The McCarter Theatre of Princeton, NJ, have made an alteration in their 1999-2000 season schedule, replacing the previously-announced stage adaptation of novelist Cormac McCarthy's The Stonemason with a production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard.
According to a press statement, both McCarthy and McCarter artistic director Emily Mann agreed The Stonemason needed to be developed further and McCarthy could not find time in his busy schedule to do the necessary work. The Stonemason traces four generations of an African-American family living in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1970's as they struggle to remain tied to their land and to each other.
Mann will direct Chekhov's masterpiece. It will run March 28-April 16, 2000. No casting has been announced.
The McCarter recently completed a run of Sam Shephard's Fool for Love, starring Laila Robins.
New Jersey's McCarter Theatre's 1999-2000 season, the 10th anniversary for artistic director Emily Mann, runs as follows: € Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Oct. 19-Nov. 7, directed by Daniel Fish, with incidental music by Polly Pen.
€ David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, with a director to be announced. Glengarry, a savagely funny look at small-time real estate salesmen, won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize and was made into a 1992 film with Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino and Kevin Spacey. Other Mamet plays include Oleanna, Speed The Plow and The Cryptogram.
€ Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, March 28-April 16, directed by Emily Mann.
€ Polly Pen's The Night Governess. The work, inspired by the Louisa May Alcott thriller "Behind the Mask," is the darkly comic story of a quiet young woman who comes to teach a household in the art of manipulation as she twists each family member to her own designs. Pen workshopped the musical at the McCarter in November 1998 with Judith Blazer, Alma Cuervo (Titanic ) and Emily Skinner (Side Show) in the cast. Lisa Peterson will direct.
To subscribe to the McCarter Theatre's season ($80 and up), call the box office at (609) 258-2787. The McCarter Theatre is located at 91 University Place.
-- By Robert Simonson
