Founded by the brilliant Zelda Fichandler in 1950, the Arena Stage is home to one of the oldest acting ensembles in the nation. Several works nurtured here have moved to Broadway, and many graduates have gone on to commercial stardom, including Ned Beatty, James Earl Jones, Robert Prosky, and Jane Alexander. The excellence of Arena productions has brought the theater much success, to the extent that a major expansion is underway, with 2010 the target year for opening. During the construction of the new facility, Arena is staging its 10 productions at two locations: in Crystal City, Virginia, at 1800 S. Bell St.; and at the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW, in the U Street NW Corridor of downtown D.C. The 2008-09 September-to-June season includes Carrie Fisher's Outrageous Memoir, Wishful Drinking, in which Fisher also performs; Irving Berlin's musical, I Love a Piano; and Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Washington, D.C. 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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