Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC, will shut down for renovations between June and November, following the June 16 close of Hot Mikado, but A Christmas Carol and 1776 are on the horizon.

The popular David H. Bell adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado opened March 13 at the famed theatre. Bell told Playbill On-Line that in March 2003 he will direct and choreograph a Ford's Theatre revival of 1776, the stirring Peter Stone-Sherman Edwards musical about the battle to create the Declaration of Independence. With the nation currently fighting a war against terrorism, the show will likely have more significance than ever.

Ford's Theatre's annual staging of A Christmas Carol begins Nov. 22.

An official announcement of the 2002-2003 Ford's Theatre season has not been made.

Ford's Theatre, known to many as the place where Abraham Lincoln was shot, co-produced a mini-tour of I'm Not Rappaport in early 2002 that also played Coconut Grove Playhouse and Paper Mill. It lands on Broadway this summer, starring Ben Vereen and Judd Hirsch. — By Kenneth Jones