Due To Role In NEXT TO NORMAL Ripley Bows Out Of Benefit

In Spring 2009, actress Alice Ripley will reprise her role as Diana in Next to Normal on Broadway, one of two productions Arena Stage is proud to have transferred to Broadway this spring. Due to this exciting development, Ripley will no longer be able to perform in Arena Stage's upcoming 17th Annual Benefit for Community Engagement, as was previously announced. Replacing Ripley in the role of Dorothy for the evening's entertainment will be Lindsay Czarniak, anchor and reporter for Washington's News4 Sports.

The Annual Benefit raises over one-third of the funds necessary to run Arena's Community Engagement programs, which educate, excite and enrich the lives of over 20,000 students from across the region. This year's benefit will take place on Monday, March 16, 2009 at Arena Stage in Crystal City.

The evening will begin with a Taste of Crystal City dinner reception and live auction, followed by Arena Stage in Oz, an original musical revue by Michael Bobbitt. The cast includes Arena Stage performers E. Faye Butler and Marva Hicks from this spring's Crowns; Diego Pietro (Cabaret, Damn Yankees) and Brad Oscar (The Mystery of Irma Vep, Cabaret). The show is emceed by The Honorable William T. Newman, Jr. Joining the all-star performers are political notables Councilmembers Jack Evans and Tommy Wells, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Representatives Jesse Jackson, Jr., Howard Coble and Jim Moran.

At this event, two awards will be given to deserving members of the Arena Stage and D.C.-area arts community, The American Voice Award and The American Artist Award. The American Voice Award, established to honor individuals recognized as both advocates for the arts and leaders who articulate all that is passionate and profound in the American spirit, will be presented to outgoing Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Dana Gioia. The American Artist Award honors an artist who has made a significant contribution to American theater and who represents all that is passionate, exuberant, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. The recipient for 2009 is the late Robert "Bob" Alexander, founder and 30-year artistic director for Living Stage, Arena's community outreach theater company.

This year's benefit is sponsored by Clark Construction Group, LLC; Vornado/Charles E. Smith; Crystal City Business Improvement District; ExxonMobil; Geico; and PEPCO.

Single tickets for this event start at $250.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith, Washington, D.C.-based Arena Stage has become the largest theater in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Founded in 1950 by Zelda Fichandler, Thomas Fichandler and Edward Mangum, Arena Stage was one of the nation's original resident theaters and has a distinguished record of leadership and innovation in the field. With the opening of the new Mead Center for American Theater in 2010, Arena Stage will be a leading center for the production, development and study of American theater. Now in its sixth decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 200,000. For more information please visit www.arenastage.org.