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Validation: Arena Stage’s Board of Trustees has announced that artistic director Molly Smith and managing director Edgar Dobie will stay on at least another five years. Smith will maintain her title; Dobie will assume the role of executive producer. Board chair David E. Shiffrin says, “It is clear to all of us on the Board that in the partnership of Molly and Edgar, we have the best leadership team possible … Their successful completion and opening of the Mead Center for American Theater was a resounding artistic and financial success.”
Consternation: Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks chimes in on the controversy swirling over Shakespeare Theatre’s use of racist character names. In Ethan McSweeney‘s Cuban-themed production of Much Ado About Nothing, two minor characters are named “Juan Frijoles” and “Juan Huevos.” Artists complained, and Shakespeare Theatre’s artistic director Michael Kahn announced that the names would be changed. If you missed it, here’s an analysis by City Paper arts editor Jonathan L. Fischer.
Augmentation: Normally the White House Correspondents Dinner gets all the buzz, but next year’s Radio & Television Correspondents dinner wins this round: In June 2012, that event will be hosted by comedian Louis C.K.
Today on Arts Desk: HR-57 is moving again!