A two-part adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3, plus a new drama by David Henry (Tony winner for M. Butterfly) Hwang are among shows planned for the 1996-97 season at the New York Shakespeare Festival.
No dates gave been announced.
NYSF, which produced the original productions of Hair, A Chorus Line and Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk, has announced that it will produce these, reputedly the earliest of Shakespeare's plays. The three plays will be condensed into two evenings. They cover the final years of the Wars of the Roses. Karin Coonrod, a 1995-96 artist-in-residence at NYSF will direct. No cast has been announced.
They will be, respectively, the 33rd, 34th and, technically, the 35th productions in NYSF's ongoing quest to mount every Shakespeare play. The remaining plays: Antony and Cleopatra and Henry VIII.
Also announced for the 1996-97 season:* One Flea Spare: Naomi Wallace's drama about magical 12-year-old in the midst of plague in 1665 London. The play was produced previously at the 1996 Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. Ron Daniels, associate artistic director of American Repertory Theatre in Massachusetts, will direct.
* Golden Child: A new play by Henry David Hwang, about stresses within a family in 1920s China.
* A Huey P. Newton Story: Roger Guenveur Smith's one-man drama about the founder of the Black Panthers. The African-American leader's vision is expounded in his own words. This drama was presented in October 1995 by Magic Theatre in San Francisco.
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