In a letter to friends and patrons of the Princeton, NJ, theatre, artistic director Emily Mann said, "As many of you already know, Governor Corzine's proposed budget reduces state cultural dollars by nearly 30%. Due to the impact of this significant cut on McCarter, along with a tightening economic outlook for our institutional funders, we have had to make reductions in expenses in the coming season. Regrettably, this situation has forced us to postpone our previously announced production of the ambitious new musical, Take Flight. We have invited the creative team to continue developing their ebullient musical at McCarter with the goal of a production in an upcoming season."
Take Flight had been scheduled to make its U.S. premiere at the McCarter Sept. 5-Oct. 12. In its place will be the one-man show Herringbone, starring Tony Award winner B.D. Wong and directed by Roger Rees. Tom Cone, Skip Kennon and Ellen Fitzhugh play, according to the McCarter, is "a chilling and charming musical ghost story in which an 8-year-old tap dancer becomes possessed by the vengeful spirit of a jaded song-and-dance man." Wong plays 11 roles in the musical, which was seen at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in June 2007.
The McCarter season will also include the following:
Talley's Folly
By Lanford Wilson; directed by Marshall W. Mason
Oct. 12-Nov. 2
"A poignant valentine to unlikely love, this charming romantic comedy is a waltz, a duet, an uneasy love story. On a moonlit night in 1944 Missouri, Jewish accountant Matt Freidman knows he has only one chance to win Sally Talley's heart."
Mrs. Warren's Profession
By George Bernard Shaw; directed by Emily Mann
Jan. 9-Feb. 15, 2009
"In this witty and provocative comedy, Shaw tests the bonds between a mother and daughter in a battle of sex, money and morality. Determined to have a comfortable life, Mrs. Warren refuses to take the dangerous, menial and underpaid jobs available to women of the 19th century." Twelfth Night
By William Shakespeare; directed by Rebecca Taichman
March 8-29, 2009
"Shipwrecked in a foreign land without family, friends or possessions, whats a girl to do? Identity is under siege in the labyrinth of misconceptions that is Twelfth Night, Shakespeares bewitching comedy of unquenchable desire, self deception, and misdirected love."
The Brother/Sister Plays: Presented over two evenings
Evening A
In the Red and Brown Water
By Tarell Alvin McCraney
April 17-June 14, 2009 "How far will Oya go to make a mark in the world? Fast, beautiful Oya is a young runner with enormous promise, forced to choose between her ailing mother and her own dreams."
Evening B
The Brothers Size and Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet
By Tarell Alvin McCraney
May 7-June 14, 2009
"Even though Oshooshi Size is out of jail, he's hardly free," according to Brothers Size press notes. "In this taut, rhythmic and playful drama, two brothers walk the line between law and liberty, locked in a fierce tug-of-war for their own souls." Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet is described as such: "Marcus' life is not so sweet. His mother wants him to stay young forever, his friends don't understand him, and he has a secret he can't seem to wash away. A beautiful and touching tale of about one boy's tenuous connections with his history, his friends, and himself, Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet explores growing up gay and black in the modern South."
The McCarter Theatre is located at 91 University Place in Princeton, NJ. Tickets are available by calling (609) 258-2787 or by visiting www.mccarter.org.
