McCarter Theatre Center Sets 2015-16 Season: BABY DOLL, THE PIANO LESSON & More

McCarter Theater Center Artistic Director and Resident Playwright Emily Mann, celebrating 25 years at the helm of Princeton's Tony Award-winning theater company, is pleased to announce the lineup for the upcoming 2015-2016 Theatre Series.

Among the works to be presented are a new adaptation of one of Tennessee Williams' most riveting works, a world premiere comedy from one of the greatest living writers of farce, a new production of an August Wilson classic, one of the greatest murder mysteries in the theatrical canon, and a world premiere comedy from one of America's up-and-coming voices in playwriting.

Tennessee Williams' BABY DOLL
Adapted by Pierre Laville and Emily Mann
Directed by Emily Mann
September 11 - October 11, 2015
Berlind Stage

Times are tough in the Mississippi Delta, where cotton is king and the summer heat drives desires of every kind. Tennessee Williams' 1950s film masterpiece, Baby Doll, was condemned in its time for its riveting tale of commercial and erotic vengeance. Co-adapted by Pierre Laville and Emily Mann, the American premiere of this compelling work burns bright with its darkly comic, steamy tale of one delicate girl's awakening. From the author of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie, and A Streetcar Named Desire, Baby Doll is an enthralling tale of prejudice, sexual politics, and passion.

Ken Ludwig's A COMEDY OF TENORS
Directed by Stephen Wadsworth
October 13 - November 1, 2015
Matthews Stage
A Co-production with Cleveland Play House

One hotel suite, four tenors, two wives, three girlfriends, and a soccer stadium filled with screaming fans. What could possibly go wrong? It's 1930s Paris and the stage is set for the concert of the century-as long as producer Henry Saunders can keep the amorous Italian superstar and his hot-blooded wife from causing runaway chaos.

Playwright Ken Ludwig (Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery) returns to McCarter for the world premiere sequel to Lend Me a Tenor, called "one of the classic comedies of the 20th century" by The Washington Post. A co-production with Cleveland Play House, A Comedy of Tenors will directed by Stephen Wadsworth (The Figaro Plays), an auteur with a perfect mix of comedic theatre and opera buffa experience.

August Wilson's THE PIANO LESSON
Directed by Jade King Carroll
January 8 - February 7, 2016
Berlind Stage

One of August Wilson's most powerful works, The Piano Lesson is a profound, melodic tale set in 1930s Pittsburgh. To reclaim his family's legacy, Boy Willie must sell their priceless heirloom, but will his sister and the ghosts of their past stand in his way? Full of August Wilson's trademark mix of soaring poetry and shattering intensity, The Piano Lesson is a universal story of memory and perseverance. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The Piano Lesson marks the McCarter directorial debut of Jade King Carroll, and is the fourth of Wilson's ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle to be produced by McCarter Theatre Center after Gem of the Ocean (2005), Radio Golf (2007), and Fences (2014).

THE MOUSETRAP
By Agatha Christie
Directed by Adam Immerwahr
March 8 - March 27, 2016
Matthews Stage

The snow is falling around Monkswell Manor, but the body count keeps rising. Agatha Christie, the queen of crime, pens this nerve-shredding whodunnit. A twisted web of a play, this mystery-thriller truly invented the rules of the genre. Called "the cleverest murder mystery of British Theatre by The Daily Telegraph and "a classic among murder thrillers" by The Observer, The Mousetrap is helmed by McCarter Theatre Center Associate Artistic Director Adam Immerwahr (The Understudy), returning for his second stylish takeover of the Matthews Stage.

ALL THE DAYS
By Sharyn Rothstein
Directed by Emily Mann
April 29 - May 29, 2016
Berlind Stage

If it's not one thing...it's your mother. Miranda has done everything in her power to create a life completely different than the one she came from. A week before a family celebration, however, Miranda suffers a lapse of judgment and invites her eccentric and overbearing mother to stay. With all the kin in one place, will they all stay in one piece? This heartfelt and hilarious world premiere is about a family in the midst of loss, love, and forgiveness.

Continuing its proud tradition of introducing major new plays and writers to the American Stage, (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Convert, and Anna in the Tropics) McCarter Theatre Center is pleased to present the World Premiere of All the Days by playwright Sharyn Rothstein, whose previous work (By the Water) was called "a force of nature" by Time Out New York and "an affecting new play" by The New York Times.

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