McCarter Theatre Center's 2016-17 Season to Feature DISGRACED, INTIMATE APPAREL & More

McCarter Theatre Center Artistic Director and Resident Playwright Emily Mann is pleased to announce the lineup for the upcoming 2016-2017 Theater Series.

About the season, Ms. Mann said: "This season is an ambitious lineup, marked by the quality and variety that defines all we do. We are featuring some of the finest playwrights in contemporary American theater, three of whom are Pulitzer Prize-winners, one of whom is an Olivier award-winner, and all of whom call McCarter an artistic home. We take great pride in creating a theater series that offers a rich diversity of stories and styles, bringing you plays that are in conversation with each other and which encourage discussion on and off stage. I invite you to join in the conversation."

THE 2016 - 2017 McCARTER THEATRE CENTER THEATER SERIES

BATHING IN MOONLIGHT
Written by Nilo Cruz
Directed by Emily Mann
September 9 - October 9, 2016
*World Premiere Production*
Berlind Stage

Artistic Director Emily Mann and playwright Nilo Cruz reunite for the first time since the Pulitzer Prize-winning Anna in the Tropics opened the Berlind Theatre in 2003 to bring you this lyrical new play about falling in love and longing for a place to truly call home.

Guided by compassion, warmth, and the implicit love of God, Father Monroe believes in keeping the faithful doors of his Miami church open to all. Upon discovering that Marcela is struggling to keep the doors of her own house open, he steps in to help with such heart and kindness unlike anything the Cuban-American family has ever experienced. When small acts of kindness and generosity blossominto pure love, the lines between vocation and passion blur and Father Monroe finds himself at a complex crossroad of adoration and divinity.

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DISGRACED
By Ayad Akhtar
Directed by Marcela Lorca
October 11 - October 30, 2016
Matthews Stage

Produced in association with the Guthrie Theater and Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

Between the lies we tell ourselves and the secrets we keep from others, how do we find our true place in the modern world? Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning play took Broadway by storm, leaving audiences on the edges of their seats. This provocative, timely drama inspires passionate debate and powerful dialogue long after leaving the theater.

Amir Kapoor is trying to live a good life. He's married to a beautiful woman, lives in a spacious Upper East Side apartment, and is a successful lawyer at a prestigious Manhattan firm. When conversations at a dinner party abruptly turn confrontational, racial and religious tension fills the air and Amir must grapple with his own ambition and stifled cultural identity.

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THE BEDLAM THEATRE COMPANY PRODUCTIONS OF
HAMLET - by William Shakespeare
In rotating repertory with
SAINT JOAN - by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Eric Tucker
January 13 - February 12, 2017
Berlind Stage

He is a dark, enigmatic prince obsessed with seeking revenge for his father's death. She is a steadfast rebel who challenged the powers of the church to restore France to greatness. Both are iconic figures from two great dramatic classics-Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw.

Presented in rotating repertory by Bedlam Theatre Company, one of New York's most innovative and lauded ensembles, four masterful actors bring two of Western literature's greatest characters to life in a riveting stripped-down staging. Bedlam's signature style creates an immersive tour-de-force that illuminates these classics with sheer inventiveness and energy.

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Agatha Christie's MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig
Directed by Emily Mann
March 14 - April 2, 2017
*World Premiere Production*
Matthews Stage

The exotic Orient Express is about to go off the rails. With a train full of suspects and alibis, it's the perfect mystery for infamous detective Hercule Poirot.

An iconic classic called 'positively miraculous" by The New York Times book review, Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express has thrilled mystery lovers from the page, the screen, and over the airwaves since its publication in 1934. Now, McCarter audiences will be the first to experience this thrilling tale live on stage. In collaboration with the Agatha Christie estate, Olivier Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig (A Comedy of Tenors, Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery) and multi-award-winning director Emily Mann (Baby Doll, Five Mile Lake) join forces for the first time to present this landmark World Premiere production of Agatha Christie's mystery masterpiece.

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INTIMATE APPAREL
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Jade King Carroll
May 5 - June 4, 2017
Berlind Stage

The year is 1905. A young, single African American seamstress is supporting herself by creating exquisite lingerie for wealthy Manhattan clients. When an unexpected letter arrives from a stranger, a desire is awakened within her that leads to the love she yearned for, but is nothing like she expected.

Winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle and Outer Critics Circle Awards, this tender and exquisitely-written historical romance from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage (Ruined, Sweat) is a deeply moving tale of one woman's discovery of her own empowerment and the true meaning of intimacy.

Ticket Information

Subscriptions and Membership packages for the 2016-2017 Theatre Season are available now by calling McCarter Theatre Center at (609) 258-5050, online at www.mccarter.org, or in person at the McCarter Theatre Ticket Office, located at 91 University Place in Princeton. Tickets for the 2016-2017 Theatre Season will go on sale in July, 2016.

****BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!***

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by David Thompson
Directed by Adam Immerwahr
December 9 - 31, 2016

In addition to our five play Theatre Series, McCarter Theatre Center will also be presenting a reimagined production of Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol.

Using David Thompson's masterful adaptation, McCarter Theatre Center is in the early stages of building a brand new version of Ebenezer Scrooge's magical journey through Christmas past, present, and future. Using period-specific carols and music, a cast of professional actors will be joined by ensemble members chosen from the greater Princeton community. Audiences will experience an immersive Dickensian environment from the opening of the theater doors to the final bows. In a new look at an annual McCarter
tradition, this exciting new production will usher you into the spirit of the season with all the joy, wonder, and generosity that Scrooge himself discovers. More information to follow as we approach the 2016 holiday season.