A.R.T. Adds FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS to 2014-15 Season; Performances Begin Jan. 2015

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Managing Director William Russo, has announced the remaining production planned for its 2014/15 Season: Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3), written by Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Jo Bonney, in a co-production with The Public Theater in New York. Performances will begin January 2015 at the Loeb Drama Center.

Pulitzer Prize winner and The Public Theater's Master Writer Chair Suzan-Lori Parks' (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Topdog/Underdog, The Book of Grace, The America Play) Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) is a devastatingly beautiful new play set over the course of the Civil War. Jo Bonney (Small Engine Repair, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark) directs this moving and haunting drama comprised of three plays presented in a single performance. In Part 1, "A Measure of Man," Hero, a slave who is accustomed to his master's lies, must now decide whether to join him on the Confederate battlefield in exchange for a promise of freedom. Part 2, "The Battle in the Wilderness" follows Hero and the Colonel as they lead a captured Union solider toward the Confederate lines as the cannons approach. Finally, in Part 3, "The Union of My Confederate Parts," the loved ones Hero left behind question whether to escape or wait for his return - only to discover that for Hero, freedom may have come at a great spiritual cost. A masterful new work from one of our most lyrical and powerful writers, Father Comes Home From the Wars is a deeply personal epic about love and hope in a world of impossible choices.

A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus commented: "I am thrilled to have this opportunity to present my friend and colleague, Suzan-Lori Parks' new work as part of our season. It's a great pleasure to also co-produce this important piece with The Public Theater. Oskar and I have had a long working relationship and to be able to unite our institutions for this world premiere is particularly rewarding."

The A.R.T. stages Father Comes Home From the Wars and the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin's opera, as centerpieces of its Civil War Project, a multi-year initiative to investigate and commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War.

This co-production joins the previously announced 2014-15 Subscription Season, that includes Finding Neverland, a new musical about Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, directed by Diane Paulus, with music and lyrics by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy, book by James Graham, and choreography by Mia Michaels; O.P.C., a new play by Eve Ensler; The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville starring the legendary performers Mandy Patinkin and Taylor Mac, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman; and A New American Opera with music and libretto by Matthew Aucoin and directed by Diane Paulus.

Subscriptions for the 2014/15 Season will go on sale April 25 along with select preview performances of Finding Neverland. Subscribers get the best seats at the best prices, with packages starting as low as $99. Subscriptions will be available online at americanrepertorytheater.org or by phone at 617-547-8300. Groups of 10 or more may purchase tickets for the 2014/15 Season performances beginning April 25 by calling 617-496-2000 x8892.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University is a leading force in the American theater, producing groundbreaking work in Cambridge and beyond. The A.R.T. was founded in 1980 by Robert Brustein, who served as Artistic Director until 2002, when he was succeeded by Robert Woodruff. Diane Paulus began her tenure as Artistic Director in 2008. Under her leadership, the A.R.T. seeks to expand the boundaries of theater by programming events that immerse audiences in transformative theatrical experiences.

Throughout its history, the A.R.T. has been honored with many awards, including consecutive Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical for Pippin (2013) and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (2012), both of which Paulus directed; a Pulitzer Prize; a Jujamcyn Prize for outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent; the Tony Award for Best Regional Theater; and numerous Elliot Norton and I.R.N.E. Awards.

The A.R.T. collaborates with artists around the world to develop and create work in new ways. It is currently engaged in a number of multi-year projects, including the Civil War Project, an initiative that culminates in the staging of new work in the 2014/15 season. Under Paulus's leadership, the A.R.T.'s club theater, OBERON, has become an incubator for local and emerging artists and has attracted national attention for its innovative programming and business models.

As the professional theater on the campus of Harvard University, the A.R.T. catalyzes discourse, interdisciplinary collaboration, and creative exchange among a wide range of academic departments, institutions, students, and faculty members, acting as a conduit between its community of artists and the university. A.R.T. artists also teach undergraduate courses in directing, dramatic literature, acting, voice, design, and dramaturgy. The A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training, which is run in partnership with the Moscow Art Theater School, offers graduate-level training in acting, dramaturgy, and voice.

Dedicated to making great theater accessible, the A.R.T. actively engages more than 5,000 community members and local students annually in project-based partnerships, workshops, conversations with artists, and other enrichment activities both at the theater and across the Greater Boston area.

Through all of these initiatives, the A.R.T. is dedicated to producing world-class performances in which the audience is central to the theatrical experience.

The A.R.T.'s Civil War Project has been developed as part of the National Civil War Project, a multi-year, multi-city collaboration among four universities and five performing arts organizations. Inspired by choreographer Liz Lerman, this collaboration has inspired the commissioning of original theatrical works as well as creation of new arts-integrated academic programs. The National Civil War partnerships include: Alliance Theatre and Emory College Center for Creativity & Arts at Emory University in Atlanta, GA; the American Repertory Theater and Harvard University in Cambridge, MA; Arena Stage and the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.; and CENTERSTAGE in Baltimore, MD and The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.

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