Join the Arlington Historical Society for an encore performance of Around the Hearth, a play about the generations of people who lived in the oldest building in Arlington County. Families living in this mid-18th century farmhouse experienced colonial Virginia, the American Revolution, the tumult of the 19th century, and the growing pains of the 20th.
Meticulously researched and written by local playwright and Washington Liberty High School alum Layla Johnson, Around the Hearth breathes life into this varied group of long-ago Virginians. Audiences meet John Ball, a colonial farmer and miller; William Carlin, an Alexandria tailor who is the name sake of the Glencarlyn neighborhood; Ann and Andrew Carlin, entrepreneurial siblings who ran the Carlin Springs Resort and Spa for 30 years; Irene Young a suffragist and math teacher; Julia and Will Powell, both veterans of World War I, and their niece Marian Sellers who donated the house to the Arlington Historical Society in 1975.
Produced and directed by Matteo Hope, also an alum of WLHS, and now attending George Mason University. Mr. Hope has assembled a multi-generational cast to enthusiastically portray each generation.
The performance will NOT be available via Zoom, and it will NOT be recorded.
TICKETS:
Tickets are free, but we hope you donate toward the preservation of this unique historical treasure. Seating is limited so please reserve your seats(s) at this link today: https://arlhist.org/around-the-hearth-2026/
DRIVING DIRECTIONS and FREE PARKING:
Attendees planning to attend the event in-person should enter the Marymount University campus at the library gate on N. 26th Street.
- From Glebe Road going north, take a right onto 26th Street.
- Pass through the stop light at the intersection of 26th and Old Dominion Drive.
- Pass the intersection with Yorktown Road
- Enter the campus through the next gate on your left. The library is to your left as you enter the campus.
- Free garage parking is just past the library at the bottom of the small incline. (Handicapped parking is immediately to your right as you enter through the gate onto campus.)
If the university has lowered the garage gates, push the button and let them know you’re here for an Arlington Historical Society event in the library. To leave, push the button and they’ll raise the gate.
The performance will NOT be available via Zoom, and it will NOT be recorded. This event is hosted courtesy of the Marymount University politics program’s American Heritage Initiative. For more information, please email: info@arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org.
