While they prepare for their upcoming musical production of Lysistrata starring Cherry Jones, the American Repertory Theatre announced their 2002-03 season. Artistic director Robert Woodruff, associate artistic director Gideon Lester and executive director Robert J. Orchard were all on hand at a press conference held April 15 at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“Each production of the season unites a group of gifted collaborators — directors and actors, writers and composers, musicians and designers," the directors stated, adding "Each of them has earned acclaim in theatres throughout the world, and it is with great pride that we welcome them to Cambridge.”
The season includes:
Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya as adapted and directed by János Szász will start the season Nov. 30. The Chekhov tragicomedy set in a provincial Russian centers on the inhabitants of an estate and their quiet lives—that is, until the father returns from Moscow with his beautiful new wife.
Euripides' The Children of Herakles directed by Peter Sellars will follow Jan. 4, 2003. Herakles' children — exiled from their home following their father's death — travel from country to country in search of a new home to no avail. Anne Bogart directs Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The Visit for A.R.T in association with the SITI Company. The black comedy follows the story of a rich woman who returns to the town where she grew up. Performances begin Feb. 1, 2003.
Rinde Eckert world premieres his musical Highway Ulysses March 1, 2003 under the direction of Robert Woodruff, featuring The Empty House Cooperative. A professor journeys across the American heartland in this new take on Homer’s epic "Odyssey."
Director Andrei Serban takes a stab at William Shakespeare's Pericles May 1, 2003. The Bard's romance about an exiled prince who treks through fantastical kingdoms and discovers his family along the way.
A.R.T. also has another world premiere musical, Hotel of Dreams. Robert Woodruff direct the tuner with music by Philip Glass and book by the very busy David Henry Hwang. (Hwang wrote the book for the upcoming Broadway production of Flower Drum Song, the Trinity Rep world premiere of Largo and the new opera The Scarlet Princess at The Canadian Opera Company.) The production which delves into the dreams and fantasies of a Japanese writer and an aging warrior plays in repertory May 24, 2003.
For more information on the season, visit www.amrep.org or call the A.R.T. InfoLine at (617) 547-8300. A.R.T., located at the Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square at 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, offers subscription plans and tickets.
