Ahead of the December 2024 world premiere of “Death on the Nile,” an Agatha Christie adaptation by local playwright Ken Ludwig, Hana S. Sharif made a complicated request.
Sharif, the artistic director of the prestigious Arena Stage in D.C., asked her staff to build an intricate revolving mechanism called a “turtle” that would transform a steamship deck into swanky staterooms, like a reptile shedding its shell. Designs were due at the beginning of August so that staffers could begin sourcing materials and coming up with construction plans, but Sharif failed to submit them before leaving on a lengthy vacation. Instead, she returned in September with new, more expensive ideas, former staffers said, including switching from a more standard turntable set to a massive turtle.
“At every meeting, she would blow everything up and make changes to the design,” said a former staffer, who, like many of the people interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity.