Washington Post
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sunday , january 8, 2012 AX FN FS LF PW DC BD PG AA FD HO MN MS SM E ABCDE Arts Small theaters A creative force adding pizazz E2 Playwrights Knock, knock, knocking at the door E3 Bottom lines The theater community takes a hit E4 Essay Fixing the Hayes Awards to add punch E5 Hispanic theater Companies adapt to a changing culture E8 Black theater Rocky road for Chocolate City’s vanilla stages E9 Dance Local talent pool achieves a milestone E8 A wow decade. Now what? New stages, new troupes, new festivals, new energy. The second act awaits. BY PETER MARKS I n just 10 short years, Washington’s theaters have undergone a transformation unlike any in the city’s history. Gleaming new palaces of drama have sprung up or been spruced up all over the region, to the tune of more than $350 million. Companies once operating out of ga- rages or ill-fitting nooks and crannies have settled into sophisticated new digs, and some groups with deeper pockets have erected edi- fices that have added immensely to the city’s architectural luster. Start-up troupes continue to start up in spite of the trying financial and marketing odds. Established institutions are broadening their offerings, reaching out more aggressively to younger and more diverse audiences. An expanding appetite for invention is nourishing play- wrights via new workshop-oriented companies and writer- residency programs. The city welcomed an edgy annual fringe festival, as well as a revitalized nonprofit group to promote the industry. The 2010 and 2011 Pulitzer Prize winners for drama, “Next to Normal” and “Clybourne Park,” had pivotal early productions in the District. Shows honed here are moving with a bit more frequency to Broadway, which, for the first time since the 1960s awarded its coveted regional Tony Award to a company from the Washington area. All in all, the past decade in Washington — building on the serious playgoing tradition set in motion by Zelda Fichandler and her colleagues at Arena Stage back in the early ’50s — has been characterized by extremely encourag- ing results. So now what? This amorphous question is not posed presumptuously, nor to suggest that simple answers exist about how further to refine the gestalt of a city perpetually engaged by the performing arts. It’s asked at this moment of theatrical vitality as a way of advancing a conversation about what still might be on the collective to-do list, what else might be done to nourish theater artists and, as a result, reap even more enrichment and local pride for play and musical-go- ers, who buy upwards of 2 million tickets a year to 80-odd companies large and small — from the behemoth Kennedy theater continued on E 6 ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN STAUFFER FOR THE WASHINGTON POST THE STATE OF WASHINGTON THEATER 6 For more photo galleries and video from D.C. theater productions as well as venue information and showtimes, go to washingtonpost.com/theater.
Transcript of Washington Post
sunday, january 8, 2012 AX FN FS LF PW DC BD PG AA FD HO MN MS SM
EABCDE
Arts
Small theaters A creativeforce adding pizazz E2
Playwrights Knock, knock,knocking at the door E3
Bottom lines The theatercommunity takes a hit E4
Essay Fixing the Hayes Awardsto add punch E5
Hispanic theater Companiesadapt to a changing culture E8
Black theater Rocky road forChocolate City’s vanilla stages E9
Dance Local talent poolachieves a milestone E8
A wow decade. Now what?New stages, new troupes, new festivals, new energy. The second act awaits.
BY PETER MARKS
In just 10 short years, Washington’s theatershaveundergoneatransformationunlikeany inthe city’s history. Gleaming new palaces ofdrama have sprung up or been spruced up allover the region, to the tune of more than $350million. Companies once operating out of ga-rages or ill-fitting nooks and crannies havesettled into sophisticated new digs, and somegroups with deeper pockets have erected edi-fices that have added immensely to the city’sarchitectural luster.
Start-up troupescontinue to startup inspiteof the trying financial and marketing odds. Establishedinstitutions are broadening their offerings, reaching outmore aggressively to younger and more diverse audiences.An expanding appetite for invention is nourishing play-wrights via new workshop-oriented companies and writer-residency programs. The city welcomed an edgy annualfringe festival, as well as a revitalized nonprofit group to
promote the industry. The 2010 and 2011 Pulitzer Prizewinners for drama, “Next to Normal” and “Clybourne Park,”had pivotal early productions in the District. Shows honedhere are moving with a bit more frequency to Broadway,which, for the first time since the 1960s awarded its covetedregional Tony Award to a company from the Washingtonarea.
All in all, the past decade in Washington — building onthe serious playgoing tradition set in motion by ZeldaFichandler and her colleagues at Arena Stage back in theearly ’50s — has been characterized by extremely encourag-ing results.
So now what?This amorphous question is not posed presumptuously,
nor to suggest that simple answers exist about how furtherto refine the gestalt of a city perpetually engaged by theperforming arts. It’s asked at this moment of theatricalvitality as a way of advancing a conversation about whatstill might be on the collective to-do list, what else might bedone to nourish theater artists and, as a result, reap evenmore enrichment and local pride for play and musical-go-ers, who buy upwards of 2 million tickets a year to 80-oddcompanies large and small — from the behemoth Kennedy
theater continued on E6
ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN STAUFFER FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
THE
STATEO
F
WASH
INGTO
NTH
EATER
6 For more photo galleries and video from D.C. theaterproductions as well as venue information andshowtimes, go to washingtonpost.com/theater.
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