Commissioned by Indiana Rep in Indianapolis, Interpreting William, according to the Rep, is the result of playwright-in-residence James Still's multi-year study of the story of William Conner (1777-1855), the founder of what is now Conner Prairie Pioneer Settlement, "and his involvement with the Native American issues that characterized pre-statehood Indiana culture."
The play uses contemporary and historic time frames. "Yesterday and today merge as a college professor struggles to uncover the secrets of Conner's complicated personal life while also trying to understand his own," according to the Rep.
Performances will play the IRT Mainstage March 3-22, 2009.
James Still's plays include Amber Waves, And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank, Iron Kisses, Gentleman From Indiana, Looking Over the President's Shoulder and more.
The Indiana Rep season will also include:
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, adapted by Edgar Award winner Steven Dietz, based on the original 1899 play by William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle, Sept. 16-Oct. 11 (Mainstage).Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Oct. 8-Nov. 9 (Upperstage).Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, adapted by Tom Haas, Nov. 2-Dec. 28 (Mainstage).This Wonderful Life, written by Steve Murray, conceived by Mark Setlock, a one-man version of the famous film "It's a Wonderful Life," Nov. 25, 2008-Jan, 4, 2009 (Upperstage).Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, adapted by Christopher Sergel, Jan. 21-Feb. 21, 2009 (Mainstage).Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, in a Joseph Jefferson Award-winning adaptation (that runs 90 minutes) by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus, Feb. 10-March 8, 2009 (Upperstage).Crowns, by Regina Taylor, adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry, about African-American church ladies and their hats, April 7-May 2, 2009 (Mainstage).Rabbit Hole, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire, about a couple grieving a loss, April 21-May 17, 2009 (Upperstage).The Ladies Man, by Georges Feydeau, freely translated and adapted from Taillieur Pour Dames by Charles Morey, May 12-31, 2009 (Mainstage). The Indiana Repertory Theatre is Indiana's only fully professional, not-for-profit resident theatre. For more information visit www.irtlive.com.
