ArtsEmerson: The World On Stage
ANNOUNCES 2012-2013 SEASON OF THEATRE PROGRAMMING AT CUTLER MAJESTIC THEATRE, PARAMOUNT CENTER MAINSTAGE,
AND JACKIE LIEBERGOTT BLACK BOX THEATRE
Third season designed for programming flexibility.
High resolution photos available on request.
(BOSTON-April 13, 2012) After two critically-acclaimed seasons of programming from all over the world, ArtsEmerson announces its third theatre season beginning in the fall of 2012. Tickets for these productions go on sale to ArtsEmerson members on April 13 and to non-members on May 29. For information about membership and ticket sales, visit www.ArtsEmerson.org or call 617-824-8400.
This season marks a departure in programming philosophy. The organization is announcing eight productions now, with more to be added later. According to Executive Director Rob Orchard, “As a theatre producer, the constraints of the calendar are one of my greatest challenges. If I see something I’m excited about in September, I’d like the freedom to program it sooner rather than later. By leaving time in the calendar, we allow for work that can be presented with shorter planning horizons. This enables us to bring to Boston the freshest, most exciting productions, and to react quickly to what’s happening in the theatre world, both near and far.” Orchard also plans a two-week festival of new works early in 2013. He says, “The festival allows us to present just a few performances each of relatively unknown productions, giving audiences the opportunity to sample a range of theatrical gestures bubbling up from a younger generation.”
PARTIAL 2012-2013 THEATRE SEASON
As of April 2012
Sept. 20—21, 2012
Paris Commune
The Civilians
Created by Steven Cosson and Michael Friedman
Paramount Center Mainstage
Running Time: TBA
Recommended for ages 12 and up
In 1871, working-class Parisians took to the streets and overthrew the French government, declaring their city autonomous and launching an effort to radically reinvent society. The Civilians brings these explosive events to life in this new musical play. Using found texts and original songs from this extraordinary period, Paris Commune tells the story of Europe’s first socialist revolution, bringing alive the idealism, elation and eventual tragic downfall of this uprising. Boston audiences have the special opportunity to see this world premiere by The Civilians, who were part of ArtsEmerson’s first and second seasons with You Better Sit Down: Tales From My Parents’ Divorce and In The Footprint: The Battle Over Atlantic Yards, before it heads to New York.
This playfully clever Brooklyn-based theatre company has toured extensively with presentations in over 40 cities nationally and internationally. The Civilians has also received Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk and Drama Guild nominations.
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Sept. 27—Oct. 7, 2012
Sequence 8
Les 7 doigts de la main
Directed by Shana Carroll and Sébastien Soldevila
Co-Production with Les Nuits de Fourvière/Département du Rhône, Lyon (Fr) and TOHU (Montréal, Canada)
Commissioning partner: ArtsEmerson
Cutler Majestic Theatre
Running Time: TBA
Recommended for ages 7 and up
After blowing the minds of Boston audiences with PSY, Les 7 doigts de la main returns with their sixth and newest creation, Sequence 8, giving Boston another chance to witness their incredible movement-based artistry. In Sequence 8, emotions heighten until they spring into action and relationships transform and evolve until they create actual velocity. Set not in a specific time or place but rather on a vertical canvas of sorts, this acrobatic dance and theatre piece contemplates the role of the “other”, and how we define ourselves through and against it. For their 10th anniversary production, Les 7 doigts de la main combines explosive physical exploits with a thoughtful depiction of human relationships for an unforgettable performance.
Winner of numerous accolades, including the Gold Medal, Silver Medal and Nikouline Trophy (Festival Mondial du Cirque de demain); Gold Medal and Audience Awards (SOLyCIRCO Festival); Argus Award (Brighton Festival); and nominated for two Drama Desk awards, Montreal-based Les 7 doigts has been making waves in the circus world and beyond since its founding in 2002.
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Oct. 9—Oct. 21, 2012
Hamlet
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst
Paramount Center Mainstage
Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Recommended for ages 12 and up
From Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, a handful of players perform this timeless classic. Hamlet explores political intrigue and sexual obsession, philosophical reflection and violent action, tragic depth and wild humor. 21 year-old actor Joshua McGuire in the title role captures the youthful and less jaded aspects of Hamlet’s personality rarely seen in more traditional interpretations. In just two and a half hours, this production embraces the theatre of Shakespeare’s day by returning to the roots of performance, with actors playing multiple characters. Humorous and boisterous, the Globe Company packs an emotional wallop with their inherent theatricality.
Shakespeare’s Globe is a faithful reconstruction of the open-air playhouse designed in 1599 and a unique international resource dedicated to the exploration of Shakespeare’s work and the playhouse for which he wrote. Each year Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre rediscovers the dynamic relationship between the audience and the actor in this unique space. Audiences experience the “wooden O” either sitting in a gallery or standing informally as a groundling in the yard, just as they would have done 400 years ago.
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Dec. 5—Dec. 9, 2012
La belle et la bête (Beauty and the Beast)
Lemieux Pilon 4D Art
Conceived and directed by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon
Text by Pierre Yves Lemieux
Paramount Center Mainstage
Running Time: 90 minutes with no intermission; Performed in English
Recommended for ages 14 and up
In this contemporary take on the original tale, the great love story of Beauty and the Beast gets reworked in an astonishing new multi-disciplinary performance. Masters of osmosis, blending real and virtual imagery, Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon set a new standard in multimedia performance with this production. The intense, luminous characters manage to transcend their broken hearts through their inexhaustible thirst for life. Audiences will be spellbound as all theatrical elements – from Belle’s paintings to the characters’ dramatic transformations – spring to life, breaking the boundaries between real and virtual. With added passion and virtuosity, Lemieux and Pilon reimagine this universal story of resilience and the redemptive power of love against all odds.
Founded in 1983, Montreal-based Lemieux Pilon 4D Art is a multi-disciplinary company with more than 30 original productions to its credit. Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon, the driving artistic forces of the company, masterfully integrate theatre, film, dance, poetry, visual arts, music and sound into their productions, resulting in rich, immersive storytelling that both delight and amaze audiences. Their bold productions have toured extensively throughout the world.
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Jan. 29—Feb. 10, 2013
The Servant of Two Masters
By Carlo Goldoni
Adapted by Constance Congdon from a translation by Christina Sibul
Directed by Christopher Bayes
Paramount Center Mainstage
Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with an intermission
Recommended for ages 14 and up