Long Wharf Theater Presents Molly Sweeney 9/14-10/16

Long Wharf Theatre completes its 2011-12 season offerings by adding a classic work by one of the world's great playwrights.

The Irish Repertory Theatre production of Molly Sweeney, by Brian Friel, directed by Charlotte Moore will take place on Stage II, playing from Sept. 14 through October 16, 2011.

Blind since she was a baby, Molly Sweeney only knows of the world through touch, sound, taste, and smell. But when she is goaded into an operation to restore her sight by her husband and doctor, she sees for the first time all the glory and harsh realities of the life she is living. Molly's tale moves toward an unexpected and poignant conclusion about the way we perceive our existence. "A deeply moving meditation on hope, change and despair, it's a compelling piece of theatre, one in which the ending applause is only the beginning of the play's effects," said The New York Times on the Irish Rep production.

The rest of 2011-12 season follows with Ain't Misbehavin' from October 26 through November 20; It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play from December 7 through the 30th; Macbeth 1969 from January 18 through February 12; February House from February 15 through March 18; Bell, Book & Candle from March 7 through April 1; and Sophie's Choice from April 25 through May 20.

For more information about the upcoming season, visit www.longwharf.org.

THE 2011-12 SEASON

Molly Sweeney
By Brian Friel
Directed by Charlotte Moore
Stage II
9/14 - 10/16
Blind since she was a baby, Molly Sweeney only knows of the world through touch, sound, taste, and smell. But when she is goaded into an operation to restore her sight by her husband and doctor, she sees for the first time all the glory and harsh realities of the life she is living. Molly's tale, performed by the Irish Repertory Theatre, moves toward an unexpected and poignant conclusion about the way we perceive our existence. "A deeply moving meditation on hope, change and despair, it's a compelling piece of theatre, one in which the ending applause is only the beginning of the play's effects." - The New York Times on the Irish Rep production

Ain't Misbehavin'
Book by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr.
Music by Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller
Directed by Richard Maltby Jr.
Mainstage
10/26 - 11/20
Come back in time to 1930s Harlem, the Golden Age of jazz palaces like the The Cotton Club, the Savoy Ballroom and the honky tonk dives on Lenox Avenue, where pulsing swing music played all hours of the day. This funny, rowdy, yet startling beautiful musical brings to life the world of jazz great Fats Waller through songs like "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Honeysuckle Rose," "The Joint is Jumpin'," "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter," and many other hits. Director Richard Maltby assembles his 1978 Tony Award winning team to return the show to its original cabaret-style luster. "This musical re-creation of Fats Waller, the jazz singer and pianist, is a whole cluster of marvels ... heart-stopping." - The New York Times

It's A Wonderful Life - A Live Radio Play
By Joe Landry
Directed by Eric Ting
Mainstage
12/7 - 12/30
Inspired by the classic holiday film, It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play brings the spirit of the season to life live on stage right before your eyes (and ears). Performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast in front of a studio audience, five actors play the dozens of characters as well as produce the sound effects telling the story of George Bailey and his realization that no man is a failure who has friends. Let your imagination build the scene and see the story anew with this nostalgic and spirit-lifting tale. "One of the best holiday shows around. Fresh and inventive. Highly recommended." - The Chicago Sun-Times

Macbeth 1969
By William Shakespeare
Conceived and Adapted by Eric Ting
Directed by Eric Ting
Mainstage
1/18-2/12
When two soldiers return home injured from war, a group of nurses at the veterans' hospital tend to their injuries, both physical and psychological. What emerges from the men's thoughts are the ghosts of bloody deeds done and horrors inflicted as they deal with the aftermath of war. Associate Artistic Director Eric Ting gives William Shakespeare's original tale a powerful, contemporary, and imaginative reworking. "[Eric Ting] is perhaps one of the most gifted young directors in our midst ..." - Hartford Courant

February House
A World Premiere Musical
Songs and Lyrics by Gabriel Kahane
Libretto by Seth Bockley
Directed by Davis McCallum
Co-produced with The Public Theater
Stage II
2/15 - 3/18
Bringing together some of the greatest and most colorful minds of a generation (W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Benjamin Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee) George Davis tries to create his own utopia in a small house in Brooklyn in the 1940s. The artists discover new ideas exploding at every turn as they find love, friendship and their own artistic voices in a time of war. Written by up-and-coming composer Gabriel Kahane, the exciting score mixes elements of classical operetta, jazz, and musical comedy with modern folk-pop. "An undeniably gifted, exquisitely mannered young composer/songwriter, Kahane makes meticulously arranged art-pop with a heavy literary bent." - Pitchfork

Bell, Book & Candle
By John Van Druten
Directed Darko Tresnjak
Mainstage
Co-produced with Hartford Stage
3/7 - 4/1
Gillian Holroyd, a lively free spirit, is unlucky in love and restless in her life. She also happens to be a witch. So when she watches the love of her life, Shep Henderson, get engaged to her college rival, she uses every magical trick up her sleeve to stop the impending wedding. Gillian learns that love is the strongest spell of all in this delightful and charming romantic comedy. "The course of true love never runs smooth, but Darko Tresnjak's stylish exploration of its twisty path, otherwise known as John Van Druten's Bell, Book and Candle goes down smooth" - Variety

Sophie's Choice
A New Play By David Rintels
Based on the novel by William Styron
Directed by Gordon Edelstein
World Premiere
Mainstage
4/25 - 5/20
Starring Carla Gugino ("Entourage," Watchmen, Broadway's Desire Under The Elms) and adapted from the iconic National Book Award winning novel. When Stingo, an aspiring southern writer, moves to Brooklyn in 1947, he finds himself helplessly drawn to the magnetic and beautiful Sophie. She lives her life out loud; she is everything that he is not, and he is fascinated. Over the course of one liberating, sexual, and eye-opening summer, Stingo discovers the true nature of the world: all at once colorful, horrible, and thrilling. "Styron's most impressive performance ... it belongs on that small shelf reserved for American masterpieces." - The Washington Post