Photo Gallery

Presidents at The National

President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy leave The National after a performance with a crowd watching them.
President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy leave a performance of Mr. President at The National in 1962.
President Truman and Mrs. Truman walk through a lounge at the theatre.
President Truman and his wife attend a performance at The National.
Mrs. Bush talks to a cast member.
Mrs. Bush talks to a cast member from a production at The National.
President and First Lady Reagan stand on stage speak from the stage of a performance.
President Reagan thanks the audience for attending the reopening of The National in 1984.
President Jimmy Carter meetings actress with large feathered hat.
President Carter speaks with the cast after a performance of Hello, Dolly!

Behind the Scenes

Cab Calloway (left) and Pearl Bailey staring in the all-Black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1967.
Theatre staff prepare for a show in the lounge of the theatre.
Stage hands work the hemp and sandbag rigging system. The rigging system was modernized in 2017.
Actors and actresses from West Side Story walk on the sidewalk outside of the theatre.
Members from the original cast of West Side Story. West Side Story premiered at The National in 1957.
Photograph of the cast of Fiddler on the Roof, which had its pre-Broadway tryout at The National in 1964. Zero Mostel (center) starred as the original Tevye.
Cast members line up on stage for a final bow.
The cast takes a bow after a production in the theatre.
Photograph of a bus outside of The National.
Photograph of a bus tour outside the theatre. Today, The National is still a spot on many DC bus tours.
Photograph of street and National Theatre in 1890.
Pennsylvania Avenue is busy out front of The National in the late 1800s.

Playbills and Programs

Old program titled The Programme from The National.
An early program from The National.
Early ticket prices from the mid-1800s for the theatre.
National Theatre program from the 1835 centennial.
1922 National Theatre rendering.
Drawing of The National from 1922.