The upcoming season at the New Jersey venue will include two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays, an adaptation of an ancient Chinese legend, and translations of two works by the 18th-century French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais.
The centerpiece of the season will be The Figaro Plays: The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais. Directed and adapted by Stephen Wadsworth, McCarter will produce these plays together in spring 2014 in a repertory schedule that will include opportunities to see both plays in one day.
“At the core of our Theater Series is a culture of storytelling. Stories have the power to make us laugh, challenge us, break down barriers, and unite us as a community. That’s what theater is all about,” said Mann in a statement. “It’s where a community comes together to share an event.”
The 2013-14 season at a glance follows:
Proof
By David Auburn
Directed by Emily Mann
Sept. 6-Oct. 6
"Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, David Auburn’s Proof is an elegant and engaging story of passion, genius, and family bonds. Catherine has inherited her late father’s mathematical brilliance, but does she also share his madness? When one of his graduate students discovers a groundbreaking proof among the professor’s notebooks, Catherine must face the legacy her father has left behind." The White Snake
Written and directed by Mary Zimmerman
Based on the classic Chinese fable
Oct. 15-Nov. 3
"It’s an ancient Chinese story—girl meets boy and falls head over heels. The only problem is that the girl is a white serpent from the spirit world, and to win her love’s heart she must come down from the mountain and take human form."
Fences
By August Wilson
Directed by Phylicia Rashad
Jan. 10-Feb. 9, 2014
"Fences is one of the most beloved plays in August Wilson’s soaring ten-play cycle chronicling the African-American experience of the 20th century. This Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning drama tells the gripping story of a father and son and the dreams to which they desperately cling in rapidly changing mid-century America."
The Figaro Plays
By Pierre Beaumarchais
Directed and adapted by Stephen Wadsworth
"Stephen Wadsworth makes his triumphant return to McCarter Theatre with The Figaro Plays, two thrilling new translations of the original farces that inspired the great operas: The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville."
The Barber of Seville
April 1-May 4
"Count Almaviva has fallen in love with Rosine, but she’s been locked in the house by her guardian, who has his own matrimonial plans for her. What’s a Count to do? Fortunately, the crafty Figaro is on hand to help sort everything out—or maybe to complicate it further!"
The Marriage of Figaro
April 9-May 3
"Figaro, everyone’s favorite troublemaker, is finally ready to settle down and get married. But when his master, the Count, starts eyeing Figaro’s bride, this crafty barber must use all his wiles and schemes to save his marriage. Servant and master are pitted against each other in an exuberant battle of wits, and the aristocracy itself is at stake!"
For more information or to purchase subscriptions, call the McCarter Subscription Office at (609) 258-5050, online at www.mccarter.org, or in person at 91 University Place in Princeton.
