A Language of Their Own

November 11 to 18

by Chay Yew

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directed by Jaynie Chen '01

produced by Carey Hsu '00

Leverett Old Library Theater

Two men, Ming and Oscar, take a retrospective look at some of the irresolvable issues that surround life and love in relation to their dissolved relationship. Exploring cultural identity and sexuality, A Language of Their Own takes on the familiar love story with a new slant. With an already rare look at the issues revolving around contemporary Asian American life, Language takes everything a step further by probing into the little-explored gay Asian American community. Building upon experiences common to everyone, the play aims to move its audience on a whole new level. "While this is a play set among a community of gay Asian American and non-Asian-American characters, the scenes ring with a sound of familiarity because all of the lines are words that we have all heard or said ourselves," producer Carey Hsu said. "I think that this play will appeal to its audience because it is a modern love story placed in a nontraditional setting." Told through various pieces of poetry mixed with monologues and dialogues, the nontraditional structure of the play also adds to its uniqueness. Hsu also praised the play for its humor in spite of the somewhat somber subject matter.

Orontea

November 15 to 18

by Antonio Cesti

directed by Sarah Meyers '02

produced by Neil Davidson '03

Courtyard of the Fogg Museum

Hailing from the Baroque era, this Antonio Cesti opera tells the tale of an Egyptian queen and her trials of loe. Director Sarah Meyers describes the "funny, light stories that make it accessible to modern audiences." Reduced significantly to a more condensed version, the opera features a "well-balanced production" of both Harvard students and students of the New England Conservatory.

Gross Indecency:The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde

November 30 to December 2

by Moises Kaufman

directed by Jesse Kellerman '01

produced by Wes Shih '00

Loeb Experimental Theater

Shortly after the premiere of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895, the Marquess of Queensbury, rankled by his son's homosexual relationship with Wilde, harassed Wilde in public. Wilde responded by setting in motion a libel suit that would eventually lead to his own conviction for sodomy, then imprisonment and loss of public appreciation of his art. Gross Indecency recreates the trial that shook the creative world, drawing from a number of accounts, including Wilde's lover Lord Alfred Douglas, George Bernard Shaw and Wilde's riotous testimony during the trial itself. Wilde crafts a new work out of his performance at the trial, from the complementary elements of his dramatic sense and homosexuality, of course ending in tragedy different from anything Wilde ever committed to paper. The play outside the play of Wilde's role in the trial pushes the boundaries of historical fiction itself through subtle framing devices, coming to share Wilde's belief that truth in narrative is a very tricky thing indeed.

Escape from Happiness

November 16 to 19

by George F. Walker

directed by Dorothy Fortenberry '02

produced by Carrie Roby '03 and Nicole Ruiz '02

Loeb Experimental Theater

Set in modern America, George F. Walker's play is a comedy about a dysfunctional family striving to evade the inevitable. Walker takes a close look at the hardships of urban life as well as the power of loe and loyalty that binds a family together. The play looks to be hilarious, yet diffused with a strong sense of realism. Director Dorothy Fortenberry '02 also highlights the creativity of the production, as most cast members knew little of Walker's story. Look out for the set design and sound design, which Fortenberry describes as "abstract and realistic."

End of Motions

Nov 30 to Dec 3 & Dec 7 to Dec 10

by David Kornhaber '02

directed by David Kornhaber '02 and George Collins '01

produced by Matt Hudson '03

Leverett Old Library Theater

This play is an intellectual hybrid of philosophy of knowledge, science and history. Tycho Brahe has an omnipotent historical perspective. Johnannes Kepler's parents speak to each other through scientific texts for the entire play. Sounds like the story was written by a Harvard undergraduate, doesn't it? Guaranteed to be better than A World Without History, the first play by Kornhaber, who is also a Crimson editor, this production actually sounds hot. With what's purported to be a great ensemble cast this could be the best thing since Galileo or Picasso at the Lapin Agille.

The Pirates of Penzance

November 30 to December 3 & December 7 to 9

by Gilbert and Sullivan

directed by John Driscoll '00

produced by Lin Chin '02 and Dennis Clark '03

Agassiz Theater

This classic Gilbert and Sullivan musical has become one of the most enduring and long-lasting productions in the realm of Harvard theater. Filled with gallivanting pirates, puns and paradox, this theatrical masterpiece has it all. A great show that can be enjoyed over and over, Pirates is an uplifting piece replete with songs and witty humor. New cast members mixed with returning experience makes for a well-balanced, fresh production. "This is one of the few shoes one can do (and do well) and not have to take seriously," co-producer Dennis Clark said. "It's a little intellectual, but not very deep, and it's definitely not Shakespeare; just more fun. I'm hoping that everyone who comes to see the show will have a fantastic time."

Split Confusion

November 30 to December 2

by Ned Colby '02

directed by Beth Newhall '02

produced by Jennifer Banner and Ned Colby '02

Adams House Pool Theater

Georges Depardieu falls into bed and wakes up in an altered reality where he meets himself and his girlfriend-twice. First, the self and girlfriend whom he encounters are a pimp and a prostitute, respectively; in the second such couple, gender roles are reversed. Billing the one-act play as a "zany comedy with serious undercurrents," author and co-producer Ned Colby, who is also a Crimson editor, declines to elaborate on his script, its title or its premise, explaining that he wants audience members to "make up their own minds about what the play is saying-or saying for them." But director Beth Newhall '02 offers a hint to bewildered readers: It's supposed to explore how media outlets like television can interfere with self-discovery and the formulation of identity. Newhall promises to sidestep the "heavy-handed and pretentious" and keep things light, but whether Split Confusion succeeds may depend more on whether Colby has found anything new to say within the well-trodden genre of zany comedies with serious undercurrents. In any case, if its predecessors in the healthy tradition of absurdist drama are any indication, Split Confusion should induce its own share of laughter.

Agamemnon

January 5 to 7, 11, 12

by Aeschylus

directed by Peter Flaherty

produced by Ignacio Prado

Agassiz Theater

Think you've seen Agamemnon? Think again. This production aims to turn Reading Period into Harvard's very own Bacchanalia, or at least a rollicking theater experience. Video and sound technology will allow the audience to become caught up in the well-worn tale of Clytemnestra's murder of Agamemnon, instead of passively standing by. For example, Agamemnon's entrance will be real time through the streets of Cambridge; and the many references in the text to prior events and the foreshadowing of two more plays in the cycle will be supplemented by "scary" video flashbacks. Clytemnestra will be a "two-personed bitch tied together by dog leashes," presumably trying to emphasize the contrast between her syrupy sweet reception of Agamemnon and her cold-blooded dispatching to Hades of the same. All of this is aimed at drawing out the turmoil already inherent in the play's pregnant lines, but which is often relegated to the climactic ending. Theater purists may blanch, but it should be delightful. The show premieres at Harvard before heading to New York in February.

The Firebugs

Dec. 8 to 10, Dec. 14 to 16

by Max Frisch

directed by Cary McClelland

produced by Phil Michaelsen and Matt Hudson

Loeb Experimental Theater

Finally some genuine action. The Firebugs torch buildings in this satirical indictment of German apathy as a reaction to the Third Reich held in a fictional city being torn apart (down?) by arson. The arsonists come to your doorstep as homeless men looking for shelter, and they don't leave. See it for the Greek chorus of firemen choreographed by James Carmichael. Or for the all-star cast which includes Alexis Burgess and Emily Knapp. Or for McClelland's original production which includes video and slide projections to set the scene and perhaps a real fire to torch the scene. . .

Julius Caesar

January

by Shakespeare

directored by Dan Berwick '01, Dan Rosenthal '02

produced by Jess Shapiro '01, Cary Mclellan '02 and Ethan Styles

Kronauer Space-Adams house

Julius Caesar was perhaps more appropriate for Shakespeare's time, when people knew the tale and the issues involved were issues faced by most Elizabethans. Noting this, the production staff of Julius Caesar, with the help of the Hyperion Shakespeare banner, will radically transform the play to be meaningful to a modern, college age audience. The play is set in modern America, 20 years from now, when everything has fallen apart. Caesar will focus on actors finding their own connection to the words of the play and the formation of actor-audience relationships. The show promises to be experimental but professional, and seeing Julius Caesar sans toga is definately a different twist on the classic Shakespeare tale.

Cymbeline, King of Britain

January 6 to 12

by William Shakespeare

directed by Eric Fleisig-Greene '01

produced by Julia Griffin '03

Loeb Experimental Theater

One of Shakespeare's last plays, Cymbeline tells the story of a British royal family based loosely on an apocryphal Cymbeline, who supposedly lived in the first century. Like The Tempest or The Winter's Tale, other late plays classified as "Romances," Cymbeline mixes comedy and tragedy, resulting in a drama unlike much of Shakespeare's more familiar work. Critics complain that Cymbeline simply rehashes elements of Shakespeare's earlier plays-one finds strong parallels to characters and relationships from King Lear, Othello, Romeo and Juliet-but producer Julia Griffin '03 takes the opposite view: late in his career, she contends, Shakespeare had "figured out what he liked and disliked in characters-so, for instance, he gave his heroine the best attributes of many previous heroines." She also notes that the play's original plot and fairy-tale feel may make Cymbeline a pleasant surprise for audiences raised on somber standards like Hamlet. Director Eric Fleisig-Greene '01 plans a small-scale, technically simple production that focuses on character and language; the black-box setup of the Loeb Ex and the production's relatively long rehearsal time promise to help his cast along toward this goal of finely crafted storytelling.

Damaged Ground

Mid-February

by Jessica Kaye '01

directed by Jessica Kaye '01

producer and location to be announced