McCarter Theatre Opens Season with AURELIA'S ORATORIO, 9/10-10//17

McCarter Theatre will open its 2010-2011 season with Aurelia's Oratorio, conceived and directed by Victoria Thierrée Chaplin and starring Aurélia Thierrée.  The production, which takes the audience through a surreal world of impossibilities and magical transformations, will play McCarter's Berlind Theatre from September 10 through October 17. (Press Opening: Thursday, September 16). The show, which runs 70 minutes without an intermission, is recommended for ages 10 and up.  Aurelia's Oratorio is presented in association with ArKtype and Crying Out Loud UK.

Following a season of sold-out runs at Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, and American Repertory Theatre, one of the world's most acclaimed theatrical lineages now brings to McCarter Theatre a remarkable display of stage illusion. Set to a quirky score of gypsy jazz and chamber music, the show draws inspiration from the worlds of music hall, variety and circus to create a concoction of wonder  and fantasy.

The critics love Aurélia! "She does wonder wonderfully," raves the London Guardian. "Awesome...it's been a long time since I sat through a show with my mouth literally agape," says the Boston Herald. It's "an absolute spellbinder, "declares the UK's Daily Telegraph. "Like the most vivid reveries, it momentarily colors the way you see the waking world."  The San Francisco Chronicle calls it "A whimsical feat for all."

The daughter of 'new circus' pioneers Jean Baptiste Thierrée and Victoria Thierrée Chaplin, Aurélia Thierrée began her career at a very early age performing in her parents' Le Cirque Imaginaire and Le Cirque Invisible.  During recent years she has worked with a number of film artists, including Milos Forman, Coline Serreau, and Jacques Baratier. Inspired by medieval drawings that depict topsy-turvy worlds, she collaborated with her mother to create Aurélia's Oratorio.

In 1970, Victoria Thierrée Chaplin and her husband,  actor and director Jean Baptiste Thierrée, dreamed up a new style of circus - one without animal acts, flashy clothes and the traditional three rings -- created Cirque Imaginaire for themselves and their two children, Aurélia and James. Cirque Imaginaire and Cirque Invisible, their next show, both toured the worldwide. Recently, she worked with her son on the design and costumes for his productions Au Revoir Parapluie, Junebug Symphony, and La Viellée des Abysses. Aurélia's Oratorio is her latest creation. 
 
Aurélia's Oratorio also features Jaime Martinez, recipient of a 1998 New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award honoring his achievements in dance. He was a founding member of The Parsons Dance Company and Mark Dendy Dance & Performance and has taught over 400 master classes, including residencies at The Juilliard School, North Carolina School for the Arts, and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Martinez has staged numerous works by David Parsons for such distinguished companies as Ballet du Rhin, Ballet National de Nancy, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, Carte Blanche Dance Company of Norway, New York City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and Roland Petit Ballet National de Marseille. 

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for Aurélia's Oratorio start as low as $20! To reserve by phone call (609) 258-2787; toll-free at (888) 278-7932; visit online www.mccarter.org; or in person at the McCarter Theatre Ticket Office at 91 University Place, Princeton, NJ.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
 Aurélia's Oratorio will play McCarter's Berlind Theatre Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm; with Saturday matinees at 3:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. Additional performances will be held on Sunday, September 26 at 7:30pm and Sunday, October 10 at 7:30pm. 

SPECIAL PERFORMANCES
McCarter Theatre offers a variety of events in conjunction with the performance. There is no additional fee for these special events. 

McCarter is committed to making live theater available and affordable to all members of our community. To further this goal McCarter offers Public Rush and Pay-What-You Can tickets. Public Rush makes unsold tickets available for half-price on the day of the performance.  Two Pay-What-You-Can performances will be offered for Aurélia's Oratorio on Tuesday, October 5 at 7:30pm and Tuesday, October 12 at 7:30pm. Tickets are subject to availability and must be purchased at the McCarter Ticket Office, located at 91 University Place, Princeton.
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