THE HUNTINGTON ANNOUNCES AN ADVENTUROUS AND BOLD 2024/25 SEASON – POWERFUL STORIES BY INSPIRING WRITERS
CONTACT:
Gabrielle Jaques, Publicist
617-273-1520
THE HUNTINGTON ANNOUNCES AN ADVENTUROUS AND BOLD 2024/25 SEASON – POWERFUL STORIES BY INSPIRING WRITERS
The Huntington announces five of seven dynamic titles, including timely, diverse, and epic stories about family, Stoppard’s latest, and a beautiful contemporary musical
(BOSTON) – Huntington Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco and Executive Director Christopher Mannelli announce five of the seven titles in The Huntington’s exciting and eclectic 2024/25 season, featuring new plays by masterful writers, the first two plays of an ambitious, epic cycle, and a soaring, contemporary classic musical.
“What matters most to me in the theatre is great writing; a playwright takes a story, makes it so personal to them, and through that, makes it powerful and profound for all of us,” says Greco. “It’s been immensely gratifying to see Boston audiences connect with the writers this past season, my first at The Huntington. When I looked at plays for next year, what resonated most were stories about family, the core connections that follow us for life. How do family expectations and legacy shape each of us in different ways? The plays we will bring you have an international flair, but I love them because they are intimate, resonant, funny, and cathartic. I can’t wait for you to join us!”
Greco is a longtime champion of artists and a passionate advocate for new plays and this, her second full season of artistic programming at The Huntington, will build upon the many successes of her highly acclaimed 2023/24 season. It will be comprised of four productions at the recently renovated historic Huntington Theatre, and three productions at the Wimberly Theatre in The Huntington’s Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA.
The Huntington’s 2024/25 season includes: Tom Stoppard’s most recent and most personal play, the sprawling Leopoldstadt about generations of a Jewish family in Vienna in the 20th century; the sweeping and romantic musical The Light in the Piazza about a life-changing mother-daughter trip to Italy with a score by Adam Guettel and a book by Craig Lucas, to be directed by Loretta Greco; Ricardo Pérez González’s wickedly funny tragedy Don’t Eat the Mangos about three sisters in Puerto Rico and dark family secrets; and the first two plays of Nigerian American playwright Mfoniso Udofia’s epic nine-play, multi-generational Ufot Family Cycle – the first play is Sojourners, about a Nigerian couple who come to the US for graduate school, and the second is The Grove, where the eldest, American-born daughter returns from college and feels the weight of family expectations.
Later this spring, The Huntington will announce plans for a city-wide celebration of the Ufot Family Cycle in partnership with a number of Boston theatre companies and arts organizations, local universities and businesses, and community organizations, to collectively produce the nine plays of the cycle over the next two seasons.
The Huntington will also announce two additional productions as part of its 2024/25 season – one to be performed at the Calderwood Pavilion in fall of 2024 and one at the Huntington Theatre in 2025. Performances will begin in September with shows taking place at both the Huntington Theatre (264 Huntington Ave) and the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA (527 Tremont Street). See below for the list of titles and details.
Season ticket packages are available for purchase at huntingtontheatre.org or by calling 617-266-0800. Season ticket holders receive up to 65% off single tickets, and can receive an additional 10% off on packages ordered by April 1. Single tickets to individual shows will go on sale in late spring/early summer.
THE HUNTINGTON’S 24/25 SEASON:
Leopoldstadt
by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Carey Perloff
The Huntington Theatre
September 12 – October 13, 2024
Produced in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company
Winner! Four Tony Awards, including Best Play
Winner! Two Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Play
The latest masterpiece and most personal play from Tom Stoppard, Leopoldstadt is a stirring and epic story of love, family, and enduring bravery. In Vienna, the heart of European culture at the rise of the 20th century, two brothers have conflicting visions of prosperity – both for their family and the Jewish people – a tension that will echo through the generations that follow.
The London production’s triumphant Broadway run won Stoppard his fifth Tony Award for Best Play, and now The Huntington is proud to mount the first American production, directed by Stoppard’s longtime friend and collaborator Carey Perloff (Rock ‘n’ Roll, The Lehman Trilogy at The Huntington).
From Huntington Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco: “When I first saw Leopoldstadt, I was blown away by the emotional intimacy and vulnerability that Tom Stoppard brought to this masterwork. A little over a year ago, my dear friend Carey Perloff and I started plotting how a new AMERICAN production of Leopoldstadt might come into being and she, in concert with Tom, have been working on this ever since. I know Carey’s vision will bring immense simplicity, elegance, and theatrical depth to this epic yet personal tale. We are thrilled to welcome the great Tom Stoppard back to The Huntington.”
From playwright Tom Stoppard: “I have some history with The Huntington and with the director Carey Perloff, and I have good cause to be grateful to both – all the more so because this production of Leopoldstadt will be the first American one, following the Broadway run of the London production. In taking on a play with so many characters in today’s financial climate, The Huntington is paying a great compliment to my play. I am thrilled and deeply appreciative.”
From director Carey Perloff: “My mother is a Viennese refugee who fled the Nazis in March 1938, so Stoppard’s gorgeous and heartbreaking play has enormous resonance for me personally. I’m so honored that The Huntington is giving me the chance to stage the first American production, after my very happy time there last spring with The Lehman Trilogy. Leopoldstadt is a family play, a play about the choices we make and fail to make as history hurtles forward, carrying us along. It is also Stoppard’s most deeply personal play, in which he reckons with the impact of his own Jewish heritage on his life and work, and he will be a crucial part of our collaboration at The Huntington. We are both looking forward to this experience enormously!”
Critical acclaim:
“Tom Stoppard is endlessly intrigued by questions of fate, chance, coincidence, in history as well as in love, and in the epic, breathtaking Leopoldstadt, he examines the consequence of an entire people trapped in a common fate.” – The Washington Post
“An intimate epic. The emotional authenticity shines through.” – Variety
“Feels like an act of personal reckoning for its creator – with who he is and what he comes from.” – The New York Times (Critics Pick)
“Ranks among Mr. Stoppard’s greatest works. An inexpressibly moving, majestic play.” – Wall Street Journal
The Ufot Family Cycle
When nationally acclaimed playwright Mfoniso Udofia grew up in Southbridge, Massachusetts and went to Wellesley College, she rarely saw stories about Africans and African Americans that felt like her family. Inspired in part by meeting August Wilson at The Huntington, she set out to create a richly textured and emotionally engrossing cycle of nine plays that follows one family through three generations: parents, children, grandchildren. Each play stands alone, yet together form a rich tapestry of storytelling traditions that will resonate with everyone.
Stay tuned for exciting news about a city-wide festival where The Huntington will join theatres and arts organizations around Greater Boston to produce Mfoniso Udofia’s nine-play Ufot Family Cycle in partnership with universities, social organizations, non-profits, and a host of community activation partners.
Sojourners
by Mfoniso Udofia
Directed by Dawn M. Simmons
The Huntington Theatre
October 31 – December 1, 2024
Rising star playwright Mfoniso Udofia launches her sweeping cycle with a family’s origin story. Marriage, migration, and the pursuit of education collide when a young and brilliant Nigerian couple arrives in Houston, looking to earn their degrees and bring insights back to their home country. But when Abasiama discovers that her husband has been seduced by Motown records and American culture, she has to choose between the Nigerian Dream and her obligations as a matriarch. Director Dawn M. Simmons helms the lively and funny Sojourners at the historic Huntington Theatre following her acclaimed production of K-I-S-S-I-N-G at the Calderwood Pavilion.
From Huntington Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco: “This launches a city-wide Cycle of plays with a host of thrilling producing colleagues who will come together in the Spring to share more with you on this one of a kind two season celebration. If you want rich family stories, if you want plays with soaringly poetic dialogue, if you want plays that change the way you see the world, I can’t wait for you to fall madly in love with the work of Mfoniso Udofia, one of the most theatrically ambitious artists I have had the pleasure of working with. Mfoniso started work on this cycle a decade ago, and we have collaborated on acclaimed premieres of her plays all over the country – yet it feels so right to have her plays return here to her hometown on a canvas as vast as Mfoniso’s creative imagination. Here in her origin story, Sojourners, we meet the matriarch of the family, Abasiama, as she attempts to further her college education and encounters American culture for the first time.”
From playwright Mfoniso Udofia: “I am thrilled to announce the production of the first two plays of the Ufot Cycle this season. Sojourners serves as the origin story within this 9-play cycle, introducing Abasiama, my matriarch – a dynamic and forward-thinking woman from whom an entire Nigerian lineage in America will emerge. I hope this play and Abasiama snatch your heart. She sure caught mine.”
From director Dawn M. Simmons: “This quietly startling piece launches an epic journey of time, culture, familial bonds, and emotion. I could not maintain my chill when Loretta and Mfoniso asked me to direct!”
Critical acclaim:
“Sojourners offers a moving and powerful corrective to the notion that what immigrants leave behind is always awful, and that what they find is always worth the trip. Udofia makes the eventful plot run with marvelous ease; Abasiama’s troubles weave through each other at right angles so that they mimic the complexity and difficulty of real life.” – The New York Times
“Sojourners is an incisive exploration of the choices immigrants must make to become Americans (not just to come to America). A deeply beautiful, complex play. It’s a rich piece, looking at how America changes the people who come here, for better and for worse.” – WNYC
“Compelling, poignant, and exquisitely crafted!” – On Stage Blog
The Grove
by Mfoniso Udofia
Directed by Awoye Timpo
Calderwood Pavilion / Wimberly Theatre
February 7 – March 9, 2025
Playwright Mfoniso Udofia stages a family homecoming, asking what it means to draw on the wisdom and beauty of our ancestors when the bonds of family are stretched to the limit. Abasiama’s eldest daughter Adiaha wants to become a writer to make her family proud, but at her graduation party, she has to choose: fulfill her parents’ desires to settle with a traditional Nigerian man, or stay true to her own romantic match. Director Awoye Timpo (The Bluest Eye at The Huntington) reunites with longtime collaborator Udofia for a play with the rich heart of a family drama against the thrilling theatrical backdrop of a Greek chorus of ancestors.
From Huntington Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco: “Much like August Wilson’s cycle plays, each play within Mfoniso’s cycle stands brilliantly on its own, prompting new questions, ideas, and conversations. The Grove leaps forward in time and invites us to Abasiama’s daughter, Adiaha’s college graduation party complete with the magnificently interwoven dreams and hopes of her parents, uncles, siblings, and friends. Coming to a head with Adiaha in the center, with a chorus of ancestors guiding her towards claiming for the first time in her life ‘this is who I am.’ You will be moved and changed by the journey, and I can’t wait to share it with you.”
From playwright Mfoniso Udofia: “The second play in the Ufot Family Cycle, The Grove, holds a special place in my heart as it was the first play I ever wrote. Following Adiaha, Abasiama’s daughter, as she navigates coming of age, The Grove explores the delicate balance between personal desires and the traditions of the close-knit Nigerian community she holds dear. I hope you enjoy these initial two plays, the beginning of a journey through nine unique plays!”
From director Awoye Timpo: “Mfoniso’s Ufot Family Cycle is a bold, whimsical, kaleidoscopic, and groundbreaking achievement. I’m so honored to return to The Huntington to be a part of this epic and transformative storytelling event.”
Critical acclaim for Udofia’s Ufot Family Cycle:
“Even though the plays are specifically about Nigerian immigrants, the themes are universal.” – The New York Times
“Udofia embodies a certain playwriting sensibility of today’s American theatre – embracing a plurality of identities, a willingness to allow the interior lives of her characters to reveal themselves in unexpected ways, and a penchant for small details as stand-ins for big events.” – KQED, Bay Area NPR
“Udofia upends preconceptions and expectations with a deeply felt perspective on parent and sibling relationships, immigration, communication, social media perceptions of lives and identities of people split between the American melting pot and Nigeria.” – New Jersey Stage
Don’t Eat the Mangos
by Ricardo Pérez González
Directed by David Mendizábal
Calderwood Pavilion / Wimberly Theatre
March 26 – April 27, 2025
Winner! 2021 Will Glickman Award for Best Play
Playwright Ricardo Pérez González’s wickedly funny tragedy Don’t Eat the Mangos portrays life on his home island of Puerto Rico with compassion and humor through the saga of three sisters living just outside San Juan. As a hurricane approaches the beautiful island, secrets and ugly truths are revealed that cause the sisters to wrestle with how to stay true to their familia and homeland – and seek a satisfying revenge. Obie Award winner David Mendizábal returns from the acclaimed world premiere production to direct.
Don’t Eat the Mangos had its world premiere in March 2020 right before the pandemic at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre led by Loretta Greco. It was first produced in the Boston area in 2022 as a co-production between Apollinaire Theatre Company and Teatro Chelsea.
From Huntington Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco: “This play is unfinished business for me as we developed the highly acclaimed premiere production when I led the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. Ricardo’s big, juicy, gorgeous play, helmed with such humanity and tonal deftness by David Mendizábal thrilled critics and audiences alike. Just days later we sheltered in place. Mangos belongs on the top shelf of great American family dramas. Five years later, I’m thrilled to bring this glorious production to a larger audience, and I know you’ll feel the same when you see it.”
From playwright Ricardo Pérez González: “This is a deeply personal story. It’s my story. It’s my family’s story. It’s an allegory for the story of my people. And it speaks to the story of our moment. Look around: no one is okay. Mangos, with unflinching humor and grit, offers a look at what healing could look like. It’s not pretty, it’s not easy, but at its heart, this is the story of a family trying to heal itself. I’m so excited to bring this story to Boston, with its rich cultural institutions, vibrant communities from across the world, and unquenchable curiosity. Indeed, working at The Huntington under the bold new direction of Loretta Greco feels like a long awaited homecoming.”
From director David Mendizábal: “Don’t Eat the Mangos tackles issues of colonialism, patriarchy, and the family secrets that lurk in the shadows of these systems. Drawing inspiration from the great American family drama, playwright Ricardo Pérez González places a Puerto Rican family at the center of the story and delicately balances tones of horror and humor, creating a theatrical experience uniquely in its own voice. It’s such an honor to continue developing this work at The Huntington under the artistic leadership of Loretta Greco who was instrumental in giving the play its world premiere in 2020 at the Magic Theatre. Loretta has been a stalwart champion of Latiné artists and new plays throughout her career and we are thrilled to bring this haunting new work to Boston.”
Critical acclaim:
“Don’t Eat the Mangos is a reminder that great American family dramas are still getting written. The kind where each scene cuts straight to the pith. The kind that glares a light into relationships’ forbidden corners. The kind whose honesty is so unsparing, it’s contagious: when such truth is before you, you can’t help but look at your own life.” – San Francisco Chronicle
“One of the most daring and demented shows I’ve seen on stage recently. Don’t Eat the Mangos is delicious enough that I wanted to get to the heart of it.” – Jared Bowen, GBH
The Light in the Piazza
Book by Craig Lucas
Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel
Based on the Novel by Elizabeth Spencer
Directed by Huntington Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco
The Huntington Theatre
May 8 – June 15, 2025
Winner! 6 Tony Awards including Best Original Score
A lush and soaring romance unfolds as Huntington Artistic Director Loretta Greco (Prayer for the French Republic) creates a brand-new production of Adam Guettel’s sweeping Tony Award-winning score and Craig Lucas’ profound book in this must-see story of a mother, a daughter, and the many meanings of love. Florence, summer 1953. Protective American mother Margaret Johnson brings her daughter Clara abroad for a glimpse of Italy’s romantic history. But when a real-life attraction sparks between Clara and a local boy, Margaret must ask: can she reconcile her own hopes with her daughter’s future?
From Artistic Director Loretta Greco: “This mother-daughter love story absolutely wrecked me when I experienced the premiere 20 years ago. Adam and Craig have crafted a stunning ode to the power of love in its many, many complicated guises. I’m thrilled to be directing this exquisitely rich show and to transport all of us to Florence in all its dreamy glory for a chance to be altered in the light of a new world.”
From playwright and book writer Craig Lucas: “I am super happy to be returning to The Huntington where I performed as a student at Boston University in the 1970s, where I have attended countless memorable productions, and where I directed my play I Was Most Alive With You in 2016.”
From composer Adam Guettel: “I wholeheartedly agree with Craig. It gives me great joy that The Huntington will present The Light in the Piazza.”
Critical acclaim:
“The most soul-satisfying score written for Broadway so far this century.” – Chicago Tribune
“The most intensely romantic score of any musical since West Side Story.” – The New York Times
“A work of such consummate beauty, truth, energy and accomplishment that you leave the theatre filled with joy and revived by hope for the future.” – The New York Observer
ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON
Celebrating over 40 years of outstanding theatre, The Huntington is Boston’s theatrical commons and leading professional theatre company. On our stages and throughout our city, we share enduring and untold stories that spark the imagination of audiences and artists and amplify the wide range of voices in our community.
Under the leadership of Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco and Executive Director Christopher Mannelli, The Huntington is committed to welcoming broad and diverse audiences, provides life- changing opportunities for students through its robust education and community programs, is a national leader in the development of playwrights and new plays, acts as the host organization for a multi-year residency of The Front Porch Arts Collective, a Black theatre company based in Boston, and serves the local arts community through our operation of The Huntington Calderwood/BCA.
The Huntington reopened the historic Huntington Theatre in fall of 2022 after its transformational renovation, and is currently in phase two of the project; the renovation and building project of this storied venue with a bold vision for the future will allow us to innovatively expand our services to audiences, artists, and the community for generations to come. For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.
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