Martin And McAnuff Added As Directors For McCarter Theatre Center's 2009-2010 Season

To mark two decades at the creative helm of McCarter Theatre Center, Artistic Director Emily Mann has announced the 2009-2010 Theater Season, which will include the revival of an audience favorite, an eighteenth-century comic masterpiece, a knockout world premiere drama, a contemporary American classic, and a soaring new musical.

The new season will include a new production of Having Our Say, written and directed by Emily Mann, adapted from the book by Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth; She Stoops to Conquer, written by Oliver Goldsmith, directed by Nicholas Martin; the world premiere of Fetch Clay, Make Man, written by Will Power, directed by Des McAnuff; American Buffalo, written by David Mamet, directed by Amy Morton; and the American premiere of a new musical Take Flight, by musical theater icons John Weidman (book), David Shire (composer), Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyricist), directed by Sam Buntrock.

Since 1990, Mann's forward-thinking leadership has been heralded for its emphasis on the creation and development of ambitious new works, significant investigations of the classics, national and international recognition, and the addition opening of McCarter's Berlind Theatre. "20 years is an important milestone," said Emily Mann. "As we celebrate our accomplishments over the last two decades, we renew our commitment to create productions that matter and to engage in the ongoing conversation between our audience, the work on our stage, and the world around us."

Mann's 20th anniversary season will begin on September 11 with one of Emily Mann's greatest triumphs: Having Our Say, written and directed by Emily Mann, adapted from the book by Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth. One of McCarter's most beloved plays, Having Our Say charmed Princeton audiences in 1995 before transferring to an award-winning Broadway run, and now it is more powerful and healing than ever. Audiences are invited once again for a visit with Sadie and Bessie, the indomitable Delany sisters whose poignant and irreverent outlook on a transforming American landscape offers a life-affirming testament to legacy and hope. In McCarter's intimate Berlind Theatre, and in a new millennium, this joyous play will be presented in a new light. Having Our Say runs until October 18, 2009.

Get ready to laugh with Oliver Goldsmith's raucous restoration comedy, She Stoops to Conquer. This boisterous farce of mistaken identities has delighted audiences for over two centuries with its gorgeous language, elegant costumes, and outright hilarity. Sparks fly when young urbanite Charles Marlow arrives at a country estate to court Kate Hardcastle, only to take her father for an innkeeper and her for a saucy barmaid! Good-natured hijinks and grand pretensions abound in this frothy romp that pits town against country and parent against child. She Stoops to Conquer plays the Matthews Theatre from October 13 through November 1, 2009.

McCarter rings in 2010 with Fetch Clay, Make Man, an explosive new drama from acclaimed playwright, actor, rapper, and educator Will Power. In the days before one of the most controversial fights in boxing history, 23-year-old heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali forms an improbable bond with disgraced former Hollywood star Stepin Fetchit. Set in the heady times of the mid-1960s, Fetch Clay, Make Man explores the true story of two wildly different men, each struggling to create and shape his image and legacy. Will Power's absorbing tale is a rhythmic, expressive, and innovative exploration of one of the missing pages in America's history book. Fetch Clay, Make Man, a McCarter commission, is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, and will receive its world premiere on the Berlind Theatre stage from January 8 through February 14, 2010.

Continuing the 09-10 season is a contemporary classic by one of America's reigning dramatists: David Mamet's American Buffalo. In this penetrating battle of friendship versus business, loyalty is tested as three small-time crooks plot the midnight robbery of a buffalo nickel. The award-winning playwright and screenwriter of Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-the-Plow, and Wag the Dog, Mamet pens a biting critique of inflated valuation in this menacing, humorous, and philosophical masterpiece. This volcanic production comes to McCarter from Chicago's internationally acclaimed Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which premiered the smash-hit play August: Osage County before it transferred to Broadway in 2007 and swept the Tony Awards. American Buffalo is directed by Tony-nominaTed August: Osage County actress Amy Morton, whose been hailed as "a proven master of Mamet" (Chicago Sun-Times), and also stars August's Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts. This all-star production of American Buffalo runs in the Matthews Theatre from March 9 through March 28, 2010.

The 2009-2010 Theater Series will conclude with Take Flight, a new musical from an incomparable creative team that includes the award-winning musical team Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire (Starting Here, Starting Now, Closer Than Ever, Baby) and Tony Award-winning librettist John Weidman (Assassins, Pacific Overtures). With style, and panache, this lush musical Take Flight melds fact and fiction to tell the interweaving stories of three pioneers of aeronautics: the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. As their dreams become reality, these aviators discover the real costs of their sky-high ambitions. The production will be staged by acclaimed British director Sam Buntrock (Sunday in the Park with George). Take Flight plays the Berlind Theatre from April 30 through June 6, 2010.

Scores of artists have already acknowledged Emily Mann's 20th anniversary milestone. Legendary playwright Edward Albee proclaimed, "What a bizarre idea! Put a playwright in charge of a regional theatre! Here's an even stranger idea--have it be a playwright who knows how to direct! This is a recipe for disaster--no? No; this results in Emily Mann at the helm of the McCarter Theatre for 20 provocative and intellectually stimulating years. Maybe somebody else will figure it out, and they should look to Emily for guidance."

Award-winning actress and former NEA chair Jane Alexander said, "Emily Mann has made McCarter one of the premiere places for actors in the country. We all want to come and play on the stages. As artistic director Emily has been truly outstanding; as a writer she is world renowned; and as a director she is remarkable in every way. She is a triple threat creatively and a honey of a person to spend time with. Congratulations on 20 years at McCarter!"

Theater series subscriptions range from $65 to $250. For tickets or more information, call the Ticket Office at (609) 258-2787 or visit www.mccarter.org. McCarter Theatre Center is located at 91 University Place, Princeton, NJ.

McCARTER THEATRE CENTER
2009-2010 THEATER SEASON SCHEDULE

Having Our Say
First Preview: Friday, September 11, 2009 - 8 pm
Press Opening: Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 8 pm
Closing Performance: Sunday, October 18, 2009 - 2 pm

She Stoops to Conquer
First Preview: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 7:30 pm
Press Opening: Friday, October 16, 2009 - 8 pm
Closing Performance: Sunday, November 1, 2010 - 2 pm

Fetch Clay, Make Man
First Preview: Friday, January 8, 2010 - 8 pm
Press Opening: Friday, January 15, 2010 - 8 pm
Closing Performance: Sunday, February 14, 2010 - 2 pm

American Buffalo
First Preview: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - 7:30 pm
Press Opening: Friday, March 12, 2010 - 8 pm
Closing Performance: Sunday, March 28, 2010 - 2 pm

Take Flight
First Preview: Friday, April 30, 2010 - 8 pm
Press Opening: Friday, May 7, 2010 - 8 pm
Closing Performance: Sunday, June 6, 2010 - 2 pm

A Christmas Carol
(not part of Theater subscription series)
First Preview: Sunday, December 6, 2009 - 5:30 pm
Press Opening: Friday, December 11, 2009 - 7:30 pm
Closing Performance: Sunday, December 27, 2009 - 5:30 pm

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