In 1950, Zelda Fichandler founded Washington, DC’s Arena Stage with her George Washington University theater professor Edward Mangum. After he left the enterprise two years later, Zelda guided Arena with vision and passion for the next 40 years, transforming the college experiment into one of the flagships of America’s theatrical world. Mary B. Robinson chronicles this remarkable person in her recently published oral history biography, To Repair the World: Zelda Fichandler and the Transformation of American Theater (Routledge, 2024). In 17 sections, 16 of which focus squarely on Zelda and her relationship with theater at Arena Stage and later at the New York University graduate acting program, Robinson has orchestrated hundreds of short oral accounts to create an intricate collage of the many facets of this theatrical legend. She does not spare us the warts or the controversies either because even those traits, which some experienced negatively, shaped the dynamism that is Zelda Fichandler. Zelda Fichandler co-founded Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Tom Fichandler, and drama teacher Edward Mangum. She is seen here with her husband in 1971. Although Repair the World centers its account on the hundreds if not thousands of lives that Zelda Fichandler shaped over the years, some of the most compelling sections of this historical account are the reveals about her leadership that the remembrances presented. In the opening chapter, Robinson presents an extraordinary picture of Zelda’s initial impulse to start doing theater in Washington. The famous Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland trope “I have a barn” so “Let’s put on a show” captures the whimsical nature of Zelda’s exchange with her then-GW theater professor Mangum. Zelda, who had graduated years earlier from Cornell University with a degree in Russian Language and Literature, had little experience doing shows, but as with the famous trope, when Mangum explained to her the lack of professional theater outside Broadway, Zelda said, “We should start a theater.” The rest is history, as they say. Another riveting series of chapters covers the struggles at Arena during the tumultuous 1960s. In one section, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, another famous trope became involved. It was the last week of Arena’s run of John Whiting’s The Devils, but the nation was in shock. Sporting events, theaters, concerts, and other forms of entertainment faced a decision: Does the show go on? Zelda said, “Yes, the show must go on!” However, many in the company said, “No!” Although Zelda had a strong will, the last weekend of The Devils was indeed canceled. Robinson also covers Zelda’s deep love of Russian and Eastern European theater, a love that culminates in 1973 when she and Arena take two shows to the Soviet Union, Thorton Wilder’s Our Town and Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s Inherit the Wind. Paid for by the United States State Department during the time of détente, the shows not only opened up a dialogue between the two Cold War enemies, but they also, ironically, liberated  Zelda, allowing her to express ever more deeply her belief that theater changes lives. In a later chapter, Zelda brings in the brilliant Russian director Yuri Lyubimov to recreate his masterful production of his adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, using Arena’s acting company. Tom Hewitt, who played the lead character Raskolnikov, called the production and Lyubimov’s rehearsal process “dark and beautiful. Brutal, and so beautiful.” And, indeed, it was. Having seen the production back in 1987, I can attest to the show’s brilliance, but Robinson chronicles the brutality of the process from the actors’ point of view. Zelda’s delicate management of the cast, particularly several of its actresses (Lyubimov was particularly brutal with some of the actresses) attests to her leadership skills. On the other hand, her decision to import Dostoevsky’s vision of the human condition that had been adapted for the stage by a Russian auteur and her expecting American actors to recreate that vision of life without a fierce clash — well, let’s just say that demonstrated that Zelda’s love of Russian theater surpassed every practical consideration. Arena Stage co-founder Zelda Fichandler in front of the company’s first theater venue The Hippodrome, the week before the theater’s opening on August 16, 1950. Those are only a few of the events, however, that Robinson brings to life with her carefully woven oral histories. Her collection captures not only Zelda Fichandler’s dynamic leadership style, but also her passion for theater and its community-building aspects. She was a zealous advocate for the actor, not simply as an individual, but also as a family member, a member of the community, and most importantly as a member of a company. After leaving Arena to work full-time as the chair of the NYU graduate acting program, Zelda continued to nurture this passion, instilling its fire in the next generation of theater professionals. The beauty of oral histories is that they capture the zeitgeist of the times. When Arena was founded in 1950, the theatrical world was dramatically different. There was a dearth of professional institutions to nurture theater art in America. There was also, however, an abundance of the pioneering spirit, and Mary B. Robinson’s book captures that reality in the force of nature that was Zelda Fichandler. To Repair the World: Zelda Fichandler and the Transformation of American Theater By Mary B. Robinson ISBN 9781032580913 388 Pages, 30 B/W Illustrations Published April 5, 2024, by Routledge SEE ALSO: Elizabeth Bruce and Michael Oliver launch ‘Theatre in Community’ audio interviews (news story, September 8, 2023)