Arena Stage 14th Annual Benefit for Community Engagement

March 9 • The Roof Terrace Restaurant

The Event: Sen. Daniel Akaka and Shelia Johnson Newman were among an all-star cast of 40, putting on their acting shoes for The Pundit Whodunit: The Case of the Political Puzzle for Arena Stage. The players quickly rehearsed just a few short hours before curtain time, lines were forgotten and slip-ups were made, but it all came together at the end with a rousing musical number that had Eleanor Holmes Norton tapping her toes.
The Scene: Guests dined at the Mandarin Oriental before honoring Mayor Anthony Williams and Sen. Daniel Inouye for helping make the Nation's second largest performing arts community after New York City.
The Guests: Sen. Jack Reed, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Rep. Jim Kolbe, George Stephanopolous and Nina Totenberg.

Andy and Ellie Glass with Kath and Alan Novak

Sen. Daniel Akaka, Roderic David, Tram Ngo and Sen. Jack Reed

Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandra Wentworth and Sheila Johnson Newman	Oman Amb. Hunaina Al-Mughairy and Rim Hilal Abboud

Actress Deanna Harris sang "Whatever Tony Wants" to Mayor Anthony Williams after he was awarded the Arena Stage Special Recognition Award

Lawrence Redmond, Gene Weingarten, Roxann Johnson, George Stephanopolous, Kojo Nnamdi and Alexandra Wentworth	Arena Stage actress E. Faye Butler sings “Woman”

Photos by Jonah Koch