Washington, D.C

Performing Arts

The Washington Symphony Orchestra, declared the official symphony orchestra of Washington, D.C., in 1993, has a history dating back to 1934, when the ensemble was formed under the name Washington Civic Symphony. In the past decade, under music director Martin Piecuch, the orchestra has attracted increasing audiences and performed with a number of internationally known soloists, including Robert Merrill and Victor Borge. The group has also continued to evolve its mission of community outreach, with both philanthropic and audience support. The orchestra performs in the concert hall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Kennedy Center's opera house is the home of the Washington Opera, which stages its smaller-scale productions in the center's Eisenhower Theater.

The capital has a lively and varied theater scene, which includes previews of many Broadway productions, as well as performances by local repertory companies. The Arena State, the area's oldest theater ensemble, gives eight subscription performances a year on two stages. In addition to performing classic dramas, the troupe is committed to the advancement of multicultural and contemporary theater. The Shakespeare Theatre, which formerly performed at the Folger Shakespeare Library, performs Shakespeare and modern theater classics and offers free summer productions at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre in Rock Creek Park. The Source Theatre Company performs both standard and new plays, with a special focus on new plays. Two more groups that specialize in contemporary

After being closed for more than a century, Ford's Theatre—where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865—was reopened in 1868, refurbished in a style intended to duplicate its original nineteenth-century furnishings, down to the presidential box in which the president was shot. Original productions are presented most of the year, and there is a performance of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens at Christmas time.