The Brother/Sister Plays Previews At McCarter Theatre Center 5/14

The second half of Tarell Alvin McCraney's groundbreaking trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays will begin preview performances at McCarter Theatre Center (91 University Place, Princeton, NJ) on Thursday, May 14 (press opening: May 22). Comprised of the second and third plays in the trilogy-The Brothers Size and Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet (world premiere)-Part 2 is directed by Robert O'Hara.

The two plays join Part 1 of the trilogy, In the Red and Brown Water, which opened at McCarter on May 1 under the direction of Tina Landau. Stu Duncan of US 1 called In the Red and Brown Water "refreshing" and "thrillingly risky", stating that Tarell Alvin McCraney "has developed a style that is a rich new brew, broader and deeper than one has ever experienced," while Bob Brown of The Princeton Packet wrote: "This play is a must-see, both for the freshness of its vision and as an example of all that's possible on the American stage today." Both parts of the trilogy will run in repertory in the Berlind Theatre from now until June 21 and can be seen in any order. The Brother/Sister Plays is co-produced with New York's Public Theater.

A new trilogy by one of the most celebrated young writers in the American theater, The Brother/Sister Plays are dangerous, modern-day stories of kinship, love, heartache and coming-of-age. Tarell Alvin McCraney speaks with authenticity about a world that is gritty and lyrical, urban and mythic. In the taut, rhythmic, and playful drama The Brothers Size, two brothers walk the line between law and liberty, locked in a fierce tug-of-war for their own souls. Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet is a beautiful and touching tale of a young man's tenuous connections with his history, his friends, his sexuality, and himself.

McCarter audiences first experienced The Brothers Size at the 2007 In-Festival, where it received a workshop production. Since then, it has earned raves for productions in New York, D.C., London, Dublin, and Barcelona, with Time Out London calling it "as gripping as a good story should be" and The New York Times writing: "Listen closely, and you might hear that thrilling sound that is one of the main reasons we go to the theater, that beautiful music of a new voice." Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet receives its world premiere at McCarter Theatre.

To help mark this extraordinary theatrical event, McCarter has created a special website for The Brother/Sister Plays, containing background information on the plays and characters, biographies of the cast and creative team, a calendar of events and performances, interviews, videos, audio clips, and more. Visit www.mccarter.org/tarell for details.

A May 2007 graduate of Yale School of Drama, 28-year-old Tarell Alvin McCraney is a playwright whose exquisite and groundbreaking work has put his career on an extraordinary trajectory. Already, productions of his plays have been mounted in New York, London, D.C., Atlanta, Seattle, Dublin, Barcelona, and New Orleans, as well as at McCarter's IN-Festival of New Works. In addition to The Brother/Sister Plays, his other plays include the Hurricane Katrina-themed The Breach and Wig Out!, which recently completed a highly successful run at New York's Vineyard Theatre. A Princeton University Hodder Fellow, McCraney has been honored with the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, the Whiting Writing Award, and London's prestigious Evening Standard Award, and he was recently named the International Writer in Residence for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The cast of The Brother/Sister Plays features Barnaby Carpenter, Samuel Ray Gates, Kimbery Hébert Gregory, Brian Tyree Henry, Marc Damon Johnson, Nikiya Mathis, Alano Miller, Kianné Muschett, and Heather Alicia Simms. The design team for the production includes James Schuette (sets), Karen Perry (costumes), Jane Cox (lighting), and Lindsay Jones (sound design).

The Brother/Sister Plays contain strong language and mature themes. Tickets for The Brother/Sister Plays at McCarter Theatre Center range from $15 to $49. To order tickets by phone, call the McCarter Ticket Office at (609) 258-ARTS (2787); toll-free 1-888-278-7932; visit online at www.mccarter.org; or in person at 91 University Place, Princeton.

Photo credit: Richard Termine.

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