1. art and entertainment
2. theatre

Embargoed for Release on April 2, 2015
Contact: Katalin Mitchell 617.495.2668
kati_mitchell@harvard.edu
American Repertory Theater
Announces the 2015/16 Season:
WAITRESS•
NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812•
NICE FISH • 1984 • IN THE BODY OF THE WORLD • ROOSEVELVIS
OBERON Season to Include Kansas City Choir Boy, The Hypocrites, Ubu Sings Ubu, and More
Cambridge, Mass — The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of
Artistic Director Diane Paulus, announces its 2015/16 Season including:
• Waitress, a new musical based upon the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly; book by Jessie Nelson,
music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, directed by Diane Paulus; begins performances August 2015 at the Loeb
Drama Center
• Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, an electropop opera inspired by Tolstoy’s epic novel War and
Peace; music and libretto by Dave Malloy, directed by Rachel Chavkin; begins performances December 2015
at the Loeb Drama Center
•Nice Fish, an ice fishing expedition where the ordinary and the unbelievable collide; written by Mark Rylance
and Louis Jenkins, directed by Claire van Kampen, featuring Mark Rylance; begins performances January 2016
at the Loeb Drama Center
• 1984, a bold stage adaptation of George Orwell’s novel by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan; begins
performances February 2016 at the Loeb Drama Center
• In the Body of the World, a stage adaptation of Eve Ensler’s critically acclaimed memoir about the strength
and joy that connect a single body to the planet; written by Eve Ensler, directed by Diane Paulus, and featuring
Eve Ensler; begins performances April 2016 at Farkas Hall at Harvard University
• RoosevElvis, A madcap road-trip through American masculinities; created by the TEAM, directed by Rachel
Chavkin; begins performances May 2016 at OBERON
1
•The Pirate Princess, a new musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for children and their families
created by the team behind The Light Princess; begins performances December 2015 at the Loeb Drama
Center
“I am thrilled to have A.R.T. friends return this season — Mark Rylance, Eve Ensler, Dave Malloy, Rachel Chavkin,
and the TEAM to name a few,” stated Diane Paulus. “It’s also a delight to welcome Sara Bareilles and the UK’s
Headlong theater ensemble, among others.” She continued, “The insights and the talents which these artists will
bring to the A.R.T. offer a range of new perspectives. In their radical, dynamic stagings of history, song,
literature, and memory, these artists share a form of theater actively engaged with how we understand and
conduct our lives as human beings on this planet.”
As the A.R.T. explores its mission to expand the boundaries of theater on its stages in Cambridge, the work of
the A.R.T. can be seen elsewhere in the United States and the world. Last season’s Finding Neverland continues
previews on Broadway and opens on April 15. Aaron Posner and Teller’s magical adaptation of The Tempest will
be presented at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater this fall. The immersive phenomenon that originated in the
2009/10 Season, Sleep No More has marked its 4th anniversary Off-Broadway. In addition, Once continues its US
tour and returns to Boston’s Citi Shubert Theatre in December 2015 while the A.R.T.’s Tony Award-winning revival
of Pippin will return to Boston in February 2016 under the auspices of Broadway in Boston.
- 2015/16 SEASON WAITRESS – WORLD PREMIERE
Book by Jessie Nelson
Music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles
Based on the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly
Directed by Diane Paulus
Loeb Drama Center
Jenna, a waitress and expert pie maker, is stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. When a baking
contest in a nearby county offers her a chance at escape, Jenna must choose between her commitments and
her dreams. Her customers, co-workers, and the town’s handsome new doctor all offer her conflicting recipes
for happiness — but Jenna ultimately has to decide for herself. Featuring music and lyrics by Grammynominated singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (“Brave,” “Love Song”) and directed by Diane Paulus (Pippin, Finding
Neverland), this poignant and uplifting new musical celebrates talent hiding in the most unlikely places.
NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812
Music and Libretto by Dave Malloy
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
Loeb Drama Center
Natasha is young, Anatole is hot, and Andrey isn’t here…But what about Pierre? Based on a scandalous 70page slice of War and Peace, this electropop opera is Tolstoy like you’ve never experienced him before. Step
into a glamorous, romantic world of chandeliers, vodka and caviar in the salons and opera houses of 19th
century Moscow, where passions ignite as Napoleon’s war rages outside the city. With the cast and musicians
swirling among audience members, this new musical brings to life the heart of literature’s most epic tale of love
and fate.
The Great Comet will be presented in a new immersive staging at A.R.T., continuing the show’s development
from its premiere at Ars Nova and its critically acclaimed run in a pop-up venue in New York City.
Composer, writer, orchestrator, sound designer, and performer Dave Malloy (Three Pianos, Beowulf: A Thousand
Years of Baggage, Ghost Quartet) is one of the most innovative musical theater creators working today. His
2
multi-disciplinary, critically acclaimed and award winning compositions break the boundaries of style and form,
giving literature’s classic characters voice in the vibrant, eclectic style of a new generation.
The Great Comet is directed by two-time Obie Award-winner and Drama Desk nominee Rachel Chavkin (Three
Pianos) whose critically acclaimed work as Artistic Director of Brooklyn based theater company the TEAM
includes RoosevElvis.
NICE FISH
Conceived, Written, and Adapted by Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins
Directed by Claire van Kampen
Loeb Drama Center
On a lake in frozen Minnesota, the ice is beginning to creak and groan. It’s the end of the fishing season, and
two men are out on the ice one last time, angling for answers to life’s larger questions. A play woven together
from the acclaimed prose poems of Louis Jenkins, Nice Fish reflects nature with a wry surreality. As Jenkins
writes, they “are after something big, something down there that is pure need, something that, had it the
wherewithal, would swallow them whole.” Written and adapted by Louis Jenkins and Mark Rylance, Nice Fish
brings a groundbreaking collaboration to the A.R.T. and St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn.
In his prose poems about life in northern Minnesota, Louis Jenkins places ordinary events – a game of catch, a
trip to the supermarket – into cosmic perspective using a signature mix of humor and honesty. The author of 14
books of poetry, Jenkins’ work has been featured on This American Life, Prairie Home Companion, and The
Writer’s Almanac.
The winner of numerous Olivier Awards, TONY Awards, and the first artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe
Theatre in London, Mark Rylance has brought generation-defining excellence to his work as an actor, director,
and playwright. Known for roles in Jerusalem, Boeing Boeing, and Richard III / Twelfth Night on Broadway, and
most recently Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall on PBS, Rylance blends an extraordinary talent for transformation
with a trademark warmth and openness. He last appeared on the A.R.T. stage in Hamlet and The Seagull
during the 1991/92 season. Playwright, director, and composer Claire van Kampen, who staged the original
production of Nice Fish at The Guthrie Theater in 2013, directs this revised new production.
1984
By George Orwell
A New Adaptation Created by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan
Presented in association with Headlong, Almeida Theatre, and Nottingham Playhouse
Loeb Drama Center
April, 1984. Comrade 6079, Winston Smith, thinks a thought and starts a diary. But Big Brother is always watching,
and the door to Room 101 can swing open in the blink of an eye. The definitive book of the 20th century is reexamined in a radical, award-winning adaptation exploring surveillance, identity and why Orwell’s vision of the
future is as relevant now as ever. This ground-breaking production comes direct from the UK and an extended
smash-hit run in the West End – and continues Headlong’s commitment to interrogating the most important
cultural texts, following productions of Six Characters In Search Of An Author, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet.
IN THE BODY OF THE WORLD — WORLD PREMIERE
Written and Performed by Eve Ensler
Directed by Diane Paulus
3
Farkas Hall at Harvard University
In this world-premiere adaptation of her critically acclaimed 2013 memoir, Eve Ensler (The Vagina
Monologues, Emotional Creature, The Good Body, O.P.C.) celebrates the strength and joy that connect a
single body to the planet. As an activist and artist, Ensler has spent her career speaking about the female
body. While working in the Congo, where war continues to inflict devastating violence on women, she was
diagnosed with stage III/IV uterine cancer. This diagnosis erased the boundaries between Ensler’s art, her work,
and her own body. In this raw, humorous, and bold performance, Ensler charts the connections between the
personal and the public, inviting and challenging all of us to come back into our bodies, and thus the world.
ROOSEVELVIS
Created by the TEAM
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
OBERON
On a hallucinatory road trip from the Badlands to Graceland, the spirits of Elvis Presley and Theodore Roosevelt
battle over the soul of the painfully shy meat processing plant worker, Ann, and over what kind of man or
woman Ann should become. Set against the boundless blue skies of the Great Plains and endless American
highway, RoosevElvis is a new work about gender, appetite, and the multitudes we contain. Mixing athleticism
with artistic experimentation, celebrated theater troupe the TEAM has explored American myths from Gone
with the Wind to Howl with a zany, irreverent theatricality. The TEAM returns to A.R.T. after their production
Particularly in the Heartland was featured in the 2010 Emerging America Festival.
- FAMILY HOLIDAY PROGRAMMING THE PIRATE PRINCESS – WORLD PREMIERE
Book by Lila Rose Kaplan
Music by Mike Pettry
Directed by Allegra Libonati
Featuring Actors from the A.R.T. Institute Class of 2016
Loeb Drama Center
From the creators of the A.R.T.’s beloved production of The Light Princess comes a swashbuckling adventure on
the high seas. When a giant sea monster destroys their ship, seafaring twins Violet and Victor are separated.
Lost in a world of rowdy pirates and lovesick royals, the siblings must be crafty and brave to reunite. Along the
way, they learn a lot about love, and a little bit about painting and the ukulele. Adapted from Shakespeare's
Twelfth Night, this family musical is appropriate for all ages.
- A.R.T. PRESENTS AT OBERON A.R.T.’s second stage is a destination for theater and nightlife on the fringe of Harvard Square. The 2015/16
Season features headline performances including:
•
•
•
Dave Malloy’s critically acclaimed, haunted song cycle, Ghost Quartet
Courtney Love and Todd Almond star in Kansas City Choir Boy, a theatricalized concept album by Todd
Almond, directed by Kevin Newbury
Song of a Convalescent Ayn Rand Giving Thanks to the Godhead (In the Lydian Mode), a comic,
moving and philosophic show created and performed by Michael Yates Crowley and Michael Rau of
Wolf 359
4
•
•
•
One Child Born: The Music of Laura Nyro, performed by Kate Ferber and directed by Adrienne
Campbell-Holt
Sean Graney and The Hypocrites (The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance) return with their final installment of
the Gilbert & Sullivan trilogy H.M.S. Pinafore, performed with zany splendor
Ubu Sings Ubu, a raucous mash up of Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi, starring Tony Torn and Julie Atlas Muz, with
music by Pere Ubu, co-directed by Tony Torn and Dan Safer, who also doubles as choreographer.
And don’t miss A.R.T.’s popular The Donkey Show directed by Diane Paulus, continuing for its 7th season at
OBERON every Saturday night.
2015/16 Season subscriptions will be available for renewing subscribers on May 6 and for the general public on
May 26. Additional information about tickets to all of these productions can be found online at
AmericanRepertoryTheater.org.
ABOUT THE A.R.T.
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 Robert Woodruff succeeded him. 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 distinguished awards, including the Tony Award
for Best New Play for All the Way (2014); 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 IRNE 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 culminated in the
staging of new work in the 2014/15 Season. Under Paulus’s leadership, the A.R.T.’s club theater, OBERON, has
been 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 offers graduate-level training in acting, dramaturgy, and voice.
Dedicated to making great theater accessible, the A.R.T. actively engages 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. For further information, visit AmericanRepertoryTheater.org
5