmu.edu
The Washington Post
Hana S. Sharif is named as Arena Stage's next artistic director
American Theatre
Arena Stage's Artistic Director looks back on the quarter century of programming for the unique community that comprises the nation's capital.
WETA Arts
Hear from Molly Smith, the outgoing Artistic Director of Arena Stage, the first desegregated theater in Washington, D.C.
The Washington Post
Molly Smith announces an exit after 25 years leading Arena Stage