Community Rallies to Reopen the Anacostia Playhouse

GoFundMe Campaign Launches, Community Meeting Set for July 26

After 18 months of silence, the Anacostia Playhouse, a vital center for arts, storytelling, and community in Southeast DC, is preparing for a powerful comeback. A new GoFundMe campaign has officially launched to raise funds for the reopening, and community members are invited to a meeting on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at 2:00 PM at the Anacostia Arts Center (1231 Good Hope Rd SE) to learn more and get involved.

The effort is led by Anacostia Playhouse DC, a newly formed nonprofit dedicated to restoring the theater. Returning to help guide the process is Adele Robey, founding Executive Director of the original Playhouse, who helped launch the venue in 2013. While Robey was not involved in the 2024 closure, she has rejoined the effort with renewed energy and vision.

The campaign is also backed by ARCH Development, a long-time Ward 8 nonprofit with a decades-long track record of championing local arts, culture, and small business development in the Anacostia neighborhood. ARCH played a critical role in launching the original Anacostia Playhouse as well as other community-based venues including Honfleur Gallery, the Anacostia Arts Center, and The HIVE. ARCH has made a major financial pledge to support the Playhouse’s reopening, reinforcing its deep and ongoing commitment to Southeast DC.

Support for the reopening continues to grow across the city, with artists, creatives, theater companies, educators, DC agencies, elected officials, the Anacostia Arts & Culture District, and local residents lending their voices to the cause.

“This is about more than reopening a building,” said Robey. “It’s about reopening opportunity, joy, and community. The Playhouse has always been a home for local stories, and we need that now more than ever.”

The Anacostia Playhouse served as a launchpad for original productions, youth programs, MOTH Story Hours, and community events for over a decade. Its closure in 2024 was a significant loss for Anacostia, Ward 8, and the entire area east of the Anacostia River. The urgency to reopen is heightened by the upcoming temporary closure of the Anacostia Arts Center in Fall 2025 for renovations, which would leave no active small or mid-sized theaters east of the Anacostia River.

Without a venue like the Playhouse, artists, audiences, and cultural groups in Wards 7 and 8 face the risk of displacement from essential creative spaces.