Ford's Theatre

Lead Teaching Artist Jennie Eng has added next season's plays to her summer reading list. She recently discovered a consistent theme for these seemingly divergent works.

The musical Ragtime tells a story set just after the turn of the 20th century, when the United States became known as a melting pot. As we see in the musical, Americans of this era experienced great social upheaval as a new century dawned.

During spring 2017, Ford’s Theatre presents Ragtime, an epic Tony-winning musical based on E. L. Doctorow’s celebrated novel about three families striving for the American dream. We spoke with director Peter Flynn about his thoughts on the play’s expansive musical score, striking relevancy and confrontation of both unbridled optimism and the stark reality of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Albee wrote a snapshot of life on a New England college campus in the early 1960s. As with most of his work, he had no interest in what life was supposed to be, but instead delved into the actuality of life itself. This is not the typical mid-20th century life that we often see depicted on television or in the movies.

Hear from the cast of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?-- a wildly funny and heart-wrenching stage play about what happens when two 1960s couples gather for a late-night drink after a faculty party.

You will likely read many tributes about Edward Albee the genius, the three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and the multiple Tony Award winner. For me, Edward was my colleague and friend, and I was fortunate to get to see sides of him the public often wasn’t privy to. I want to tell you about Edward Albee, the man.

Want to know what it’s like to learn by working alongside the staff at Ford’s Theatre? Hear from four fall 2016 college student interns.

A favorite tradition for the company of A Christmas Carol is the annual donation collection for a D.C.-based charitable organization. Over the past seven years, the cast has raised more than $550,000 for different local charities. Learn more about how the acting company gives back each season.

The Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership features a winding staircase and 34-foot tower of books about Abraham Lincoln, symbolizing that the last word about this great man will never be written. The books in our tower are made from fireproof bent aluminum. Our exhibit designers printed the cover art directly onto the metal…

Ever wondered who designs the posters, street banners, lobby signage, playbills and more at Ford’s Theatre? Gary Erskine, Art Director and staff photographer, leads our design team. Take a behind-the-scenes peek at his work on Twitter as part of our Social Media Ambassadors program.