Franklin Delano Roosevelt hosted a cocktail hour nearly every day at the White House, welcoming folks from different backgrounds to sip martinis, laugh, and connect. Inspired by FDR’s love of stirring up drinks and lively conversation to unwind in challenging times, this immersive new play mixes humor and history to build on this tradition for our era, asking how the 32nd President’s triumphs and failures might illuminate our own civic health. As FDR invites us to ponder life, a complicated legacy, and the pursuit of community, strangers become friends—and perhaps, together, we can find ways to talk with our neighbors again. This project prioritizes exploring the creation of an accessible experience for the fullest human spectrum possible. Captioning, ASL Interpretation, and design of the physical space for wheelchair access are part of the show. (FDR used a wheelchair, after all.)

Individual tickets go on sale at noon July 16, 2026.

Please note there are four performances of this presentation at the Washington Center Black Box Theater. Details at washingtoncenter.org