American Repertory Theatre Opens with Cabaret
Diane Paulus Previews Season
By: Nancy Janeway - Aug 30, 2010
The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), under the Artistic Direction of Diane Paulus, is pleased to announce further details of its 2010/11 Season, beginning on August 31 with Cabaret, followed by Alice vs. Wonderland, The Blue Flower, R. Buckminster Fuller – The History (and mystery) of the Universe, Ajax, Prometheus Bound, and Death and the Powers: The Robots’ Opera.
A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus commented: “My first year has been a dream come true for me and I am grateful to our audiences who have embraced the idea of “experiencing the A.R.T.” by flocking to Sleep No More in Brookline, keeping The Donkey Show running, supporting new work with Best of Both Worlds and Johnny Baseball, and saluting the Emerging America Festival partnership with the Huntington and ICA. In 2010/2011, I will continue to investigate work that is driven by music, both from the established canon and with world premieres of new work that will take us from Weimar Germany to a future in which robots discuss the meaning of death. We will also delve into the classics with a festival of Greek plays that speak directly to our lives today with questions of civic responsibility when faced with the trauma of war. I promise that our 2010/2011 season will be another year of theatrical events — from rock stars to a robot chorus, mosh pits to the geodesic dome, Sophocles to Lewis Carroll — there will be something for everyone.”
Details of the 2010/11 Season are as follows:
• CABARET
book by Joe Masteroff, based on the play by John Van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood; music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb; directed by Steven Bogart; movement by Steven Mitchell Wright; set and costume design by David Israel Reynoso; lighting design by Nicolas Vargelis; sound design by Clive Goodwin; music direction by Debra Barsha and Lance Horne; Kit Kat Klub paintings by Rick Berry.
Take your seat at the Kit Kat Klub, the perfectly marvelous cabaret where singer Sally Bowles meets writer Cliff Bradshaw. As the two pursue a life of pleasure in Weimar Berlin, the world outside the Klub begins to splinter. Presiding over it all is singer, songwriter, and former Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer as the Kit Kat Klub's magnetic Emcee.
OBERON. Begins performances on August 31, closes on October 29. Press opening on September 8.
• ALICE vs. WONDERLAND – American Premiere
based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, adapted by Brendan Shea; directed by János Szász; set design by Riccardo Hernandez; costume design by David Israel Reynoso; lighting design by Daniel Maruti Evans; sound design by Clive Goodwin. Featuring the A.R.T. Institute class of 2011.
Lewis Carroll meets Lady GaGa in this fantastical update of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This new adaptation seamlessly blends the lyrical whimsy of Alice with modern pop music and high-octane physical theater. The result is a fresh, funny, and emotional remix of Carroll's classic coming-of-age tale.
LOEB STAGE. Begins performances September 18, closes October 9 (Saturday performances only). There is no press opening.
• THE BLUE FLOWER
music, lyrics, script, and videography by Jim Bauer; artwork, story, and videography by Ruth Bauer; directed by Will Pomerantz; movement by Tom Nellis; set design by Marsha Ginsberg, costume design by Carol Bailey; lighting design by Justin Townsend; sound design by Clive Goodwin.
Fusing the sounds of Weimar cabaret and country-western music, The Blue Flower takes us on a journey from Belle Époque Paris to the World War I battlefields. As the artist Max Baumann assembles his memories into a spectacular collage, he reveals the story of four friends and lovers trying to make their way through a world in pieces.
LOEB STAGE. Begins performances December 1, closes January 8. Press opening on December 8.
• R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE
written and directed by D.W. Jacobs from the life, work and writings of R. Buckminster Fuller; starring Thomas Derrah as Buckie Fuller. Set and lighting design by David Lee Cuthbert; costume design by Darla Cash; projections by Jim Findlay; sound/composition by Luis Perez.
Journey through the universe on Spaceship Earth with the Leonardo daVinci of the twentieth century as your guide. Futurist, environmentalist, and geodesic dome designer Bucky Fuller takes us on an adventure through his life and times — from his childhood in Massachusetts, to his meeting with Albert Einstein, to his breakthrough moments of invention. A visionary who anticipated many of the challenges the world faces today, Fuller shows us how to save humanity and the planet by doing more with less.
LOEB STAGE. Begins performances January 15, closes February 5. Press opening on January 19.
• AJAX
by Sophocles, in a new translation by Charles Connaghan, directed by Sarah Benson; set and costume design by David Zinn; lighting design by Justin Townsend; sound design by Matt Tierny.
As the great warrior Ajax recovers from a bout of madness, he struggles to live with the consequences of his crazed violence and with the trauma of war. A poignant examination of how combat affects the mind of a soldier, Sophocles’ tragedy speaks directly to our times. A world premiere translation of this classic work, under the direction of Obie Award-winning director and Artistic Director of Soho Rep, Sarah Benson.
LOEB STAGE. Begins performances February 12, closes March 12. Press opening on February 16.
• PROMETHEUS BOUND — World Premiere
text and lyrics by Steven Sater (from the play by Aeschylus), music composed by Serj Tankian, directed by Diane Paulus; choreography by Stephen Petronio; set design by Riccardo Hernandez; sound design by Clive Goodwin.
An outcry against tyranny, the new rock musical Prometheus Bound illustrates one man's struggle against the brute force of a ruthless dictator. Written by Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist and playwright Steven Sater (Spring Awakening) with music by System of a Down lead singer and Grammy Award-winning composer Serj Tankian, this bold new musical is inspired by Aeschylus's ancient Greek tragedy about the suffering of Western civilization's first prisoner of conscience. A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus stages this world premiere production in OBERON, immersing the audience in an environment that has the Dionysian energy and rebelliousness of a rock concert.
OBERON. Begins performances February 25, closes March 25. Press opening on March 4.
• DEATH AND THE POWERS: The Robots’ Opera – American Premiere
by Tod Machover, libretto by Robert Pinsky, story by Robert Pinsky and Randy Weiner, directed by Diane Paulus; conducted by Gil Rose; choreographed by Karole Armitage; production design by Alex McDowell; lighting design by Donald Holder.
When the eccentric patriarch Simon Powers downloads himself into The System, his entire house comes to life around his family and friends. A groundbreaking new production developed by the MIT Media Lab in partnership with the A.R.T., Death and the Powers explores what we leave behind for the world and our loved ones, using specially designed technology and an expressively animated stage, including a chorus of robots and a musical chandelier. Death and the Powers receives its world premiere in Monaco in September 2010, is supported by Futurum Association (Monaco), and is presented in collaboration with Chicago Opera Theater, and in association with Opera Boston.
CUTLER MAJESTIC THEATER. Opens March 18, closes March 25 (4 performances only). Press opening on March 18.
The A.R.T. continues its performances of The Donkey Show on Saturday nights at OBERON at 8:00pm and 10:30pm throughout the season.
The 2nd annual Emerging America Festival, a festival of theater devoted to supporting and launching the new American voices of tomorrow, in collaboration with the Huntington Theatre Company and the Institute of Contemporary Arts/Boston, will take place May 13-15, 2011.
To learn more about the A.R.T. and its upcoming season log on to the A.R.T. website at www.americanrepertorytheater.org or call the A.R.T. InfoLine at (617) 547-8300. The InfoLine is available 24 hours a day to provide directions to the theater; to order brochures, calendars, and newsletters; and to allow direct access to the A.R.T. Box Office (hours are noon to curtain time on performance days, noon to 5 pm on non-performance days, closed on Mondays).
The Loeb Drama Center, at 64 Brattle Street and OBERON, on the corner of Arrow Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Harvard Square, Cambridge are accessible to persons with special needs and to those requiring wheelchair seating or first-floor restrooms. Public transportation and discount parking are available nearby.