Huntington Theatre Company's 2013-14 Season to Include THE JUNGLE BOOK & More!

By: Mar. 05, 2013
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Huntington Theatre Company announces four productions of its 2013-2014 Season, each featuring celebrated artists beloved by Boston audiences. Continuing its 31-year tradition, the Huntington will present world-class productions of new works and classics made current created by the finest local and national talent. The varied lineup includes a ravishing new musical adaptation by a visionary director, a stirring world premiere by the Huntington's new playwright-in-residence, a sharp new work by Boston's most recent Broadway playwright, and a master's classic brought to life by two outstanding interpreters of his work.

The complete 2013-2014 Season will include four plays at the Boston University Theatre on the Avenue of the Arts, three plays at the Wimberly Theatre in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, and one play in the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA.

The Jungle Book
September 7 - October 6, 2013
Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre

From the imagination of Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman (Candide) comes a captivating new musical adaptation of a timeless favorite. The jungle springs to life in a kaleidoscopic song-and-dance-filled production that chronicles young Mowgli's adventures growing up in the animal kingdom. Based on Rudyard Kipling's time-honored tales and featuring music from the classic Disney film, this ravishing world premiere will enchant audiences of all ages. As the TAB/Wicked Local says, "Let Mary Zimmerman dazzle you!"

"I recently heard Mary Zimmerman and her creative team's take on The Jungle Book music while in Chicago," says Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois. "I was immediately reminded of what I love about Mary and what she brings to The Jungle Book - her big heart, sophisticated mind, and a playful imagination. In this latest creation, she brilliantly interweaves Kipling's evocative prose with the story of the classic film and marries traditional Indian instruments to its jazzy, instantly recognizable tunes. It's a dream!"

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be returning to Boston and to the Huntington," says Zimmerman. "I love the theatre and its audience. We've just finished our second, very intense, very joyful music workshop at the Goodman where six swing/jazz musicians and six Indian musicians brought their virtuosity to the project. The songs from the film are utterly recognizable, yet renewed and enriched by these new, beautiful sounds, and it was the thrill of a lifetime to work with Richard Sherman of the original composing team."

The Seagull
March 7 - April 6, 2014
Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre

Nicholas Martin and Kate Burton (The Corn is Green and The Cherry Orchard) - renowned interpreters of Chekhov's blend of humor and pathos - reunite for this emotionally rich classic. Celebrated actress Irina Arkadina's visit to her aspiring playwright son with her successful novelist lover in tow kindles unrequited passions in this masterpiece about love, missed connections, and what it means to be an artist. Burton's son Morgan Ritchie, who appeared with her in The Corn is Green, plays Arkadina's son Konstantin. WBUR praises, "Nicholas Martin is a master."

"Nicholas Martin and Kate Burton are a Chekhov dream team," says DuBois. "Add Kate's son Morgan in the role of Konstantin, and this production is definitely one to anticipate."

"I'm thrilled to reunite with my beloved Nicholas Martin, my leading man from The Corn is Green - Morgan Ritchie, and one of my favorite theatres, the Huntington," says Burton.

Becoming Cuba
March 28 - April 26, 2014
South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA

In 1898 Cuba on the eve of the Spanish-American War, spirited widow Adela runs a pharmacy, indifferent to the mounting conflict around her. But when the rebellion comes home to Havana, she must choose between loyalty to country or to family. By turns funny, steamy, and political, this powerful new drama from Playwright-in-Residence Melinda Lopez (Sonia Flew) asks whether freedom is something we all want. Huntington Associate Producer M. Bevin O'Gara directs. Variety says, "Melinda Lopez is a genuine talent."

"Since I arrived at the Huntington, people have asked when we would stage another new play by Melinda Lopez," says DuBois. "Becoming Cuba is exuberant, passionate, and well-worth the wait. It's an incredible way to kick off Melinda's new position as the Huntington's playwright-in-residence."

"Becoming Cuba takes me back to my favorite theatrical territory - mining big stories rooted in a shared history of the US and Cuba," says Lopez. "I am so pleased to be returning to the Huntington, my artistic home, and I am especially excited to again work with director M. Bevin O'Gara. Bevin understands my sensibility and my humor, and I trust her to wring the most and the best from my work. We are a terrific team."

Smart People
May 23 - June 21, 2014
South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA

Are our beliefs and prejudices hard-wired into us? Four Harvard intellectuals - a doctor, an actress, a psychologist, and a neurobiologist studying the human brain's response to race - search for love, success, and identity in a complex world. With barbed wit, Huntington Playwriting Fellow Lydia R. Diamond (Stick Fly) explores the inescapable nature of racism and other tricky topics in this controversial and fiercely funny new play that will be directed by Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois (Rapture, Blister, Burn and Sons of the Prophet). Boston Herald proclaims, "Lydia Diamond's dialogue is so damn smart and clever."

"Quick-witted, wildly intelligent, and as entertaining as it is unsettling, Smart People is Lydia Diamond's most ambitious play to date," say DuBois.

"What an outrageous honor - the luxury of returning to a theatre I've come to call home," says Diamond. "I can think of no better place to launch my new play than within the warm embrace of the Huntington. Smart People takes on big ideas and lives in the world of risky questioning and flawed humanity. It is thrilling to have Peter DuBois at the helm of this ship."

SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW
Subscriptions to the Huntington's 2013-2014 Season are on sale now. Seven-play seated packages start at just $126 and offer the very best value - seven plays for the price of six so it's like seeing one show for free - and up to 54% off single ticket prices. FlexPass packages (a minimum of 4 tickets that can be used for any show and never expire) are also available.

Subscriptions may be renewed or purchased by calling the Huntington Box Office at 617 266 0800 or by visiting huntingtontheatre.org/subscribe. Groups of 10 or more can place orders by calling 617 273 1665.

Single tickets will go on sale this summer.



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