American Repertory Theater Announces Additional 2022-2023 Programming; North American Premiere Of The Wife of WILLESDEN, LIFE OF PI & More

A new, five-person version of an award-winning docudrama by longtime A.R.T. collaborator Anna Deavere Smith and the North American premiere of a new adaptation of Chaucer's tale The Wife of Bath that celebrates community and the human knack for telling tales were announced today as additions to the 2022/23 programming lineup at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, led by Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Director Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.

Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 will play August 28 - September 23, 2022 at the Loeb Drama Center in Harvard Square. It is conceived, written, and revised by Anna Deavere Smith (Notes from the Field: Doing Time in Education, Let Me Down Easy, Fires in the Mirror). A cast of five will be directed by Taibi Magar (Macbeth In Stride, We Live in Cairo).

The Wife of Willesden will play February 25 - March 18, 2023 at the Loeb. Adapted by Zadie Smith from Chaucer's The Wife of Bath, it is directed by Indhu Rubasingham. The production comes to A.R.T. for its North American premiere from London's Kiln Theatre, where it will be remounted in December following its acclaimed premiere last year.

As previously announced, A.R.T. will also produce the North American premiere of Life of Pi, a stage adaptation of the best-selling novel and winner of the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Play. Life of Pi will play at the Loeb December 4, 2022 - January 29, 2023. It is by Lolita Chakrabarti, will be directed by Max Webster, and is based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel.

Additional programming, including one title to play at the Loeb Drama Center in May and June 2023, is yet to be announced.

"We have such an extraordinary lineup of must-see theatrical experiences in store for our audiences," said Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus. "Anna Deavere Smith's illuminating work has engaged A.R.T.'s audiences for many years, so I'm thrilled that we will produce her new ensemble version of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, a kaleidoscopic examination of the 1992 LA riots and their continuing resonance today. We are also excited to invite audiences to revel in the stunning puppetry and storytelling of Life of Pi and the brilliant writing of Zadie Smith's The Wife of Willesden, set in a boisterous British pub. I'm also excited that A.R.T. audiences will have the opportunity to see the national tour production of Jagged Little Pill, which I am directing, when it comes to Boston in June 2023."

Subscription packages beginning at $99 that include three or four productions are now on sale to select A.R.T. donors. Packages will be available to renewing subscribers on Friday, June 24 at 12PM; to all A.R.T. Members on Thursday, June 30 at 12PM, and to the general public on Thursday, July 14 at 12PM. Learn more at AmericanRepertoryTheater.org/Subscribe.

A.R.T.'s 2022/23 programming is supported by Harvard University, The Barr Foundation, The Bob and Alison Murchison New Work Development Fund, The Shubert Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Bank of America, Barton & Guestier, Meyer Sound, and JetBlue.

- 2022/23 PROGRAMMING -

TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES, 1992

August 28 - September 23, 2022 | Loeb Drama Center

Conceived, Written, and Revised by Anna Deavere Smith

Directed by Taibi Magar

Presented in association with Signature Theatre

In 1992, the news of the police officers' acquittal in Rodney King's police brutality case reverberated throughout the streets of Los Angeles. Called "a riot," "a revolution," and "a social explosion," the events that followed drew worldwide attention-and inspired playwright, actor, and scholar Anna Deavere Smith (Notes from the Field: Doing Time in Education, Let Me Down Easy, Fires in the Mirror) to dissect the anatomy of the civil unrest. Her Tony Award-nominated, Obie Award-winning exploration derived from interviews with more than 350 Los Angelinos reveals the fault lines that set the city ablaze. "As necessary now as when Los Angeles was actively smoldering," (The New York Times), Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is a stirring cry for reform. Smith revised the play for a cast of five while in residence at Signature Theatre, where Taibi Magar (Macbeth In Stride, We Live in Cairo) directed this new production.

Engagement Support of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is provided by The Crimson Lion / Lavine Family Foundation. Production support is provided by Katie and Paul Buttenwieser.

LIFE OF PI - North American Premiere

Winner of 5 2022 Olivier Awards Including Best New Play

December 4, 2022 - January 29, 2023 | Loeb Drama Center

Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel
By Lolita Chakrabarti

Directed by Max Webster

Puppetry and Movement Direction by Finn Caldwell

Scenic and Costume Design by Tim Hatley

Sixteen-year-old Pi and his family set off to emigrate from India, but after their ship sinks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Pi is left stranded on a lifeboat with just four other survivors-a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Royal Bengal tiger. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive? Called "extraordinary and unmissable" by The Guardian for its inventive puppetry, this highly imaginative theatrical adaptation brings one of the most beloved works of fiction to the stage to tell its epic story of endurance and hope.

Additional production support of Life of Pi is provided by Janet and Irv Plotkin.

THE WIFE OF WILLESDEN - North American Premiere

February 25 - March 18, 2023 | Loeb Drama Center

Adapted by Zadie Smith from Chaucer's The Wife of Bath

Directed by Indhu Rubasingham

A Kiln Theatre Production

A proper local legend, Alvita will tell her life story to anyone in the local West London pub-there's no shame in her game. The question is: are you ready to hear it? Because this woman's got the gift of the gab: she can rewrite mistakes into triumphs, turn pain into parables. And her love life? It's an epic poem. They call her the Wife of Willesden. Join her for an evening that celebrates the human knack for telling elaborate tales, especially about our own lives. Winner of the 2022 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright, critically acclaimed and multi award-winning best-selling author Zadie Smith transforms an excerpt from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales into the unbelievable-and unforgettable.

- DIGITAL PROGRAMMING -

A.R.T. will continue to offer digital programming for audiences to enjoy from anywhere in the world, including:

● Civically Speaking, featuring virtual conversations, lectures, and performance events on history, politics, justice, and the meaning of democracy.

• Behind the Scenes, with the writers, directors, composers, and choreographers who are making new work at the A.R.T. Hear new songs and scenes, and learn about the process, research, and development that goes into the creation of new plays and musicals.

• The Lunch Room, A.R.T.'s virtual talk show featuring the artists, activists, and civic leaders who are shaping our communities.

- A.R.T. IN THE WORLD -

● 1776 (A.R.T. revival premiere playing May - July 2022) will open at Roundabout Theatre Company in September 2022 and begin a national tour in February 2023.

● Jagged Little Pill (A.R.T. world premiere May 2018) returns to Sydney, Australia in July 2022; returns to Boston in June 2023 as part of a 30-city US National Tour that begins in August 2022; and opens in London's West End in Fall 2022.

● Ocean Filibuster (A.R.T. world premiere February 2022) continues a national tour in fall 2022 / spring 2023.

● Waitress (A.R.T. world premiere August 2015) continues its US tour in Cleveland, OH through June 2022, and continues its UK and Ireland tour through August 2022.

● The immersive phenomenon Sleep No More (A.R.T. production October 2009) continues at The McKinnon Hotel in Shanghai and at The McKittrick Hotel in New York City.

● Notes from the Field (A.R.T. production August 2016) is currently available on HBO.

● All the Way (A.R.T. production September 2013) is currently available on HBO.