Executive Summary

The Harman Center for the Arts (HCA), to be built amidst Washington , D.C. 's bustling historic business district, will make available to Washingtonians and to audiences from around the world great performances in drama, music and dance. The Harman Center, which combines a new state-of-the art 775-seat theatre located on F Street across from the Verizon center, with the existing 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre on 7th Street, will become a cornerstone for the performing arts in our great capital city.

An extraordinary venue for distinguished local presenters and companies. The Harman Center will provide much-needed mid-sized, affordable and technically advanced performance space to a host of Washington-based performing arts organizations. Michael Kahn, Artistic Director of the Harman Center for the Arts, envisions a dynamic hub of activity that includes the world-renown Shakespeare Theatre Company along with such outstanding organizations as the Washington Performing Arts Society, the Washington Ballet, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Dance Place , the Moving Forward Dance Company, the Washington Bach Consort and the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, among others. The connections among arts and artists will form the foundation upon which the Harman Center 's programs will be built.

The centerpiece of a vibrant, living capital city. The Harman Center is a centerpiece of Washington Mayor Anthony Williams' vision of a truly vibrant downtown that serves the needs of local performing arts groups, community programs and a growing, diverse audience for cultural events. The direct and indirect economic impact of the Harman Center on the District of Columbia is likely to exceed $375 million during the Center's first 10 years. Furthermore, the Harman Center will generate more than $15 million in incremental tax revenue. In recognition of the substantial impact the Center will have on the District's economy, the Mayor and a unanimous City Council made a landmark, $20 million investment in the project.

A base for far-reaching programs in arts education. The Harman Center for the Arts will provide opportunities to expand Shakespeare Theatre Company’s education programs. Showcasing such outstanding education programs as the Text Alive!, ShakesPEERS and SHAKESPEARIENCE, education programming at the Harman Center will provide opportunities for D.C. public and charter school students to experience classic theatre through performance. A robust subsidized ticket program will make available 20,000 tickets at dramatically reduced rates, thereby ensuring broad access to theatre for our commuity. Additionally, a sophisticated technological infrastructure will support distance-learning opportunities for teachers and students in D.C. and nationwide.

A world-class home for America 's premier classical theatre company. Mounting legendary productions under the dynamic leadership of Michael Kahn, the Shakespeare Theatre Company has gained international recognition as the nation's leading classical theatre company. The new Harman Center will support the Company's expansion to a national scale by allowing it to broaden its main-stage offerings, attract a greater number of the world's most esteemed actors and directors, and maintain its steadfast commitment to broad audience access. The Company's productions consistently generate sell-out audiences, and its growth is constrained only by the physical limitations of its current performance space.

A destination for arts patrons everywhere. The addition of the Harman Center to Washington 's burgeoning performing arts establishment will significantly extend Washington 's appeal as a destination for theatre lovers everywhere. The Harman Center will complement the exceptional, grand-scale productions of the Kennedy Center , while extending the audience for other downtown theatres such as Woolly Mammoth and Ford's Theatre as well as Dance Place in Northeast D.C. Visitors to the nation's capital will be able, in a single weekend, to experience three or four thrilling, evocative and thought-provoking productions, made more enjoyable by the city's many fine hotels and world-class restaurants.