ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, FIVE MILE LAKE and More Set for McCarter Theatre Center's 14-15 Season

From Egypt and England to South Africa, backstage, and beyond -The Tony Award-Winning McCarter Theatre Center is about to take audiences around the world as Artistic Director Emily Mann announces the five theatre productions for McCarter's 2014-2015 season.

William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra
Sept. 5 - Oct. 5, 2014
The season begins with a new adaptation of William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, directed by Emily Mann and featuring Nicole Ari Parker (Boogie Nights, Soul Food) in the titular role of Egypt's last queen. After their acclaimed Broadway run of A Streetcar Named Desire, Mann and Parker reunite to create a new version of Shakespeare's story with a sharper focus on the legendary lovers whose destiny shaped the world.

The Understudy
Oct. 14 - Nov. 2, 2014
Even when everything seems to be going wrong, the show must go on. Adam Immerwahr directs The Understudy, written by Pulitzer Prize-finalist Theresa Rebeck, creator and producer of NBC's Smash. Called "a razor-sharp black comedy" by Entertainment Weekly, this biting take on backstage life and celebrity pulls no punches, taking comedic swipes at fame and those who follow after it.

Sizwe Banzi is Dead
Jan. 9 - Feb. 8, 2015
Ever relevant, Sizwe Banzi Is Dead is a demonstration of the political power of storytelling. A striking tale of heroism and perseverance, this powerful drama is filled with surprising humor and uplifting faith in the human spirit. John Kani won the Tony Award for Best Actor for his performance in collaboration with South Africa's greatest playwright, Athol Fugard (Master Harold and the Boys, Valley Song). Now, forty years later, Kani brings us a new production of this soaring and personal play. This co-production with South Africa's Market Theatre (where the piece will originate) and Syracuse Stage will feature John Kani's son, Atandwa, in Kani's original role.

Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery
Mar. 10 - 29, 2015
McCarter Theatre Center and Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater will present the world premiere co-production of Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, directed by Gary Griffin.

Equal parts adventure and comedy, Baskerville finds the inimitable Sherlock Holmes and his sturdy companion Dr. Watson battling their greatest mystery to date amid foggy London streets and the foreboding moors of the English countryside. Baskerville will consist of a cast of five ricocheting through more than 30 separate roles in an imaginatively non-traditional staging. This hilariously off-beat piece will, in the words of the playwright, "move seamlessly...tumbling forth as the best adventures stories do, with relentless pace and enormous heart."

Five Mile Lake
May 1 - 31, 2015
The season closes with a new work from playwright Rachel Bonds. Five Mile Lake paints a portrait of a group of young people, yearning to make the right choices-and facing the choices they have already made-as they journey into their thirties in a rapidly transforming world. Directed by Emily Mann, Five Mile Lake continues McCarter's tradition of introducing major new plays and writers to the American stage (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Convert, and Anna in the Tropics).

Dates subject to change. For more information or to purchase subscriptions, call the McCarter Subscription Office at (609) 258-5050, online at www.mccarter.org, or in person at 91 University Place in Princeton.

Need more New Jersey Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...