Kennedy Center: Virtual Tour of the Eisenhower Theater

Map of Building

Virtual Tour

Concert Hall

JFK Quotes on the Arts

Golden Circles Lounge

Click on the

icon in the picture to go to the next stop on the tour.
Hold the mouse down and move the cursor on the picture above to see a 360 degree view.

The Eisenhower Theater seats 1,100, and is the smallest of the theaters on the Center's main level. It primarily hosts plays and musicals, operas, ballet and contemporary dance. Its namesake, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, signed into law the National Cultural Center Act in 1958, the first time in history that our government backed and helped finance a structure dedicated to the performing arts. The theater contains an orchestra pit for 40 musicians that is convertible to a forestage or additional seating space. The walls are of East Indian laurel wood. The red and black stage curtain of hand-woven wool is a gift from the people of Canada.

Now performing in the Eisenhower Theater :

A Streetcar Named Desire

Oct 29 - Nov 21, 2009
Eisenhower Theater
Running Time: 3 hours, 5 minutes
Tickets and Schedule

Description:

U.S. PREMIERE
Sydney Theatre Company
A Streetcar Named Desire
starring Cate Blanchett

"IN EVERY RESPECT, A SUPERLATIVE STREETCAR.
Cate Blanchett is an actress of extraordinary candour and fluency. From that first appearance to her final, shattering exit, Blanchett's performance is a brilliant demonstration of range and control."
--The Sydney Morning Herald

"RIVETINGLY INVOLVING!
Cate Blanchett's Blanche Dubois is magnificent. Liv Ullmann's production…reminds us how shocking this great play was and still is. Joel Edgerton's Stanley is muscular, uncomplicated and just sexy enough…but savage too. Robin McLeavy's Stella is…full of tenderness and strength."
--The Australian

"Cate Blanchett is gloriously different…a prize worth fighting, scheming, dying for."
--Time Magazine

Programmed by Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton in their first year as Artistic Directors of Sydney Theatre Company, A Streetcar Named Desire brings the sizzling 1947 Tennessee Williams drama to life under the direction of acclaimed actress Liv Ullmann. "Tennessee Williams's play tears away the veils and masks to get to the heart of these characters. Which is exactly what you might say is a hallmark of Liv Ullmann's work. We think this could make for a ripper combination," said Upton and Blanchett.

The Academy Award–winning Blanchett stars as the pretentious and pestering Blanche Dubois, one of the most challenging and nuanced characters in all of 20th-century stage drama and a role coveted by actresses everywhere. With a story that pits the false gentility of the southern belle Blanche against the earthiness of her working class sister Stella and her short-tempered brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski, A Streetcar Named Desire is a collision of character that keeps audiences holding on tight from beginning to end.
Performance Timing: Act I - 75 min.; Intermission - 20 min.; Act II - 90 min.

Notice: There are a limited number of full-price obstructed view orchestra tickets available for this engagement. They are available for purchase by phone or in-person, but not online. Please call (202) 467-4600 to check availability.