Theater 2020 to Present 40th Anniversary Production of CANDIDE, 2/14-3/9

THEATER 2020, Brooklyn Heights' NY Innovative Theater award nominated professional theater company is pleased to announce its Winter 2014 run of the 40th Anniversary of the Hal Prince production of Leonard Bernstein's "CANDIDE" running 12 performances, Friday, February 14th through Sunday, March 9th, 2014. Press is invited beginning Saturday, Feb 15th.

Come and experience Leonard Bernstein's magnificent score and Hugh Wheeler's witty book adapted from Voltaire, with hilarious lyrics by Richard Wilber and additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and John Latouche! Performed by a dynamic professional cast and directed by New York Innovative Theater Award nominee David Fuller. All performances offered at a ridiculously affordable price in a gloriously beautiful space. Join us!

Creative team:Director David Fuller, Choreographer Judith Jarosz, Music Director/Pianist Ming Aldrich-Gan, Costume Designer Viviane Galloway, Lighting/Set Designer David Fuller, Prod. Stage Manager Dana Robbins.

Cast: Tzeitel Abrego, Erika Banks, Ellie Bensinger, Hallie Brevetti, Ryan Farnsworth, Greg Horton*, Zack Krajnyak, Lorinne Lampert*, Elliot Lane, TJ Mundy-Punchard, Sarah Primmer, Annalize Sussman, Ben Thorpe* & Malcolm Yancey. (*Appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association)

The Saint Charles Borromeo Church, located at 19 Sidney Place btwn Joralemon St. & Aitken Place in Brooklyn Heights. Subways: 2, 3, 4 or 5 to Borough Hall, A or F to Jay Street, C to High Street.

Dates and Times:

Fri. 2/14 at 8pm, Sat. 2/15 at 8pm Sun. 2/16th at 3pm (matinee only).

Fri. 2/21 at 8pm, Sat. 2/22 at 8pm Sun. 2/23 at 3pm (matinee only).

Fri. 2/28 at 8pm, Sat. 3/1 at 8pm Sun. 3/2 at 3pm (matinee only).

Fri. 3/7 at 8pm, Sat. 3/8 at 8pm Sun. 3/9 at 3pm (matinee only).

Tickets and Reservations: Tickets: $18.00. Credit card purchases at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/543936 or www.theater2020.com. Cash at the door tickets at theater2020@gmail.com. Theater 2020 participates in the TDF Voucher Program - TDF/V.

CANDIDE: The 18th Century author Voltaire wrote a fanciful story about a young man, Candide, whose journey of improbable misadventures leads him ultimately to love, manhood and the meaning of Life. War, natural disasters, unnatural assignations, torture, pirates and disease are among the many obstacles Candide overcomes, in a paradoxically comedic satire, with the help of his mentor Dr. Pangloss, his love Cunegonde and the omnipotent presence of Voltaire himself. Leonard Bernstein's musical adaptation, with a book by Lillian Hellman, and lyrics by Richard Wilbur, John LaTouche and Dorothy Parker, first appeared on Broadway in 1956. In 1973, Hal Prince got Hugh Wheeler to write a new book and this pared down version, with additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, was presented in Brooklyn at the Chelsea Theatre Center (now BAM). Theater 2020 is delighted to bring this version back to Brooklyn, in a site-specific production at St. Charles Borromeo Church. Relying heavily on its outstanding ensemble, the costume design of New York Innovative Theater Award Nominee Viviane Galloway and the piano virtuosity of Music Director Ming Aldrich-Gan, this production brings a classically contemporary take to the musical, in which extreme optimism is lampooned in favor of a more pragmatic approach to life. The characters are archetypes, the tale is episodic and picaresque, the style is guerilla theater meets morality play -- and the music is glorious! Hal Prince wrote of his 1973 production: "Candide owes its origins to medieval theater, to the Globe, to commedia dell'arte. It is street theater. It is not about film. It is about live actors and a live audience." When a 21st century audience meets skilled singer-story tellers, it's "The Best of All Possible Worlds."

Our Mission: Theater 2020, Inc., Visions for a New Millennium is dedicated to producing classic and contemporary plays and musicals for a 21st Century audience and to providing a nurturing atmosphere for both emerging artists and seasoned professionals. We are dedicated to reaching out to the community and to producing quality theater at affordable prices, utilizing established professionals and fostering young artists as they emerge into the theatrical mainstream, with a particular emphasis on providing more opportunities for women in theater.

Based in Brooklyn Heights, Theater 2020 produces professional theater, everything from classic theater to contemporary satire, with forays into musicals and light opera, making them immediate to modern audiences using both innovative and traditional approaches. We believe live performance is a vital part of a healthy culture and that it is through theater that audiences are engaged dynamically in today's issues and in perpetual questions of the human condition.

Through our many audience outreach programs, we offer free and deeply discounted tickets because we believe theater must be for everyone, and no one should be deprived of the experience due to economic status. Through our educational initiatives we are firmly committed to the idea that today's youth is tomorrow's audience, and we work with educators to provide opportunities for students as interns and assistants.

Theater 2020, Inc. produces in Brooklyn, Manhattan and elsewhere, including the under-served Greene County in New York's Catskill Mountains.