The Huntington Completes Its 2024-2025 Season With THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE and NASSIM

Led by Artistic Director Loretta Greco and Executive Director Christopher Mannelli, The Huntington announces the final two titles to complete a 2024-2025 season that asks the important questions of what it means to be alive today while offering a bounty of entertainment and opportunities for joyful connection.

In October, The Huntington will present Nassim Soleimanpour Productions' bold International Fringe hit Nassim to Boston for the first time. Nassim is written by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour (White Rabbit Red Rabbit) and directed by Omar Elerian, and will be performed at the Calderwood Pavilion (527 Tremont St) from October 4 – October 21, 2024.

In Spring  2025, Huntington Artistic Director Loretta Greco will direct the hilarious and seductive French comedy The Triumph of Love by Marivaux in a definitive adaptation by Stephen Wadsworth. The Triumph of Love will play at the Huntington Theatre (264 Huntington Ave) from March 7 – April 6, 2025.

These two productions reflect the depth and breadth of theatrical offerings at The Huntington and, while they could not be more different from one another, they perfectly complement the previously announced season which includes; Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt, the launch of Mfoniso Udofia's Ufot Family Cycle, and Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel's Tony Award-winning musical The Light in the Piazza.

ABOUT NASSIM

Slightly autobiographical, and totally universal, Nassim is a heartwarming and audacious theatrical experiment. Each night a different special guest who has never seen the show or read the script will join the playwright on stage, to forge a fresh relationship as they navigate language and life differences together in joyful real time in front of an audience. Special guests will be announced ahead of time, closer to the start of performances.

“I'm thrilled to introduce my friend, the brilliant writer Nassim Soleimanpour and his gorgeous show simply entitled Nassim to each of you this fall,” says Huntington Artistic Director Loretta Greco. “Renowned internationally (his work has been translated into more than 30 languages), Nassim is equal parts inventive theatre maker, magical clown, cultural critic, and gentle community builder. His vulnerable exploration of connection through language transcends borders with grace and offers rare moment-to-moment surprises, large doses of laughter, and resonant understated impact.”

Nassim was originally commissioned and produced by the Bush Theatre in 2017, won the Fringe First Award at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and subsequently was performed in 20 countries within a 200 day span. In 2019, the play won the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Unique Theatrical Experience. New York Theatre Guide called it a “life-changing experience” and Pelican Magazine described it as “a play for innovators, dreamers, and people who aim to break boundaries. It's a breeze, it's a delight, and it is a must-watch.”

“I am beyond excited to bring Nassim to The Huntington and the great city of Boston as we approach show number 500,” says playwright Nassim Soleimanpour. “In a world full of bitter divisiveness, Nassim warmly invites us to unite and make new friends through the power of live entertainment. We look forward to doing so – with you! – in October.”

ABOUT THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE

Love takes center stage in The Triumph of Love, the uproarious classic French comedy by 18th century playwright Pierre Carlet de Marivaux. A clever princess is smitten at first sight – but to win her prince, she must woo him in disguise. Mistaken identities, hilarious complications, and deeply felt desire collide head on with Rationalist Philosophy – and surprising romantic entanglements ensue!

Artistic Director Loretta Greco stages Stephen Wadsworth's magnificent translation which inspired a renewed a passion for Marivaux in America in the 1990s. Called “Exhilarating” by The New York Times and “A triumph!” by Variety, the classic Marivaux text from 1732 was freshly adapted and translated in 1992 by Stephen Wadsworth at the McCarter Theater in New York – where Huntington Artistic Director Loretta Greco served as a staff producer on the production at the time. Now with Greco as director, this sparkling adaptation of a beloved classic will be performed in The Huntington's historic theatre, kicking off Spring 2025 with a comedy of romance and mistaken identities. 

“I am thrilled to bring Stephen Wadsworth's intoxicating adaptation of Marivaux's 18th century play to life here at The Huntington,” says Greco. “Full of playful deception, romance, hilarity, and hope, The Triumph of Love is a surprising, deeply moving, and modern examination of our ability to grow over time. That this play, which premiered in 1732, feels so alive today owes much to the singular passion of Stephen and this definitive adaptation.”

“Loretta Greco was a key collaborator on the first production of this translation of The Triumph of Love, when she was staff producer at McCarter Theater,” says translator Stephen Wadsworth. “Her razor-sharp eye and keen ear brought her deep into the work on the script itself, as well as on the staging. I can't wait to see what she does with this play at The Huntington.”

ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON

Celebrating over 40 years of outstanding theatre, The Huntington is Boston's theatrical commons and leading professional theatre company. On our stages and throughout our city, we share enduring and untold stories that spark the imagination of audiences and artists and amplify the wide range of voices in our community.

Under the leadership of Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Loretta Greco and Executive Director Christopher Mannelli, The Huntington is committed to welcoming broad and diverse audiences, provides life- changing opportunities for students through its robust education and community programs, is a national leader in the development of playwrights and new plays, acted as the host organization for a multi-year residency of The Front Porch Arts Collective, a Black theatre company based in Boston, and serves the local arts community through our operation of The Huntington Calderwood/BCA.

The Huntington reopened the historic Huntington Theatre in fall of 2022 after its transformational renovation, and is currently in phase two of the project; the renovation and building project of this storied venue with a bold vision for the future will allow us to innovatively expand our services to audiences, artists, and the community for generations to come. For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.

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