During a year of shake-ups and flagging sales at the Kennedy Center, several performing arts groups in Arlington enjoyed significant success in 2025.
Leaders of local groups say that it’s difficult to tell whether they’ve directly benefited from this year’s upheaval across the Potomac, which most recently included a vote to rename D.C.’s premier performing arts center as the “Trump-Kennedy Center” last week.
But while Kennedy Center audiences have dwindled amid artists’ and theatergoers’ boycotts of the venue whose board elected Trump as chair in February, several Arlington organizations pulled off a strong year — with Signature Theatre and Synetic Theater even setting sales records.
“Signature Theatre continues to grow its audience annually and we are having a fantastic season,” Zachary Flick, the publicist for Shirlington-based Signature Theatre, told ARLnow. “‘Fiddler on the Roof‘ is the best-selling production in our history, and our fundraising has been very strong this year.”
Part of the success of Signature’s “Fiddler on the Roof” show — which runs through Jan. 25, 2026 — could be due to the theater clinching a Tony Award-nominated actor to play the part of Tevye, the musical’s narrator.
However, other local organizations have also pulled off seasons that contrast with that of the Kennedy Center.
For instance, there’s Synetic Theater, which has been without a permanent home base since it had to depart its Crystal City location in April 2024. A fall production of “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” set a sales record for the theater company’s shows at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre, Managing Director Ben Cunis told ARLnow.
The organization, which has been rehearsing at Theater on the Run in Green Valley, also broke sales records for Dupont Circle’s Theater J with its production of “The Immigrant” in April. The show attracted over 2,000 audience members in a three-week run.
Additionally, a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Olney Theater Center in July and August sold almost 5,000 tickets, Cunis said.
The success has come despite Synetic having to downsize its staffing after losing its space at 1800 S. Bell Street — and despite the reality that “not everyone wants to trek across the river” to Arlington, Cunis said.
“Our strategy has been to try and create as many ‘first-time Synetic experiences’ as possible as we branch out, in order to create a broader base of support throughout the region, and ultimately more people that want to come to see us at home,” he said.
Cunis added, however, that “it really isn’t easy to trace the effect of the Kennedy Center shakeups on our patrons or donors (yet).”
Finally, the Arlington-based National Chamber Ensemble bucked the overall trend at the Kennedy Center with a sold-out concert at the venue back in June. The performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” featuring guest host Lynda Carter, had been in the works for over a year and a half, Artistic Director Leo Sushansky told ARLnow.
“I was worried that the concert would be poorly attended because of people boycotting the center but it was sold out,” Sushansky said. “People came out to support us, and must really love Lynda Carter and Vivaldi.”
He added that many Kennedy Center staff members who were involved with the “Four Seasons” performance have left the center over the past few months.
The National Chamber Ensemble also saw a sizeable audience at its annual “Holiday Cheer!” concert at Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington last weekend. The event, which has grown in popularity over the years, featured a professional choir, a caroling sing-along and winners of a region-wide piano competition.
“The concert was great,” Sushansky said. “Turnout was good. It’s an event for the community and people do love it.”
Photo 1 via Signature Theatre/Instagram
