Spring Theater Preview: March

A WORLD WITHOUT HISTORY

By David Kornhaber '02

Directed by Karin Alexander '02

Produced by David Kornhaber

Loeb Experimental Theater

March 2-4

STORY: Gary Wiliams has been trying for ten years to forget the untimely death of his sister. But his troubling past is brought back to life when Richard White, a close friend of Gary's father, is found dead. Moving between realism, memory and fantasy, the play charts Gary's struggle to come to terms with grief and move on from his past. Joining Gary in this search for solace is Richard's daughter Juliet, who is suspected of her father's murder. Together they discover both the power and the futility of sharing one's darkest secrets in a world that refuses to let them forget.

BUZZ: Recipient of the American Repertory Theater's Phyllis Anderson Award for Playwriting, given biannually to the best dramatic work by a Harvard undergraduate or graduate student, A World Without History is Kornhaber's first full-length piece for the theater. Alexander, swept away after reading the play, encouraged Kornhaber to produce it, citing it as "a meaningful story about loss, grief and reconstructing our lives after traumatic experiences; universal and everlasting in its theme." This spring's debut is an important time to catch the show after such high accolades.

TOO MUCH LIGHT MAKES THE BABY GO BLIND

By the Neo-Futurists

Directed by Erica Rabbit '00

Produced by Julia Griffin '03 and Jerald Korn '00

Loeb Experimental Theater

March 9-11

Story: From the wackiness of the Neo-Futurists comes the wonderful madness of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. Thirty plays are performed in 60 minutes in a random order determined by the audience yelling out which play they want to see next. Based on the premise that it's possible to write a two-minute play with just as much depth, humor and poignancy as something that takes five acts, Too Much Light features a collection of unconventional plays that are smart, funny and spontaneous.

Buzz: The Neo-futurists, a Chicago-based drama/comedy group, have reinvented every aspect of the theater going experience. Their original production of Too Much Light incorporated a few bizarre rituals: the role of a die determined the price of an admission ticket; sold out shows got pizza delivered to the audience; and upon entering the theater, each person was renamed, and received a name tag with a new name emblazoned on the front. Whether the Harvard production of Too Much Light will adopt these odd traditions is yet to be known, but Erica Rabbit '00 promises the show will be "a wonderfully unique theater experience."

SKYLIGHT

By David Hare

Directed by Alison Haskovec '01

Produced by Geoffrey Harriman '01

Adams Pool Theater

March 10-12

STORY: A young woman, Kyra, leaves her middle-aged lover, Tom, when their affair is exposed to his wife. In an attempt to move on, Kyra settles into an existence of solitude. Years later, after his wife dies, Tom suddenly reappears in Kyra's life, and they are both forced to do what neither ever wanted: confront the past. Were they meant to betogether, or was it never meant to be? Skylight shows what happens when those things that are hard to say are left unsaid for too long.

BUZZ: The first undergraduate production of this beloved David Hare play is simple, yet filled with superb dialogue and powerful emotional content. Director Alison Haskovec states that "Skylight appeals to an audience here on the rational, intellectual and most importantly, on the emotional level. The two main characters delve deeply into feelings that neither imagined having to revisit. Repression is everywhere in our society. I firmly believe that such issues eventually have to come out somehow." A plot line that strikes an eerily familiar chord to students here at Harvard, this promising show urges students not to lose their perspective.

RUTHLESS! THE MUSICAL

Book and Lyrics by Joel Paley

Music by Marvin Laird

Directed by Sara Heller '02

Produced by Pippa Brashear '01

Music Director: Peter Dong '02

Vocal Director: Steven Anderson (GSAS)

Loeb Experimental Theater

March 16-18

STORY: Ruthless hopes to be a ruthless assault on the audience's ability to be in a state of continuous laughter. The show tells the story of an eight-year-old girl named Tina who murders another girl for the lead in the third grade show, "Pippi in Tahiti." Jim Augustine, one of the campus' most amusing and talented actors, goes drag, playing Sylvia St. Croix, and takes on the role of Tina's agent. The show features each character fighting to be the center of attention; each character has at least one solo. Reflecting the show's title, the musical reflects the dark hilarity of ruthlessly scheming to get what one's heart desires. Parodying movies such as The Bad Seed, Valley of the Dolls, Gypsy, The Women, and All About Eve, Ruthless has all of the quirky components of an entertaining show.

BUZZ: The decision to cast a male in a female role, while appropriate for the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, is a risky venture. Similarly, plays within a play shows are difficult, reflecting a continuous struggle to create a sense of illusion within an already subverted reality. The directors should be conscious of the limitations and potentials of the Ex, for a musical runs the risk of leaving the audience feeling cramped. If Ruthless fufills the promise of its quirky plot and stellar cast, it will be a show that one will be sorry to miss.

APRIL

GALILEO

By Bertolt Brecht

Directed by James Carmichael '01

Produced by Jocelyn Beh '02 and Jesse Shapiro '01

Loeb Experimental Theater

April 6-8

STORY: Galileo tells the story of this great and conflicted man and the lesser known people and events around him. The contemporary drama deals with the responsibility of the intellectual to defend his or her beliefs in the face of huge opposition from established authorities, in Galileo's case the Roman Catholic Church. It also explores his troubled relationships with his daughter and students. Though Brecht wrote Galileo in the wake of World War II as a condemnation of fascism, it moves beyond its time to deal with ideas of genius, courage, teaching, freedom and exploration.

BUZZ: Producer Jesse Shapiro '01 is proud of Galileo's "super-experienced mega-superstar staff" who face quite a task; among the things they have to recreate are Galileo's scientific instruments and a three-dimensional starscape. One worry is that Galileo is Carmichael's directorial debut at Harvard. However, with numerous Harvard acting credits under his belt, as well as a professional directing experience last summer, Carmichael is "more than up to the challenge." Though the play is certainly intellectual, its emotional aspect is what is most intriguing. "What makes us love the play is the texture of the relationships Galileo has with the other characters and the way those relationships make us feel rather than merely how they make us think."

RUDDIGORE

By William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

Directed by Sarah Meyers '02 and Jonathan Girard

Produced by Lane Shadgett '00 and Elizabeth Little '03

Agassiz Theater

April 6-15

STORY: Ages ago, Sir Rupert Murgatroyd tortured a witch. With her dying words, she decreed that he and every Baronet of Ruddigore after him would be doomed to commit a mortal sin every day, or die in agony. Generations later, the current Baronet tries to escape his curse and title in order to win the hand of the village beauty, the perfectly proper Rose Maybud. Unfortunately, his overwhelming timidity, a rather bumptious half-brother and a picture gallery of dead ancestors stand in his way. But if he can win her, a chorus of professional bridesmaids are ready and waiting in a village of pastoral bliss and sinister gloom.

BUZZ: The Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players are a mainstay of the campus theater season, and their offerings are perennially entertaining if not always terribly innovative. Ruddigore is one of the famous British team's lesser known operettas, but its musical score is said to be among Sullivan's best. Meyers has generated waves of enthusiasm in all those with whom she's come in contact, and Girard comes loaded with professional-level experience. Things to watch for: clever juxtaposition of pastoral bliss and Gothic spookiness, characters with more than one dimension, paintings that come to life.

THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES

By John Guare

Directed by Jerry Ruiz '00

Produced by Ray Courtney '01 and Lauren Winkler '01

Loeb Mainstage

April 7-9 and 13-15

STORY: When Artie, a mediocre piano player from Queens, decides to send his loony wife to a "rest place," he thinks he'll finally move to California and take one last shot at becoming famous. Throw into the mix three wacky nuns, a deaf starlet and a son with a plan to bow up the Pope: Artie has one explosively funny situation on his hands. The House of Blue Leaves is a darkly comic look at America's obsession with fame and the failing hopes of one man becoming "too old to be a young talent."

BUZZ: Even though it was written 30 years ago, The House of Blue Leaves is as cutting edg

e today as then, revealing American society's prevailing obsession with the elusive quest for fame and the ultimate destruction this leads to. Ruiz's vision of this darkly sardonic comedy is what he calls "hyper-realism" in a Quentin Tarantino like style. As he suggests, "the play is rooted in reality, but it is definitely not realism. It has a wacky, off the wall, semi-cartoonish feel. The characters are just off-kilter enough that its not like your regular realistic, living room comedy, and the events that happen throughout the course of the play takes it even further."

PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE

By Steve Martin

Directed by Jessica Shapiro '01

Produced by Dorothy Fortenberry '02 and Heather Stone '01

Loeb Experimental Theater

April 9-15

STORY: So Einstein and Picasso walk into a bar...and into the 20th century. The time is 1904, right before their careers take off (Einstein with his publication of his theory of relativity and Picasso's with his painting "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"), and the place is a more-than-slightly offbeat Parisian tavern called the Lapin Agile. The two spend their time arguing about who is going to be a greater genuis and whether science or art is superior, as well as interacting with a host of comical characters, including two women having affairs with Picasso, a flamboyant art dealer and a lecherous old man with bladder problems.

BUZZ: Come on, it's written by Steve Martin! That in itself is worth the price of admission. (Of course, Ex shows are always free...). As an added bonus, it is directed by none other than the illustrious president of the Harvard-Radcliffe Drama Club herself, Jess Shapiro. Her vision for the show includes transforming the Ex into the Lapin Agile bar, placing the audience on the set and within the action of the play. Plus, the show revolves around the issues involved with moving into the 20th century; making it particularly relevant and amusing as we move into the 21st. The show promises to be one of the highlights of the spring season. Fortenberry says, "It's a hilarious show, we have a great cast, and working with Jess and Heather (Stone) has already been fabulous. Plus, I always need another excuse to hang out in erudite French bars." Well, it certainly beats another night at the Grille.

MONA IN THE PROMISED LAND

Adapted for stage by Terry E-E Chang '01

Directed by Terry E-E Chang '01

Leveritt House Old Library

April 13-22

STORY: This show promises to be an experiment. The play combines the exclusivity of suburbia with the funky oddness of the 70s and layers a coming-of-age story with issues of race relations and religion. Mona in the Promised Land is a struggle of the trials and travails of Mona, an Asian-American female who must cope with the pressure of growing up in an all-white, extraordinarily wealthy and predominately Jewish suburb. Mona decides to explore Judaism and conversion, creating a dialogue between Asian and Jewish culture. Mona's parents own a pancake house and employ mostly African Americans, further complicating the plot's racial and ethnic exploration. The play combines temple rap sessions, James Brown, Nietzche and hash brownies with quirky, poignant humor, cultivating an examination of the struggles of growing up any American teenager confronts, regardless of the era or their race.

BUZZ: Mona in the Promised Land guarantees a diverse cast. However, the on-stage diversity is only one aspect of the play's allure. Chang adapted the novel to stage herself, believing that its message and its humor had to be shared. The adaptation is an "experiment and work in progress," according to Hsu. The show, what Chang describes as "'The Wonder Years' meets 'That 70's Show'," merits a viewing, even if one is simply curious to see how a Harvard student adapted a novel to stage.

SNATCH

By Frankie Petrosino '02

Directed by Frankie Petrosino

Loker Coffeehouse

April 13, 14, 16

STORY: When Brendan Diggs' mother finds a nudie magazine in his bedroom, she decides to teach her son a lesson in respect for women--Brendan will be spending his last year of high school at the Farnesworth School for Girls. Can a trash-talking b-boy be redeemed? Will Brendan woo his lady love, the man-hating Austen? All these questions will be answered in this madcap production where we ask ourselves, is it really all about the snatch?

BUZZ: Sort of a combination of Boyz in the Hood and an intelligent American Pie is how actor Billy Rock '03 describes Snatch, a play which confronts serious issues of race and gender, but isn't lacking in its good share of ribaldry. Writer, director, and producer Frankie Petrosino has her hands full, but promises a good time: "It's going to be a great show, lots of laughs and profanity." Intimately staged in Loker Coffeehouse, Snatch should make for a more informal, but no less lively, production.

HERE BE DRAGONS

Concept by Brett Egan

Directed by Brett Egan

Produced by Josh Perry '00

Loeb Experimental Theater

April 19-22

STORY: Actors join mixed-media crew as "language designers" in this experiment in form and content. Here Be Dragons plans to use a variety of story-telling techniques (with influences from Japanese noh, puppet theater and fantasy film) to narrate a pre-existing "arc" of events. Plastic surgery, sky lore, the high carnival, the ship of fools and Antarctic exploration are woven together through the use of masks, video, still photography, soundscapes, scents, puppetry and graphic design. Combining all these elements, Director Brett Egan aims to communicate concerns about mapmaking and subjecthood.

THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE

By Rodgers and Hart

Directed by Rachel Eisenhaure '02

Produced by Wei Tse Lim '02

Agassiz Theater

April 20-22

STORY: The script for the musical is almost identical to that for Plautus' The Brothers Menaechmus, written in the first century AD and known in another reincarnation as Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. A pair of identical twins are separated at birth; the same thing happens to their slaves. Unaware of the existence of their mirror images, one twin and his slave stumble unknowingly into their brothers' city. If you don't know what happens, you can guess: chaos.

BUZZ: The dialogue was written centuries ago, but The Boys will undoubtedly be entertaining for modern audiences. The music was written in the 1930s, and the show promises to be chock-full of dancing, including a dancing brothel scene. Producer Tse Wei Lim boasts that they "found the best damn choreographer on campus, Heather Childs, who plans to go wild with this show." Costumes will be made by Erica Waddell, and will be, says Lim "specatularly revealing." And, in typical Harvadian, Hasty Pudding type fashion, the head courtesan will be played by a man.

BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS

By Neil Simon

Directed by Marcie Ulin '02

Produced by Sarah McAuley '02

Loeb Experimental Theater

April 27-29

STORY: According McAuley, Brighton Beach Memoirs is quintessential Neil Simon--it's funny and dramatic, a classic coming-of-age type story. The play deals with an extended Jewish family living in the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn during the Depression and their various conflicts, especially the clashes between the two matriarchs. The other main plot line depicts fifteen year-old Eugene Jerome as he deals with the trials and tribulations of adolescence, all while living under one roof with his extended family. And in case that wasn't enough to make the Jerome household somewhat dysfuntional, Eugene soon develops a crush on his cousin Nora and must seek information on masturbation from his brother Stanley.

BUZZ: Ulin is very excited about her upcoming production. "I chose this play now because the last two plays I worked on were American Buffalo and Simpatico, two very worthy and rather heavy dramas." This year, she wanted something lighter that still displayed the poignancy of the lives she was depicting. The set is being designed with the intention of turning the Ex into the Jerome house, so that the audience is entering a fully developed world that invites them to observe. The key of this play lies in its intimacy and the audience's ability to feel that it is part of this household, part of this family's life.

WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

By Edward Albee

Directed by Christine Nyereyegona '00

Produced by Marianne Staniunas '00

Leverett Old Library

April 27-May 6

STORY: Edward Albee's harrowing examination of sexual and social politics has stunned audiences for generations with its blend of scathing humor and unnerving psychological intensity. The action unfolds in the living room of middle-aged couple George and Martha, who come home from a faculty party of a "prestigious New England private college" drunk and quarrelsome. When young bio prof Nick and his strange wife Honey stop by for a nightcap, the two are enlisted in George and Martha's night-long power struggle, a battle of savage witticisms, malicious games, insults and betrayals.

BUZZ: The experience of watching Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is almost like being trapped in a pressure cooker just waiting to explode. The production will emphasize this "too close for comfort" aspect with the intimate confines of the Leverett Old Library, where the actors will almost be on top of the audience. Expect a very polished final product with lots of attention to detail, from the subtle-but-significant sets to the superbly nuanced characters.

THE FRESHMEN MUSICAL: THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING

By the Freshmen Musical Writing Team

Director: Zadoc Angell '03

Producer: Shelby Braxton-Brooks '03

Agassiz Theater

April 27-29

STORY: A classic tale of girl meets boy, girl dresses like boy, boy falls in love with girl disguised as a boy. When first-year Steve joins the all-male Tasty Pudding, his twin Vicky refuses to be outdone. She creates Vince, an alter-ego who also wins a role in the Pudding's musical version of Twelfth Night. Complicating matters are Vicky's roommates, who don't know of her disguise, and the show's director, who Vicky is beginning to fall for. Does this sound like just another day in the life for a stressed-out Harvard first year?

BUZZ: This is the fifth annual Freshman Musical since the idea was conceived as a means of giving interested first years a foot in the door of Harvard's friendly but crowded theater scene. The Freshman Musical has traditionally become an event for each class to look forward to as they see a production which they or their friends have worked on all year, one which will only go up this one time and which was created entirely for the class' enjoyment and approval. Though still in development, this year's addition to this first year tradition looks to be as enjoyable as its four predecessors.

THE SECRET GARDEN

By Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon

Directed by Joe Gfaller '01, Mike McNabb '02 and Julie James '00

Produced by Julia Griffin '03, Geoffery Harriman '01, Alison Haskovec '02 and Melanie Sheerr '00

Loeb Mainstage

April 28-30 and May 4-6

STORY: In this classic tale based on the book by Frances Hodgeson Burnett, young Mary Lennox is uprooted and transported to England when her parents (and everyone else she knows) die of cholera in India. Her new home is decidedly un-homely, full of shattered people who cannot let go of the past and the ghosts of their loved ones. Gradually, with the help of a garden long shut away from human eyes, Mary manages to deal with her loss and so comes to be the catalyst for the revitalization of the lost souls around her.

BUZZ: Veteran director Gfaller has taken an intellectual approach to directing this show and promises a visually stunning work that will make full use of the Mainstage's ample space. To produce a show that is both emotionally affecting and historically accurate, Gfaller has the backing of a production staff of unrivalled competence and enthusiasm. Gfaller has been preparing himself for this challenge for a long time and the final product will most certainly bear his unique mark. Things to watch for: a surreally beautiful maze sequence, an incredible break-away tree branch and Yorkshire accents.

THE LYMPDICK DIATRIBES: IT'S HARD TO BE A MAN

By Jay Critchley

Directed by Jay Critchley

Produced by Thomas Lee, Coordinator, Learning from Performers, OFA

Location TBA

Late April

STORY: So, your boyfriend wouldn't go with you to The Vagina Monologues. Well, now he's got a show of his own. Jay Critchley, the Office for the Arts at Harvard Artist in Residence, has created The Lympdick Diatribes an evening of stories, monologues and songs about men and the essence of their detumescence, in deference to The Vagina Monologues. The workshop production, a collaborative effort between Critchley and Harvard students, asks questions such as "What does it mean to be masculine?" "What's the penis got to do with it?" and "Why do we equate maleness with hardness, when in fact men are limp most of the time?"

MAY

IN BETWEEN O'CLOCK

By Michael Ragozzino '01

Directed by Andrew Boch '02

Produced by Amanda Burnham '01 and Michael Ragozzino '01

Adams Pool Theater

May 4-7

STORY: Mystery surrounds In Between O'Clock, and Ragozzino wants the details of the script to remain "relatively secret due to its surprising twists and turns." All we know is that In Between O'Clock begins with a cliche: "A man walks into a bar..." But what Matthew Circland finds in that bar will redefine the theater experience, shattering notions of time and space while taking audiences on an exhilarating journey into the mind and soul of a man.

BUZZ: People are talking about this one. Ragozzino, who wrote the play as an independent study under the tutelage of playwright Adrienne Kennedy, has been refining his script for two years and is excited that Harvard audiences will finally get to see his hard work come to fruition. The demanding lead role of Circland will surely give Jay Chaffin a chance to flex his well renowned acting muscles. Chaffin, who studied under Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York, was the understudy for Gavroche in the Broadway production of Les Miserables, has been cited in The New York Times as an actor to watch. With an experienced production staff, including talented director Andrew Boch and acclaimed visual artist Amanda Burnham on set design, a stellar cast and a coveted Arts First Weekend opening date, In Between O'Clock is sure to guarantee that the buzz around Ragozzino's playwriting debut reaches a deafening pitch.

ROMEO AND JULIET

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Kathryn Walsh '00

Produced by Agnes Mei-Yee Chu '01 and Patrick Aquino '00

Tercentenary Theater

May 4-7

STORY: You know the drill: boy meets girl, boy meets end, girl meets end. All are punish'd.

BUZZ: The closest thing you'll find to Shakespeare in the Park...in May...in Cambridge. The steps of Memorial Church (the traditional setting for Hyperion's spring productions) will be subbing in for fair Verona, so there won't be much room for elaborate sets. The look of the show will thus largely be determined by the costumes (designed by veteran costume guru Erin Billings), focusing the audience's attention on the actors and by extension on Shakespeare's language. Director Walsh says to expect a fair amount of audience involvement as well. A sure-fire star in this year's heavenly Arts First lineup.

SILLY MARCO

Adapted by Adam Kline '02 and Edie Bishop '00

Directed by Edith Bishop and Adam Kline

Producer: Ray Courtney '01

The Radcliffe Sunken Garden

May 4-7

STORY: For those of you who feel the need to return to those happy days of childhood, if only for a fleeting afternoon, Silly Marco is the show to see. It is the story of Marco, the youngest prince of Lirripipe, as he embarks on his quest to rescue the Princess Aurelia. However, Marco's two older brothers, Fluffiwellbarambamoregesundheit and Bob, are jealous because Marco received more birthday presents than they did, so they set out to foil Marco's quest at every turn. He befriends an assortment of delightful and helpful characters along the way and finally makes his way to the Princess, only to realize that she has already been rescued. Marco learns the importance of friendship and familial love and finds his true happiness in an unexpected place.

BUZZ: Although most disaffected Harvard students out there will refuse to admit it, most of them still like fairy tales. Yet Silly Marco seems to take an original twist on the this genre, and will most likely outdo all those Muppets and Sesame Street characters with its whimsical and sardonic plot line. Silly Marco is not intended solely for children, but for grown-ups as well. According to Bishop, Silly Marco is a tale about kindness, friendship and perserverance. Fulfill your inner child and take a breather by seeing Silly Marco.

TROILUS AND CRESSIDA

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Martijn Hostetler '00

Produced by Libby Shani '02

Loeb Experimental Theater

May 4-7

STORY: One of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays is also one of his most cynical. Petulant Cressida is a Trojan woman who initially pledges her love to her countryman Troilus but later transfers her affections to the Greek Diomedes. A supporting cast of self-centered fools, deformed narrators, perverted go-betweens and other depraved denizens round out this story of the betrayal of love, the problems with heroism and the emptiness of honor. Oh wait, there's a rave in it, too....

BUZZ: One of the more talked-about shows this coming season, and rightly so. Tired of overly academic Shakespeare productions and inspired by last year's innovative Ex hit King Kong, director Hostetler decided that he wanted to stage a theater event that was accessible to the public and full of energy. The result? Troilus and Cressida set in a post-apocalyptic rave, complete with crazy lighting, pumping techno music, lots of wild dancing and even wilder costumes (designed by Valerie de Charette, fresh from the glitzy hoochie chic of Jesus Christ Superstar).

TWELFTH NIGHT

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Josh Edelman '00

Produced by Shira Palmer-Sherman '02

Agassiz Theater

May 4-6

STORY: Fusing elements of mistaken identities, gender bending, spiteful vengeance, musical revelry, wit, lust and love lost and found, Shakespeare's endearing and comical little love story is adored by all. Shipwrecked off the coast of Illyria, Viola and her twin brother Sebastian believe each other drowned. Viola, disguising herself as the boy Cesario, enters Duke Orsino's service. The Countess Olivia has numerous other suitors of whom her steward, Malvolio, disapproves. These suitors, along with others devise a trick to humiliate him, and he is imprisoned. While Sebastian, Viola's twin,who has been saved by a ship's captain, turns up in Illyria confusion ensues as the other characters mistake each twin for the other. Eventually all is revealed and true love prevails.

BUZZ: Director Josh Edelman's production is built around a contemporary American audience and will be set in the less traditional scene of the California redwoods in the year 1959. Edelman's vision is a production "influenced by such Americanisms as the Beat Generation and the Jazz Age." A promising production, this strictly American interpretation of the classic romantic comedy should be fascinating.

OEDIPUS REX

By Sophocles

Directed by Graham Sack '03

Produced by Matthew Hudson '03, Tova Serkin '02

Hillel Courtyard

May 6-8, 10, 11, 13

STORY: Just in case you forgot: Laius, king of Thebes, is told by an oracle his son will eventually kill him. A cautious father, Laius binds his infant son to a mountain, leaving him for death. Oedipus is saved and eventually returns to Thebes after unwittingly killing his father. The city prospers under his rule, but a grievous plague falls upon the city. Oedipus denounces the crime which caused the plague and attempts to track down the criminal. It's not too long before he realizes that he is the culprit and meets his ironic, unwelcome destiny. And don't forget to throw in a few healthy doses of incest, suicide and self-mutilation.

BUZZ: What's most notable about this production of Oedipus Rex is how it will embrace a more traditional interpretation of the tragedy. Though most contemporary analyses of the play contend Oedipus' downfall is a result of a tragic mistake‚ rather than a tragic flaw‚ Sack thinks those views exculpate the character and undermine the deterministic nature of the tragedy. Sack is also thinking of having his tech crew pull off an ambitious off-stage blinding scene involving silhouettes. Freighted with a hefty cast of 20 and an intelligent director, Oedipus Rex will be a tragedy to watch out for this spring. And you thought Harvard didn't have any Greek life.

3MIW

Written by Jesse Kellerman '01

Directed by Jesse Kellerman

Produced by Wesley Shih '01

Adams House Pool Theater

May 11-14

STORY: This original work is a series of five short, fast-paced, farcical (bordering on ridiculous) sketches exploring everything from mysterious levers to tyrannical fashion designers to bureaucratic inefficiency to club soda. Four actors (three men and one woman--hence the title) play all the roles.

BUZZ: A roller coaster ride of a show ("my goal is to quietly bend minds...we will puree your brain," says writer-director Kellerman). Come for its zany premise and stay for its outlandish scenarios, witty dialogue and slap-happy physical comedy. The 3M1W are all talented, seasoned vets who bring extensive comedic and dramatic skills (and incredible enthusiasm) to the show. Everyone involved with the production has proved his or her dramatic mettle in past productions--now they just want to have a good time (and make sure you have one, too).

ANTONELLI'S: A MUSICAL MOB SCENE

By John Baxindine '00

Produced by Mary Rude '01

Agassiz Theater

May 11-13

STORY: Antonelli's is just what its title promises: a combination of a gangster story and a musical, complete with the love triangle. The plot follows a mobster with mixed loyalties to the mob world. His position goes decidedly downhill, and the gears of the story start cranking when it turns out his love interest, the singer at the club Antonelli's, is a member of the FBI.

BUZZ: Baxindine began writing the 1940s-ish music for Antonellis about two years ago, originally intending it to be part of a production of the movie Casablanca. When he couldn't get the rights, he instead wrote an original script, one he intended to be fun and a little lighter. The result is Antonelli's, in the same vein as Sondheim's Follies and Cy Coleman's City of Angels. The production will stay true to its original inspiration by using the "dark smoky tone" of a film noir. Costumes even may be entirely black and white, save for a few colors worn by the main characters. Producer Rude sums it up with the description "gritty but jazzy."

KING LEAR

By William Shakespeare

Directed by David Egan '00

Produced by Phil Michaelsen '02 and Thandi Parris '01

Loeb Experimental Theatre

May 11-13

STORY: One of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies, King Lear is, as Egan puts it, pretty hard to summarize. But let's try--in a nutshell, Lear foolishly punishes his good daughter (Cordelia) for her honesty and gives his kingdom over to his bad daughters Goneril and Regan. Lear's daughters throw him out, he then goes slightly wonky, and Cordelia tries to win his kingdom back for him. In a very bloody and tragic ending, in Lear's famous anguished lines, "Never, never, never, never, never." In Egan's interpretation, this becomes a story about a painful process of stripping away lies to discover the truth.

BUZZ: Let's face it--interpreting Shakespeare today is never an easy task. Much to Egan's credit, he is choosing to take the audience right into the heart of Lear, focusing more on the complex, nuanced relationships between the characters and the themes of identity and reconciliation. But lest you think this is just a play with ten men in tights speaking in phony British accents, think again. Egan boldly incorporates some blood pumping physical theater and elaborate uses of dance and movement to break down the physical barriers of the stage. The buzz for Lear is very good indeed.

THE BOY WHO BECAME A TWITTERING MACHINE

By Shawn Feeney '99

Directed by Shawn Feeney

Produced by Karin Akre

Loeb Experimental Theater

May 14-17

STORY: This original music composition deals with the tragedy of industrialized society clashing with the delicate rainforest. Exploring various dualities such as the destruction of life on both biological and cultural levels while reveling in the rainforest's beauty and complexity, this piece exploits the incredible musical potential of modern technology. The composition portrays the dance of a god through an imagined rainforest, moving both forwards and backwards through time.

BUZZ: Shawn Feeney's original thesis composition is certainly not the Ex's traditional drama production. With six loud speakers at three different altitudes accompanying a myriad of smaller earphones placed strategically throughout the room, the audience will be encouraged to interact with the spatial environment. This incredibly intriguing piece seems to be an excellent post-season change from the Ex's more traditional productions. Because the show's live music is improvised, each audience will experience the piece in a unique way.

VAVOOM

Directed by Marisa Echeverria '00

Produced by Cary McClelland '02

Agassiz Theater

May 14-16

STORY: Vavoom, written, directed and performed by Marisa Echeverria, is a one-woman cabaret that explores the relationship between music and theater. Echeverria and the live band will perform an original arrangement of songs from favorite composers including Gershwin, Weill, Sondheim and many others.

BUZZ: You have to be a certifiable grouch to not like the raucous fun of musical theater. And with director/actress Echeverria's enthusiasm for the genre,and her intent to play with it as much as possible, the typical fun of musical theater seems greatly broadened. Echeverria also promises that this performance will run the whole gamut, exploring expression, comedy and drama. And come on--you know that you want to watch something that is called Vavoom.

DANCES FOR A JOURNEY

Directed by Masi Afua Osseo-Asare '00

Produced by Black C.A.S.T. and the Fantastick Theater Company

Agassiz Theater

May 16-18

STORY: Dances for a Journey is a contemporary folk tale in music and movement about three sisters who go out into the world to seek their fortune. Written and directed by professional songwriter Osseo-Asare for her senior thesis in Perfor-mance Studies, the show features over 20 original songs. Conceived as a suite of three musical/dramatic/choreographic pieces, Dances charts a timeless narrative across a fairy-tale world, a musical theater stage and real life. Traveling to different places, trying on different identities, getting lost and searching for a way back home--these are the familiar themes re-invented in this post-modern coming-of-age story.

BUZZ: Perhaps the most exciting thing about Dances is the way that it seems to combine so many diverse elements together, and the genuine fervor of director Osseo-Asare. From putting together a truly multi-ethnic cast to combining different genres of music and different forms of art, this play about identity and rediscovery certainly has a pertinent message for all lovers of the arts. Watch for the role-switching across the three pieces--each is a mini-drama related by a loose overarching narrative. For the student production with the most professional chutzpah, this is the one to beat.