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1988-1989 Season

1987-1988 Season

The American Clock
by Arthur Miller
Directed by Jackson Phippin
Sept. 23 — Oct. 16, 1988
The Huntington Theatre

In a panoramic mural of the 1930s, Miller shows us the people and places of the American landscape — farmers in Iowa, a welfare office, idealistic social activists, and the New York home of the family Baum. As living embodiments of the American Dream and its shattering, Miller’s characters find their confidence and hope irrevocably changed by the crash of the nation’s financial system. The events of “Black Monday,” October 19, 1987, illustrated how many Americans, however prosperous, still lack confidence that good times will continue. Can innocence ever be regained? Crafted in newsreel fashion, The American Clock is a powerful work with a breadth of vision rare in American theatre.

Don Juan
by Molière
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Jacques Cartier
Nov. 25 — Dec. 18, 1988
The Huntington Theatre

Surrender yourself to Don Juan and you will experience a man of irresistible charm, a master of language and logic, and an expert in joyful persuasion. Romancer of all women he finds attractive, Don Juan brazenly expresses what those around him only dream of putting into spoken words. But has he finally seduced his last beautiful woman and dodged his last detractor with his latest outrages? The treatment of this universal legend by the author of Tartuffe and The Misanthrope is at once a probing exploration of the darker recesses of the soul and a brilliant comic portrayal of human behavior at its most unbridled.

Les Blancs
by Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Harold Scott
Jan. 13 — Feb. 5, 1989
The Huntington Theatre

A blazing and astute drama set in an Africa facing the crisis of transition from colonialism to independence and cultural identity, Les Blancs is the boldest and most ambitious play by the author of A Raisin in the Sun. Unproduced at the time of its author’s death at the age of thirty-four, brutally cut for its posthumous Broadway premiere in 1970, Les Blancs has now finally become vailable for production in its intended form. It is a sweeping, eloquent, and balanced epic which compellingly portrays the personal dilemmas of both blacks and whites caught up by traumatic history.

All’s Well That Ends Well
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Edward Gilbert
March 10 – April 2, 1989
The Huntington Theatre

One of Shakespeare’s loveliest comedies, All’s Well That Ends Well is sure to enchant. The action of this seldom-produced play revolves around Helena, an apothecary’s beautiful daughter who performs a miraculous cure on a dying King. For her success she asks for and receives the hand of Bertram, a young nobleman and soldier. As Shakespeare’s title foretells, all is eventually made well in this romantic fable, but not before Bertram flees the lovely Helena’s nuptial bed for the excitement of the battlefield, Helena proves herself a woman of rare mettle, and the power of love is tested and triumphs.

Candide
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Richard Wilbur
Adapted from the Voltaire by Hugh Wheeler
Directed by Larry Carpenter
Choreography by Daniel Pelzig
May 31 — June 25, 1989
The Huntington Theatre

A delightfully tongue-in-cheek musical version of Voltaire’s classic satire that touches the mind as well as the heart, featuring a brilliant score by renowned composer Leonard Bernstein and poet-laureate Richard Wilbur, Candide chronicles the wonderfully offbeat adventures of an eternal optimist whose view of life is constantly challenged by corrupt monarchs, religious zealots, and conniving relatives.

Larry Carpenter, who piloted last season’s successful Animal Crackers for the Huntington, will direct this American musical theatre masterpiece. Combining satirical charm with beautiful melodies, Candide is a joyous story for young and old alike.