‘The Velocity of Autumn’ Set for Arena Stage

Eric Coble’s play “The Velocity of Autumn,” which had been announced for a spring opening on Broadway only to be postponed last week, will be part of the 2013-14 season at Arena Stage in Washington, the theater announced on Tuesday. Set to run Sept. 6 to Oct. 20, the production will star the Oscar winner Estelle Parsons and the Tony winner Stephen Spinella, and will be directed by Molly Smith, the Arena’s artistic director. All three had been announced for the show’s Broadway production.

In a news release the Arena describes its run of “The Velocity of Autumn” as a “pre-Broadway production” for Mr. Coble’s dark comedy about an elderly artist (Ms. Parsons) who brricades herself inside her Brooklyn brownstone, where she is visited by her estranged son (Mr. Spinella). In an interview, Larry Kaye, who planned to produce “The Velocity of Autumn” on Broadway this spring, said the show had been postponed because he wanted “a theater suitable for the play and its intimate size.” Mr. Kaye also delayed a spring revival of Beth Henley’s “Miss Firecracker Contest” that he was to produce on Broadway.

Mr. Kaye said that the opening of the show in Washington came about after Ms. Parsons did a reading of it at the Arena about a year ago, and expressed interest in performing it there. The Arena production was “not instead of” a Broadway run, he said.

“When we postponed the play for the spring we continued to plan to bring it to Broadway,” said Mr. Kaye, a Broadway newcomer. “This seems to be a terrific opportunity to work on the play with our two stars, and it fit in perfectly with the Arena season.”

Ms. Smith said the show would benefit from being performed in Arena’s 517-seat Kreeger Theater, as opposed to the much larger Broadway houses that were being considered.

“This is an intimate two-person play,” she said. “It demands a space where the audience can absolutely lean into the story and not see it from a distance.”

Both Mr. Kyle and Ms. Smith said they hoped to bring the play to Broadway at some point, although no firms plans were in place.

“This is a play that needs to be seen in Washington and in New York,” said Ms. Smith. “If all the pieces come together that would be wonderful. But it also needs to be the right theater.”

“The Velocity of Autumn” is one of 10 shows announced for Arena’s coming season. Other offerings include Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children” with Kathleen Turner as the title character; the Tectonic Theater Project’s production of “The Tallest Tree - A Portrait of Paul Robeson,” written and performed by DanielBeaty (“Emergence-SEE!”); a new adaptation of “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” directed by Kenny Leon (“Stick Fly”); and new works by the playwrights Charles Randolph-Wright and Lawrence Wright and the choreographer Liz Lerman. More information is at arenastage.org.