Writers' Theatre artistic director Michael Halberstam and executive director Kathryn M. Lipuma announced the Glencoe, IL, company's season April 1.

The 17th season will include two world premieres: a musical adaptation of Shaw's 1894 play Candida (as yet untitled), with music by Josh Schmidt, book by Austin Pendleton, lyrics by Jan Tranen and conceived and directed by Halberstam; and Brett Neveu's play Old Glory, directed by William Brown.

The world premiere of Old Glory will play Feb. 3-March 29, 2009. "This gripping drama in which a family confronts loss as a consequence of war is brought intensely to life through Neveu's direct yet poetic language," according to Writers' Theatre. "No government, no politics, just people. Razor sharp wit and fiercely emotional confrontation combine as this viscerally powerful mystery unfolds."

The Candida musical will play May 19-July 19, 2009. Drawn from the 1894 play, the musical will also focus on "a poet, a preacher and his wife [who] enter into a delicious conflict when a fantastical suspicion turns an ordinary day topsy turvy."

The subscription season also includes Picnic by William Inge, directed by David Cromer; and Jean Genet's The Maids, translated by Martin Crimp and directed by Jimmy McDermott. For the first time in Writers' Theatre history, three non-subscription shows will be produced, including an election-season revival of Nixon's Nixon by Russell Lees, directed by Michael Halberstam, featuring the original cast of William Brown and Larry Yando; Halberstam's one-man dramatic staged reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol; and a family production to be determined.

Writers' Theatre presents in two performance spaces in Glencoe: a 50-seat venue at Books on Vernon, 664 Vernon Ave, and its 108-seat theatre at 325 Tudor Court in the Woman's Library Club.

Subscriptions and memberships are available at the box office, 376 Park Avenue, Glencoe, (847) 242-6000 and www.writerstheatre.org.