1997-1998 Season
1997-1998 Season
The Game of Love and Chance
by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux
Adapted and directed by Stephen Wadsworth
Presented in association with McCarter Theatre
Sept. 5 — Oct. 5, 1997
The Huntington Theatre
This delightfully funny love story is about a young man and woman of noble birth who are betrothed to each other although they have never met. Wanting to learn about each other before they wed, they both secretly exchange social positions with their servants. Before the play ends, servants and masters alike discover the true nature and irresistible power of love.
Cabaret Verboten
An Evening Created by Jeremy Lawrence
featuring authentic songs and sketches of Berlin Cabaret, 1918-1933
Directed by Martin L. Platt
Oct. 10 — Nov. 9, 1997
The Huntington Theatre
You say the President can’t make a decision, public confidence in government is at rock bottom, and the left and right are at each other’s throats? Welcome to Germany after World War I, as reflected in the extraordinary songs and sketches that filled the nights in Berlin’s cabarets — razor sharp, wickedly funny, irreverent, and bawdy. A powerful and compelling musical work in its Boston premiere, from the works and words of Wilhelm Bendow, Bertolt Brecht, Hanns Eisler, Werner Finck, Fritz Grunbaum, Friedrich Hollaender, Walter Mehring, Rudolf Nelson, Kurt Robitschek, Marcellus Schiffer, Mischa Spoliansky, Konrad Tom, Kurt Tucholsky, Karl Valentin, and David Weber.
The Shaughraun
by Dion Boucicault
Directed by Larry Carpenter
Presented in association with Seattle Repertory Theatre
Jan. 9 — Feb. 8, 1998
The Huntington Theatre
The Shaughraun (“shock rawn”) is an action-packed romantic adventure complete with heroes, villains, intrigue, and mayhem. Set in mid-19th century Ireland, the story revolves around Conn, the village Shaughraun — described as “the sould of every fair, the life of every funeral, the first fiddle at all weddings” — and his friend Robert, a young Irish gentleman who has been unfairly banished to Australia. Robert escapes to the coast of County Mayo to be with his true love, and when the English officer sent to recapture him falls in love with Robert’s sister, the plot thickens!
Collected Stories
by Donald Margulies
Directed by Jacques Cartier
March 6 — April 5, 1998
The Huntington Theatre
This moving and very funny new play chronicles the relationship between Ruth Steiner, a prominent New York writer and teacher, and Lisa Morrison, her young student, assistant, and protégé. Their careers intersect over a six-year period in which Lisa’s ascendancy challenges her teacher’s preeminence. When the blossoming writer betrays her mentor’s confidence, Ruth challenges Lisa about their broken trust and confronts her own mortality.
Nomathemba (Hope)
Book and lyrics by Ntozake Shange‚ Eric Simonson‚ and Joseph Shabalala
Based on a song by Joseph Shabalala
Music by Joseph Shabalala
Directed by Eric Simonson
Featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Presented in partnership with the Wang Center for the Performing Arts
April 18 — May 10, 1998
Shubert Theatre
This joyful musical is a love story set in post-apartheid South Africa which features Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the internationally acclaimed singing group that gained worldwide popularity through Paul Simon’s Graceland album.
Ah, Wilderness!
by Eugene O’Neill
Directed by Kyle Donnelly
May 15 — June 14, 1998
The Huntington Theatre
Eugene O’Neill’s only major comedy is the coming-of-age story of Richard Miller, a sensitive young man who quotes Ibsen, Shaw, and Swinburne with abandon. Set on a Fourth of July weekend in the turn of the century world of O’Neill’s youth, and full of touching humor and lyrical language, Ah, Wilderness! is a tribute to the innocence and idealism of the young, the growing pains of adolescence, and the challenges and rewards of parenting.