On December 26th, the day after Christmas, the staff at the Anacostia Playhouse came to work and discovered they had been robbed. Thieves broke in and stole several laptops and computers, a tablet, box office cash, blank checks and credit cards (which they quickly used to make unauthorized purchases). As if that wasn't bad enough, the robbers used a crowbar and broke into locked cupboards and filing cabinets.
The Playhouse has launched a GoFundMe to help cover the damages from the break-in. They've already raised over $8000 of their $20000 goal.
About The Playhouse
The H Street Playhouse opened its doors in July 2002 with a production of The Colored Museum; following that the Playhouse was rarely dark. Our belief in both the important history and the future promise of H Street, NE ensured a steady stream of producing theater companies, ready to be a part of something new and exciting, ready to help rebuild a neighborhood. Because of the wide variety of highly regarded productions at the Playhouse, thousands of visitors traveled to the H Street Corridor. This helped produce a critical mass, jump starting commercial growth with new bars and restaurants eagerly taking advantage of the new foot traffic.
When the Playhouse opened, it was hard to find a cup of coffee anywhere along the corridor. Today the length of H Street is alive with new retail, an enormous variety of dining, music venues and exciting nightlife destinations. It truly has been a testament to how the arts are a basic building block for a vibrant, diverse community.
In late summer 2013 Playhouse reopened as The Anacostia Playhouse. The theater at 2020 Shannon Place, SE, is located in a place of both rich history and great promise, much as H Street was when we opened there over a decade ago. As a full time facility we see ourselves as uniquely positioned to serve our local community east of the river, while we work to introduce the neighborhood to members of other communities, thereby helping spur local economic development. Our exciting programming and diverse audience base is part of the movement to restore nighttime vigor to Historic Anacostia. With ample parking and multiple transportation options, Anacostia is uniquely poised to house a thriving arts and entertainment community.
The Anacostia Playhouse is both a rental facility as well as a producing organization. Their mainstage has 100-120 seats with flexible, reconfigurable seating. We have already hosted such respected companies as Theater Alliance (our resident company), Verbal Gymnastics, Pinky Swear, Scena Theater, Restoration Stage and Southeast Trinity on our stage and look forward to housing many other producing entities. Ongoing outreach efforts have resulted in partnerships with Ballou High School, Thurgood Marshall Public Charter School and Young Playwrights Theatre, all of whom had productions in our space. Between mainstage productions we host readings of new plays, jazz concerts, fundraisers and more. With an additional multi-function space, we can host rehearsals and community meetings, and long range plans include a roster of after school and summer activities and a technical apprenticeship program.
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