'Ella' Begins 12/28 at Arena Stage in Crystal City

After extensive renovations, Arena has turned Arlington, VA's Crystal Forum into a fully operable theater space for Arena to use during the 29 months it will take to renovate and expand its historic Southwest, D.C. theater campus.

Arena kicks off performances in this temporary location, known now as Arena Stage in Crystal City, with the swinging new musical Ella, conceived by Rob Ruggiero and Dyke Garrison with book by Jeffrey Hatcher. Ella takes you inside the heart and soul of the First Lady of Song - Ella Fitzgerald. Tina Fabrique (Arena's The Women of Brewster Place, Crowns, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) returns as the beloved jazz singer, performing such hits as "That Old Black Magic," "A Tiskit, A Tasket" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me." Ella is directed by Ruggiero with musical direction and arrangements by Danny Holgate. Ella runs December 28, 2007 - February 24, 2008 at Arena Stage in Crystal City, located at 1800 S. Bell Street, Arlington, VA 22202. For more information on Arena Stage in Crystal City, including directions, parking and restaurant options, visit www.arenastage.org.

Tina Fabrique has starred in Ella at numerous regional theaters during the past two years--having created the original role for the premiere at TheaterWorks in Hartford, CT in 2005--and was recently honored with the 2007 Carbonell Award as Best Actress in a Musical for the Florida Stage production.

Since Ella's TheaterWorks premiere, audiences have enjoyed seeing this production at many theaters around the country, and it will be seen at two other theaters later this season. Due to its success and popularity, a second company of Ella premiered this past fall.

The book for Ella was written by Jeffrey Hatcher, who has also authored the book for the Broadway musical Never Gonna Dance. Off Broadway, his works include Three Viewings and A Picasso (Manhattan Theatre Club); Scotland Road and The Turn of the Screw (Primary Stages); Tuesdays with Morrie with Mitch Albom (Minetta Lane Theatre); Murder by Poe and The Turn of the Screw (The Acting Company); Neddy (The American Place Theatre); and Fellow Travelers (Manhattan Punchline). His plays-among them, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, Mrs. Mannerly, Murderers, Mercy of a Storm, Smash, Korczak's Children, To Fool the Eye, The Falls and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-have been seen at numerous regional theaters across the U.S. and abroad. Mr. Hatcher wrote the screenplays for Stage Beauty, Casanova and The Duchess, as well as episodes of the Peter Falk series Columbo. He has received grants and awards from the NEA, TCG, Lila Wallace Fund, Rosenthal New Play Prize, Frankel Award, Charles MacArthur Fellowship Award, McKnight Foundation, Jerome Foundation and a Barrymore Award for Best New Play. He is a member and/or alumnus of The Playwrights' Center, The Dramatists Guild of America, Writers Guild of America and New Dramatists.

Tickets for Ella range from $55-74, with discounts available for students and groups. A limited number of $10 tickets for patrons 30 and under go on sale beginning on Monday for the following week of performances (Tuesday through Sunday) until all available $10 tickets sell out. Patrons may purchase $10 tickets by phone, online or in person. (All patrons must be 30 or younger.) Patrons will be required to present valid ID for age verification. HOTTIX, a limited number of half-price, day-of-performance tickets, are available from 90-30 minutes before curtain prior to every performance for all patrons. 

Tickets are available for purchase online at www.arenastage.org, at the Arena Stage Sales Office at 1101 Sixth Street, SW until December 30, then at 1800 S. Bell Street, Arlington, VA 22202 beginning December 28, or by phone at (202) 488-3300.

To allow for a timely and cost-effective renovation, Arena will operate out of Arena Stage in Crystal City, a temporary home in Arlington, VA. A five-minute drive from the current location in Southwest, D.C., the area around Arena Stage in Crystal City boasts many well-known restaurants, is convenient to the Crystal City Metro and has free evening and weekend parking. The theater is roughly the same size as the Kreeger, and seats 460 patrons. Crystal City will also house the Arena Stage administrative offices in a nearby building. In addition, starting in 2008/2009 Arena Stage plans to have a substantial presence at the Lincoln Theatre in Northwest, D.C. Details on the programming at the Lincoln will be shared at a later date. As information changes and/or becomes available throughout the transition, Arena plans to keep its website at www.arenastage.org as up to date as possible with Frequently Asked Questions, directions and other relevant information.