For its next act, 1st Stage Theatre in Tysons will get a major face-lift.
The nonprofit theater company is in the midst of a three-year campaign to raise $4 million that will be used to upgrade its home in the Spring Hill Business Center (1524 Spring Hill Road), increase staff pay, expand programming and more.
As of July 18, the “Furthering Our Future” campaign had attracted $2.8 million, enabling a planned renovation to move forward. Construction began in late June as soon as “The Piano Lesson” wrapped up its run as the closing show of the 2024-2025 season.
Audra Jacobs, 1st Stage’s connectivity director, confirmed the renovations are on track to finish in time for the new season, which will kick off on Sept. 18 with the annual, 10-day Logan Festival of Solo Performance.
Five more productions — “Fair Play,” “Birthday Candles,” “Between Riverside and Crazy,” “Real Women Have Curves” and “Indecent” — will follow over the next year.
To help fill the remaining gap in its fundraising campaign, 1st Stage is offering donors the opportunity to name one of the theater’s chairs for $3,000. Per the theater’s website, 16 of the 110 chairs in the venue have been named so far.
“When you invest in 1st Stage, you are fueling the vibrant arts, rich culture, and engaged community that define our region,” 1st Stage Director of Engagement Heidi Fortune Picker said in a press release. “Join us in building the professional theatre space our community deserves.”
When 1st Stage launched its first season in 2008, Tysons drew workers and shoppers but offered little in the way of arts and culture. Even as the area has become more urban, bringing new residents and venues like Capital One Hall, 1st Stage still stands alone as a local professional theater company, though community members can catch student performances from the Traveling Players Ensemble.
Under current artistic director Alex Levy, who succeeded founding director Mark Krikstan in 2014, the organization has gained audience members and recognition in the regional theater scene with a total of 23 Helen Hayes Awards under its belt. That includes four wins for its production of Douglas Carter Beane’s “The Nance” in the 2024-2025 season.
Running up against the limits of its 110-seat theater, 1st Stage was in discussions with Fairfax County and Clemente Development Company to secure space in The View at Tysons, a planned mixed-use development near the Spring Hill Metro station that would’ve included office buildings, housing, a hotel, retail and a black-box theater, among other amenities.
Approved by Fairfax County leaders in 2019, the project was reportedly on track to begin construction after the developer finalized land purchases when the COVID-19 pandemic stalled it in early 2020. The site has been more recently been targeted by Comstock Companies for a casino-anchored development, though the Reston-based company would need to acquire more parcels and get legislative and voter approval to implement its vision.
With no new facilities on the way in the near-future, 1st Stage is instead looking to renovate its existing space by expanding its lobby, offices, performer dressing rooms and restrooms, adding a dedicated rehearsal space, upgrading the HVAC system, and beautifying the exterior.
The expanded lobby will feature a lending library with theater-related materials — “a much-needed resource in our area,” 1st Stage says on its website for the fundraising campaign. Planned exterior improvements include additional signage, enhanced lighting and a clearer path to the theater entrance, which has limited visibility from the road.
In addition to the facility overhaul, 1st Stage says it’ll use the funds raised by the “Furthering Our Future” campaign to increase pay and hire additional staff, upgrade its sound system and make other accessibility-related improvements, continue offering reduced ticket prices, and expand its student workshops, fellowships for early-career artists and other community programs.
“By making strategic investments now, we ensure that 1st Stage continues to thrive as a beacon of artistic excellence, providing consistent, high-quality programming, accessible avenues to art for all, community connections, and contributing to the cultural vibrancy of our region,” Levy said.
