Dave Malloy's MOBY-DICK, SIX THE MUSICAL and More Announced for American Rep's 2019/2020 Season
By: Alan Henry Apr. 24, 2019
American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger announced its 2019/20 Season programming today, including subscription offerings, A.R.T. Breakout, Afterglow @ OBERON, Live @ OBERON, the Run AMOC! Festival, The Donkey Show, and A.R.T. in the World.
Shows perform at A.R.T.'s two venues in Harvard Square, Cambridge-the Loeb Drama Center, located at 64 Brattle Street, and at club theater OBERON, located at 2 Arrow Street-unless otherwise noted.
2019/20 Season subscriptions go on sale to select A.R.T. donors beginning Thursday, May 2, to renewing subscribers on Thursday, May 16, and to A.R.T. Members on Thursday, May 23. Subscriptions will go on sale to the general public on Friday, May 31. Packages start as low as $99. More information can be found at americanrepertorytheater.org/subscribe, by visiting the Ticket Services Office at the Loeb Drama Center (64 Brattle Street, Cambridge), or by calling 617.547.8300.
Single tickets for individual productions will go on sale to member-level donors and above on a date to be announced and to the general public throughout the year.
"Stories of tyranny and liberation take center stage in our 2019/20 Season," says Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus. "From the wives of Henry VIII to Captain Ahab, from the signers of the Declaration of Independence to Gloria Steinem, these pivotal figures from history and literature speak directly to the struggles we are facing in America today."
SIX
August 21 - September 27, 2019 | Loeb Drama Center
Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss
Choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille
Orchestrations by Tim Curran
Music Direction by Katy Richardson
Directed by Lucy Moss and Jaime Armitage
Presented by arrangement with Kenny Wax, Global Musicals, George Stiles & Kevin McCollum
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. All this time, the six wives of Henry VIII have been reduced to a single rhyme-so they picked up a pen and a microphone. From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the wives take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a 75-minute celebration of 21st century girl power.
"????! 75 minutes of exhilarating entertainment from six killer queens. They will, they will rock you!"
-Daily Express
BLACK LIGHT
September 19 - 29, 2019 | OBERON
Created by Daniel Alexander Jones
Original Songs by Jomama Jones, Laura Jean Anderson, Bobby Halvorson, Dylan Meek, and Josh Quat
Daniel Alexander Jones performs as the iconic Jomama Jones in a spiritual revival for turbulent times. This intimate journey through the darkness of personal and political upheaval and the shards of shattered illusions is illuminated by spontaneous humor and what The New Yorkercalls Jones' "very particular radiance." With all original music, drawing influence from Prince, Sade, Diana Ross, and Tina Turner, Black Light is marked significantly by the Black American Freedom movement, Afromysticism, goddess mythology, and divination. This immersive performance piece removes the barrier between artist and audience through inquiry, story, and song.
"????! Jomama invites us to see her, to witness her, and to go from Black Light back out into daylight with our senses somehow both sharpened and softened: more able to hear others, more able to see ourselves." -Vulture
MOBY-DICK
WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL
December 3, 2019 - January 12, 2020 | Loeb Drama Center
Music, Lyrics, Book, and Orchestrations by Dave Malloy
Based on Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Developed with and Directed by Rachel Chavkin
"We are all in the belly of the whale..."
From the creative team behind A.R.T.'s 2015 production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 comes a new musical adaptation ofMoby-Dick. As Ishmael, Captain Ahab, and his crew pursue the elusive great white whale aboard the Pequod, Herman Melville's nineteenth-century vision of America collides head-on with the present.
"Dave Malloy breaks many of the rules that have accrued around American musical theater, and Ms. Chavkin has been making enormously inventive, and often wildly experimental, work for years."
-The New York Times
GLORIA: A LIFE
January 24 - February 22, 2020 | Loeb Drama Center
Written by Emily Mann
Directed by Diane Paulus
In association with the McCarter Theatre Center and by special arrangement with Daryl Roth
History. Her story. Our story. This new play about Gloria Steinem and the women she has partnered with in a decades-long fight for equality is brought to life by a dynamic ensemble of performers. Fifty years after Gloria began raising her voice and championing those of others, her vision is as urgent as ever. Gloria's belief in talking circles as a catalyst for change offers us all a path forward. The first act is Gloria's story; the second is our own.
"A powerful stage experience that's one part theater, one part consciousness-raising." -Vogue
OCEAN FILIBUSTER
WORLD PREMIERE
March 7 - 27, 2020 | Loeb Drama Center
Created by PearlDamour
Written by Lisa D'Amour
Music by Sxip Shirey
Directed by Katie Pearl
Commissioned and developed through a partnership with the Harvard University Center for the Environment
Inside the Senate chamber of a global governing body, Mr. Majority introduces the "End of Ocean Bill," designed to shrink Earth's oceans into a more manageable (and marketable) collection of inland seas and lagoons. When the floor is opened for debate, the Ocean arrives to speak in its own defense, and so begins the Human-Ocean showdown. A world-premiere music theater experience created by the Obie Award-winning company PearlDamour, Ocean Filibuster draws from myth, stand-up, and science to explore the vast depths crucial to our daily survival.
PearlDamour and its works have been honored with the 2011 Lee Reynolds Award, 2007 and 2005 "Best Site-Specific Performance" citations from Gothamist, and the 2003 Obie Award.
MACBETH IN STRIDE
April 23 - May 10, 2020 | OBERON
Created and performed by Whitney White
Macbeth In Stride is an electrified look at the descent of Lady Macbeth and her husband through the iconic music of Ike and Tina Turner, The Doors, and more. Featuring Shakespeare's text, the show takes an intimate look at a relationship in turmoil and the effects of vaulting ambition. This concert play is a battle cry for black female power and desire that excavates the underbelly of female ambition. How do we punish and celebrate women who push too hard, who want too much, who sing too loud?
1776
May 22 - June 28, 2020 | Loeb Drama Center
Book by Peter Stone
Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards
Directed by Diane Paulus
They knew they would make history, but not what history would make of them. Fed up with living under the tyranny of British rule, John Adams attempts to persuade his fellow members of the Continental Congress to vote in favor of American Independence and sign the Declaration. But how much is he willing to compromise in the pursuit of freedom? And who does that freedom belong to? Terrie and
Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus directs a new production of this Tony Award-winning musical, reexamining this pivotal moment in American history.
A.R.T. BREAKOUT
The A.R.T. Breakout series presents cutting-edge performances that push theatrical boundaries at OBERON and beyond. Tickets to A.R.T. Breakout performances are available as add-ons to subscription packages-single tickets will go on sale to the general public in the future.
GREATER GOOD
WORLD PREMIERE
July 17 - August 17, 2019 | Commonwealth School (151 Commonwealth Ave., Boston)
Directed by Steven Bogart
Produced by Company One Theatre in collaboration with A.R.T. and with support from the Mellon Foundation's National Playwright Residency Program administered in partnership with HowlRound
A site-specific theatrical experience, Greater Good moves us through the halls of Gleason Street, a progressive school that's struggling to live up to its mission. The latest Boston-based story from Company One Theatre's Obie Award-winning resident playwright Kirsten Greenidge, this immersive new play interrogates our city's history as a hub of education and asks what we're willing to compromise for the greater good.
"Greenidge is never one to shy away from topics that fuel fiery debates [and] seems to have an uncanny sense of the world around her." - The Boston Globe
WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN
November 20 - 24, 2019 | Loeb Drama Center
Written by Aleshea Harris
Directed by Whitney White
What to Send Up When It Goes Down is a community ritual created in response to the deaths of Black people as a result of racialized violence. As lines between characters and actors, observers and observed blur, a dizzying series of vignettes build to a climactic moment where performance and reality collide. Meant to disrupt the pervasiveness of anti-blackness and acknowledge the resilience of Black people throughout history, this theatrical work uses parody, song, movement, and audience participation to create a space for catharsis, reflection, cleansing, and healing.
"If you're a lover of theater, looking for signs of fresh and original and in-the-moment life on the American stage, you need to see What to Send Up." -The New York Times
AFTERGLOW @ OBERON
Afterglow @ OBERON features playwrights, cabaret performers, and solo artists in a collaborative series curated by Quinn Cox, founder of Provincetown's annual Afterglow Festival. Past performers include Tori Scott, Taja Lindley, Joey Arias, Erin Markey, Johnny Blazes, andLady Bunny. Tickets to Afterglow @ OBERON performances will be available as add-ons to subscription packages-single tickets will go on sale to the general public later this year.
- Martha Graham CRACKER | October 3 and 4, 2019
- WITCH CAMP, FEATURING NATH ANN CARRERA AND Amber Martin | November 7, 2019
- Kareem Lucas | February 20, 2020
- TBA | March 19, 2020*
- Migguel Anggelo | April 16, 2020
- TBA | May 14, 2020*
*Performers to be announced later this year.
LIVE @ OBERON
Live @ OBERON includes an eclectic array of musical artists for exceptional original performances. Past performers include STL GLD, Samora Pinderhughes, The Sweetback Sisters, and Billy Dean Thomas. 2019/20 performers and dates will be announced later this year.
Tickets to Live @ OBERON performances will available as add-ons to subscription packages-single tickets will go on sale to the general public later this year.
RUN AMOC! FESTIVAL
A.R.T. will present the American Modern Opera Company's third annual Run AMOC! Festival in December 2019. Led by Artistic DirectorsMatthew Aucoin (Crossing, 2018 MacArthur Fellow) and Zack Winokur (The Black Clown), the company serves as the artistic home for seventeen of the most exciting singers, dancers, and instrumentalists of the rising generation. Festival programming will be announced at a later date.
"A troupe of young and preternaturally talented musicians." - The New York Times
THE DONKEY SHOW
THE DONKEY SHOW, directed by Diane Paulus, will continue performances at OBERON every Saturday night through the summer, concluding its decade-long hit run on September 7, 2019. Delivering the ultimate disco experience, the crazy circus of mirror balls and feathered divas, of roller skaters and hustle queens, is inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The glitter-filled party rages on the dance floor to all the best 70s hits as the show unfolds around the audience. After the show, the party continues into the night so you can live out your fever fantasy.
The first production Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus staged at the A.R.T., The Donkey Show was a catalyst in establishing OBERON as a club-theater venue where artists could experiment with space, storytelling, and the relationships between performers and audiences. The A.R.T. is looking forward to OBERON's next chapter as it deepens relationships with local artists and companies, as well as performers who come to this unique space from across the country and around the world.
Details about the 10th anniversary celebration will be announced at a later date.
American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University is a leading force in the American theater, producing groundbreaking work that is driven by risk-taking, artistic inquiry and passionate inquiry. A.R.T. was founded in 1980 by Robert Brustein, who served as Artistic Director until 2002, when he was succeeded by Robert Woodruff. Diane Paulus began her tenure as Artistic Director in 2008. Under the leadership of Paulus as the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director and Executive Producer Diane Borger, A.R.T. seeks to expand the boundaries of theater by programming transformative theatrical experiences, always including the audience as a central partner.
Throughout its history, A.R.T. has been honored with many distinguished awards including the Tony Award for Best New Play for All the Way(2014); consecutive Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical for Pippin (2013) and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (2012), both of which Paulus directed, and sixteen other Tony Awards since 2012; a Pulitzer Prize; a Jujamcyn Prize for outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent; the Regional Theater Tony Award; and more than 100 Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards. Under Paulus's leadership, A.R.T.'s club theater, OBERON, has been recognized annually as a top performance venue in the Boston area, and has attracted national attention for its innovative programming and business models.
As the professional theater on the campus of Harvard University, A.R.T. is committed to playing a central role in the cognitive life of the University, catalyzing discourse, interdisciplinary collaboration, and creative exchange among a wide range of academic departments, institutions, students, and faculty members. A.R.T. is engaged in a number of multi-year initiatives with partners at Harvard that explore some of the most pressing issues of our day, including a collaboration with the Harvard University Center for the Environment to develop new work that addresses climate change. A.R.T. plays a central role in Harvard's undergraduate Theater, Dance & Media concentration, teaching courses in directing, dramatic literature, acting, voice, design, and dramaturgy. A.R.T. staff also mentors students in the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club working at the Loeb Drama Center and OBERON.
Dedicated to making great theater accessible, A.R.T. actively engages more than 5,000 community members and local students annually in project-based partnerships, workshops, conversations with artists, and other enrichment activities both at the theater and across the Greater Boston area.
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