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2008-09 Season
The 2008-09 Brandeis Theater Company season is full of music, mirth and mythology as the talents of Stephen Sondheim, Edith Wharton, Hermann Hesse and Euripides come together for an exciting offering of musical comedy, dance and drama. All four of this season’s productions explore an individual’s need to seek more—a better life, greater social position, peace, contentment and justice in the face of defeat—and the lengths they are willing to go to achieve them even if great sacrifice is the price. This season welcomes new actors as they join our ensemble of guest artists, faculty, staff, graduate designers and undergraduate actors and designers. See the future of American theater as the stars of tomorrow take the stage!
The 2008-09 Brandeis Theater Company season is made possible through generous support from the Laurie Foundation, the Robin, Barbara and Malcolm L. Sherman Endowment for the Performing Arts, the Poses Fund, the Jaffe Foundation, the Ann ’56 and Clive Cummis Family Foundation and the Herbert and Kim Marie Beigel New Play Fund.
Saturday Night
October 16-26, 2008
Laurie Theater
Book by Julius J. Epstein
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Based on the play Front Porch in Flatbush by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein
Directed by Eric Hill
Lighting Design by Michael Jarett MFA’07
Musical director Matthew Stern ’08
Choreography by Hannah King ’07
Stephen Sondheim penned his first musical based on the play Front Porch in Flatbush by Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein (Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein’s grandfather and great-uncle!) in 1954 at the age of 23. This lost musical was never publicly performed until 1997, and it received its New York premiere in 2000. In this light-hearted musical comedy, occurring over three successive Saturday nights in 1929 in Brooklyn, an ambitious group of young men find themselves restless and, worse, date-less. Gene, a Wall Street runner in the market frenzy before the crash, has dreams that reach far beyond Brooklyn and drive him into deceiving Helen, who has secrets of her own, into thinking he is someone he will never be. He lures his friends into the financial foolishness of the time, coming close to paying the consequences of his deceit. Youthful innocence and a simpler time make Sondheim’s first musical a delight for all and a must-see for the Sondheim aficionado.
Made possible through generous support from the Robin, Barbara and Malcolm L. Sherman Endowment for the Performing Arts.
Listen to a behind-the-scenes interview with set designer Sarah Rozene and costume designer Deirdre McCabe.
Tea and Flowers, Purity and Grace
November 20-23, 2008
Mainstage Theater
A dance play based on Edith Wharton’s "House of Mirth"
Created and choreographed by Susan Dibble
Edith Wharton’s novel "House of Mirth" serves as the inspiration of this lovely adaptation by acclaimed dancer and choreographer Susan Dibble. Young socialite Lily Bart brings her beauty, ambition and cunning to bear on her attempt to climb New York’s social ladder by arranging an advantageous marriage for herself, as is expected by custom and society, yet all of her efforts are thwarted by her own desire for a life of luxury and greed. “Society is a revolving body,” Edith Wharton wrote, and the characters of her pages come to life in this Tableaux Vivant-inspired work of twenty-four dances. Guided by a narrator, the play combines dance, movement and music ranging from Chopin and Satie to Ragtime and Laurie Anderson.
Watch a behind-the-scenes video about Tea and Flowers, Purity and Grace.
Download the Fall 2008 issue of State of the Arts, which includes an article on Tea and Flowers, Purity and Grace written by Ingrid Schorr. (PDF)
Siddhartha: A Jungian Fantasy in Three Movements with Prelude
February 5-15, 2009
Laurie Theater
By Hermann Hesse
Adapted by Eric Hill from the novel "Siddhartha" and other writings by Hermann Hesse
Directed by Richard Corley
The story of Siddhartha is well-known and well-loved, but its origins from the mind of Hermann Hesse owe much to his analyst Carl Jung and his collective unconscious theory of mankind. In this whimsical and poetic adaptation by Eric Hill, Hesse himself tells the story of the young Siddhartha’s journey into manhood and enlightenment as he explores the world and discovers himself. With the help of Jung, Freud and three Hindu Goddesses, Hesse finds parallels between himself and the man who would become a Buddha. Siddhartha is part of a year-long focus on the history, culture and influence of India in a program sponsored by the Brandeis Office of Global Affairs.
Hecuba
April 2-5, 2009
Mainstage Theater
By Euripides
Translated by Eirene Visvardi, Brandeis Kay Fellow, and Leonard Muellner with his students
Adapted by Eric Hill and Eirene Visvardi
Directed by Eric Hill
Featuring Liz Terry as Hecuba
Euripides’ compelling story of one woman’s devotion and revenge gets a new translation in this production. At the end of the Trojan War, the Greeks are unable to return home until the ghost of Achilles receives the sacrifice he demands: the death of Polyxena, daughter of the now enslaved former queen of Troy, Hecuba. Hecuba grieves the loss of her daughter and vows revenge for the death of her son Polydorus at the hands of the King of Thrace, Polymestor. Hecuba and her women plot their retaliation for her loss since justice is no longer an option in their conquered, weakened state.
Made possible through generous support from the Jaffe Foundation, the Herbert and Kim Marie Beigel New Play Fund, and the Ann ’56 and Clive Cummis Family Foundation.