In a press release sent this afternoon, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities announced it is taking temporary control of the troubled Lincoln Theatre. The venue’s current operator, the U Street Theatre Foundation, will remain in place—-along with the theater’s day-to-day staff—-until Dec. 31. “DCCAH is basically mangaging the process of finding an artistic director and getting it off the ground until there’s management in place to run the theater,” says DCCAH spokesperson Marquis Perkins. The U Street Theatre Foundation’s contract has not been renewed for next year.

From the press release:

Today, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Victor L. Hoskins took the first step in moving the Lincoln Theatre towards a new long-term sustainable plan for the future. Oversight of the new direction of the Lincoln Theatre has been delegated to the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH), the District’s agency for arts and culture. “Creating a long-term sustainable structure for the management and operations of the theatre is one of the District’s highest priorities. I felt it was important to move in that direction by asking DCCAH to develop a comprehensive plan for its future operations in consultation with community members and the outstanding arts related organizations we have in the city,” said Victor Hoskins.

Plans are in the works to hire an artistic director to “facilitate the long-term artistic vision for the theatre and work on needed upgrades within the theatre itself.”

Photo by Flickr user Steve Snodgrass used under a creative commons license.