ART announces new season including new musical by Andy Mientus

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 5/30/17 at 11:23am

BURN ALL NIGHT • WARHOL CAPOTE • SENSE AND SENSIBILITY • HEAR WORD! NAIJA WOMAN TALK TRUE • THE WHITE CARD • JAGGED LITTLE PILL — OBERON Presents Season to Include: The Bitter Game • The Fever • Dragon Lady • A Company One Theatre production • GLOWBERON

Cambridge, MA — The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University under the leadership of the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Director Diane Quinn, is pleased to announce its 2017/18 Season including:

• Burn All Night, a synth-pop musical about millennial ambition on the eve of global catastrophe, with book and lyrics by Andy Mientus, music by Van Hughes, Nick LaGrasta, and Brett Moses, and directed by Jenny Koons; begins performances August 2017 at OBERON.

• Warhol Capote, a “non-fiction invention” based on recorded conversations between two of America’s most enigmatic artistic personas, Truman Capote and Andy Warhol, adapted by Rob Roth and directed by Michael Mayer; begins performances September 2017 at the Loeb Drama Center.

• Bedlam’s Sense and Sensibility, an exuberant staging of Jane Austen’s classic, by Kate Hamill and directed by Eric Tucker; begins performances December 2017 at the Loeb Drama Center.

• HEAR WORD! Naija Woman Talk True, a powerful new play drawn from interviews with multiple generations of women who have broken the culture of silence, featuring leading Nigerian actresses directed by Ifeoma Fafunwa; begins performances January 2018 at the Loeb Drama Center.

• The White Card, a world premiere play about the unnamed intentions behind America’s conversations about race, written by poet Claudia Rankine, best-selling author of Citizen, directed by Diane Paulus, co-produced with ArtsEmerson; begins performances February 2018 at the Emerson Paramount Center’s Robert J. Orchard Stage.

• Jagged Little Pill, a world premiere musical adaptation of Alanis Morissette’s groundbreaking album, directed by Diane Paulus with a book by Diablo Cody; begins performances May 2018 at the Loeb Drama Center.

“The A.R.T.’s 2017/18 Season draws inspiration from pop art to a landmark alt-rock album, from poetry to classic literature,” said Artistic Director Diane Paulus. “I am so excited about next season’s visionary artists whose bold, uncompromising voices will resonant deeply with the world we are living in today."

As the A.R.T. pursues its mission to expand the boundaries of theater on its stages in Cambridge, the theater’s work continues to reach audiences elsewhere in the US and around the world. Matthew Aucoin’s opera Crossing (A.R.T. premiere May 2015) directed by Diane Paulus will have its NY premiere as part of Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 2017 Next Wave Festival October 3 – 8, 2017. In the Body of the World (A.R.T. premiere May 2016) will begin performances at the Manhattan Theater Club on January 16, 2018. Tony Award-nominated Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (A.R.T. premiere December 2015) continues performances on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre. Waitress (A.R.T. premiere August 2015) continues performances on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theater and will begin a national tour across the US on October 17, 2017 at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square, returning to Boston in February 2018. Finding Neverland (A.R.T. premiere July 2016) continues to play on its national tour, returning to Boston in August 2017. The immersive phenomenon Sleep No More (A.R.T. premiere October 2009) has celebrated its sixth year running at The McKittrick Hotel Off-Broadway and runs in Shanghai until June 2017. Meanwhile, A.R.T.’s Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin (A.R.T. premiere December 2012) continues its world tour.

- A.R.T. 2017/18 SEASON –

BURN ALL NIGHT – WORLD PREMIERE at OBERON Book and Lyrics by Andy Mientus Music by Van Hughes, Nick LaGrasta, and Brett Moses Directed by Jenny Koons In an age of uncertainty, four lost souls come to the city in search of themselves. An unflinching look at being young on the eve of global catastrophe, this world premiere musical directed by Jenny Koons (A Sucker Emcee, In This Moment) and choreographed by Tony nominee Sam Pinkleton (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) features a synth-pop score by Teen Commandments members Van Hughes, Nick LaGrasta, and Brett Moses with a book and lyrics by Andy Mientus (“SMASH&rdquo.

WARHOL CAPOTE – WORLD PREMIERE at the Loeb Drama Center From the words of Truman Capote and Andy Warhol Adapted by Rob Roth Directed by Michael Mayer Somewhere in the disco-drunk 1970s, Truman Capote and Andy Warhol decided that they were destined to create a Broadway play together. On dozens of tapes, Warhol recorded their conversations about the show—and about everything else, including Studio 54 scandals and America’s obsessive relationship with celebrity. Warhol and Capote never finished their play, and the tapes were forgotten—until now. With the support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Truman Capote Literary Trust, Tony Award nominee Rob Roth (Beauty and the Beast) has edited Warhol’s unpublished recordings into an incisive portrait of two of America’s most enigmatic artistic personas. Tony Award winner Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) directs this world premiere “non-fiction invention.”

Bedlam’s SENSE AND SENSIBILITY at the Loeb Drama Center By Kate Hamill Based on the novel by Jane Austen Directed by Eric Tucker Eric Tucker’s exuberant, inventive staging of Jane Austen’s classic novel follows the adventures (and misadventures) of the Dashwood sisters—sensible Elinor and hypersensitive Marianne—after their sudden loss of fortune. Bursting with humor, emotion, and bold theatricality, Sense and Sensibility asks: when reputation is everything, how do you follow your heart?

HEAR WORD! NAIJA WOMAN TALK TRUE at the Loeb Drama Center Directed by Ifeoma Fafunwa Featuring a cast of leading actresses from the Nigerian stage and screen, Hear Word! Naija Woman Talk True is inspired by multi-generational stories of inequality and transformation. Staged by director and writer Ifeoma Fafunwa, the show grapples with the issues affecting the lives of women across Nigeria, and the factors that limit their potential for independence, leadership, and meaningful contribution in society. Combining song and dance with intimate portraits of resilience and resistance, the show celebrates the women who have broken the culture of silence, challenged the status quo, and moved beyond barriers to achieve solutions. The critically-acclaimed production of Hear Word! returns to the A.R.T. after its US premiere in a limited run last season.

THE WHITE CARD – WORLD PREMIERE at the Emerson Paramount Center’s Robert J. Orchard Stage Written by Claudia Rankine Directed by Diane Paulus Co-produced by ArtsEmerson and A.R.T. At a dinner party thrown by an influential Manhattan couple for an up-and-coming artist, questions arise about what—and who—is actually on display. Claudia Rankine’s 2014 New York Times best-selling book, Citizen, unpacked the insidious ways in which racism manifests itself in everyday situations. Now, this world premiere play poses the question, “Can American society progress if whiteness stays invisible?” The White Card is commissioned by ArtsEmerson, Boston, MA, in association with American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, MA, and The Broad Stage, Santa Monica, CA.

JAGGED LITTLE PILL – WORLD PREMIERE at the Loeb Drama Center Music by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard Book by Diablo Cody Directed by Diane Paulus Introducing nineties anthems including “Ironic,” “You Oughta Know,” and “Hand In My Pocket,” Jagged Little Pill (1995) established Canadian singer-songwriter and Grammy Award winner Alanis Morissette as an alternative rock icon. Diane Paulus (Waitress, Finding Neverland, Pippin, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess) directs this world premiere musical based on the groundbreaking album with a book by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (Juno).

- OBERON PRESENTS – A.R.T.’s second stage is a destination for theater and nightlife on the fringe of Harvard Square. OBERON produces risk-taking performances, supports emerging artists, and encourages genre-defying work for the 21st century.

• The Bitter Game – at OBERON Award-winning director, writer, and performer Keith A. Wallace presents a solo performance in the form of a basketball game, charged with pain, poetry, and laughter about what it means to survive while black in America. After a limited engagement at OBERON, The Bitter Game will tour to a series of venues around greater Boston.

• The Fever – at the Loeb Experimental Theater New York-based theater company 600 HIGHWAYMEN tests the limits of individual and collective responsibility, and our willingness to be there for one another. Performed in complete collaboration with the audience, The Fever examines how we assemble, organize, and care for the bodies around us. Who will you be when our eyes are on you? What will we see when we all look your way?

• Dragon Lady – at OBERON It is the year of the Water Dragon and the eve of Grandma Maria’s 75th birthday. By the light of the karaoke machine, fueled by pork dumplings and diet Pepsi, she shares a dark secret from her Filipino gangster past with one lucky grandchild. Traversing 50 years of faulty family memories, Seattle-based performer Sara Porkalob presents this timely new musical about what it means to come to America.

• To Be Announced – at OBERON OBERON presents this Company One Theatre production.

– ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING – CHARLOTTE’S WEB at the Loeb Drama Center Adapted by Joseph Robinette Based on the story by E.B. White Directed by Dmitry Troyanovsky Featuring the A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training Class of 2018 On the Arable family farm, a miracle is about to begin. In order to save young Wilbur from the butcher, Charlotte—a very special spider—hatches a plan to show the world how “radiant” one pig can be in the eyes of a true friend. Adapted from E.B. White’s beloved children’s classic and directed by Dmitry Troyanovsky (James and the Giant Peach), Charlotte’s Web will feature graduate students from the A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training Class of 2018.

GLOWBERON Now in its third year at OBERON, GLOWBERON is an acclaimed series that features exceptional storytellers, solo playwrights, and cabaret and performance artists. The series was founded by Quinn Cox and is produced in partnership with Cambridge’s GLOW Festival and Provincetown’s Afterglow Festival. Artists will include John Kelly, Bridget Barkan, Paul Iacono, Lady Bunny, Joseph Keckler, and Fauxnique

And don't miss The Donkey Show directed by Diane Paulus, continuing for its 9th season at OBERON every Saturday night.

###

2017/18 Season subscriptions will be on sale to renewing subscribers on June 1, 2017. Season subscriptions will be on sale to the general public on June 8, 2017 and start at $99. More information can be found at ;">americanrepertorytheater.org/subscr....

Updated On: 5/30/17 at 11:23 AM

[CallMeAl2]

Posted: 5/30/17 at 12:21pm

So, little Kyle Bishop comes back from the dead and writes the book for his new hit show about millennial angst.

[newintown]

Posted: 5/30/17 at 12:30pm

Although I've no doubt that this season will be received as a sort of Holy Grail by some, it really sounds just unbearably "hip" to me.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 5/31/17 at 10:23am

Newintown, I think the ART produces some amazing stuff, but you're right- at times it seems like they try super hard to make "edgy" theatre. Call me a square, but when exactly does art go from "innovative" to just plain strange?

[AC126748]

Posted: 5/31/17 at 10:35am

I've heard some music from Burn All Night (formerly called Manhattan Kids) at cabarets over the past year or so. It all struck me as highly generic, and damned if I could discern any sort of narrative arc from the excerpts. But who knows--maybe it will make more sense as a unified piece.

[Cfried]

Posted: 5/31/17 at 11:07am

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Newintown, I think the ART produces some amazing stuff, but you're right- at times it seems like they try super hard to make "edgy" theatre. Call me a square, but when exactly does art go from "innovative" to just plain strange?"

Agreed. I'm left a little disappointed by this upcoming season. 

[plzstp]

Posted: 5/31/17 at 3:17pm

I heard they had to scrap most of the dialogue in Burn All Night and make it sung through...

 

 

 

 

...I'm sorry I couldn't resist

[CallMeAl2]

Posted: 5/31/17 at 6:44pm

plzstp said: "I heard they had to scrap most of the dialogue in Burn All Night and make it sung through...
...I'm sorry I couldn't resist"

That's OK. He'll probably still win the Tony.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 2:18am

Well Burn All Night is a much better name. But it's only running for like a month? I could see it ending up at 2nd Stage or something like that.

[Clyde15]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 3:30am

I have to say, based on the few songs that could be found online the score for Burn All Night is pretty good so far. I'm quite intrigued to see how it's grown and changed over he past year. Can't wait to hear more! My favorite song is 'Pittsburgh'. I'll try to post a link but it's quite a solid song 

 

https://youtu.be/wEx5T6zHac0