Take Four

The Balcony

“Sex and revolution. Madness in the streets.” Perfect for Halloween, The Balcony, an adaptation of controversial playwright Jean Genet’s most famous play, will be presented by the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club from Friday, Oct. 25 to Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Loeb Drama Center on the Mainstage. Directed by Andrew Boch ’03 and produced by Helen Estabrook ’03, Catharina Lavers ’03 and Jeremy Reff ’04, this exciting production of The Balcony brings back to the Loeb Mainstage Genet’s tale of sexual and scatological revolutionaries for the first time since 1985. Written when director Genet was in prison, The Balcony deals with themes of sexual fantasy and revolutionary violence in a climate of political hostility and impending death. Director Andrew Boch ’03 feels that The Balcony is a highly relevant production given today’s political climate, and hopes that the production will stimulate thought and debate among the entire community of theatergoers. The play also experiments with the multimedia, incorporating contemporary art with both sculptural and video elements. First-years are invited to bring their parents and get in free with the purchase of a parent ticket. Tickets are available at the Harvard Box Office and the Loeb Box Office for $12, $8 for Harvard students.

Stairs to the RooF

Last year director Katherine Bencowitz ’03 stumbled onto Stairs to the Roof, an obscure Tennessee Williams play, in a bookstore. This weekend, in the Leverett House Old Library Theatre, a cast of entirely Harvard undergraduates will be putting on this play’s fourth performance (it was perfomed twice in the 1940s and not again until last year at the University of Illinois). Because of the relative obscurity of the play, the actors, director and production assistants all looked at this show without Broadway or high school productions to influence them. For this reason, producer Katherine O’Gara ’05 calls it a “truly original production” and one that will be of great interest to anyone who “wants to see something that is really a creative endeavor.” The show is set in the 1940s and focuses on Ben Murphy, an office worker struggling to escape job pressures and conformity who stages a one-man rebellion against the clock and the dehumanizing forces of an increasingly mechanized society. O’Gara describes it as “a riveting trip along the boundaries between conformity and freedom, love and despair, reality and insanity.” Emphasizing that the play’s themes are increasingly relevant today, O’Gara says of the cast “we’re really excited and we think the rest of Harvard should be too.” The show goes up Oct. 25, 26, 31, Nov. 1 and 2 at 8:00 p.m., and Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at the Harvard Box Office in Holyoke Center and prices are $6 for general, admission $5 for Harvard students and $4 for Leverett residents.

Measure for measure

This year’s highly anticipated Freshman Theatre Program’s production is Shakespeare’s dark comedy Measure for Measure. The play, according to Executive Producer Alan Symonds, is an exploration of “the role of government in private behavior and the choices people make as citizens and human beings.” Symonds emphasizes that these issues “are as relevant in current society as in 16th-century Vienna.” In order to enforce morality laws, the Duke of Vienna disguises himself. Shakespearean chaos ensues with plenty of comedic characters, including a nun, a Duke disguised as a monk, and a promiscuous lover. Of course there is plenty of personal drama wrapped up in mistaken identity and elaborate deceptions. Directed by Patrick Demers, a professional director, and assisted by a guest artist actor, the class of ’06 is sure to relay the pertinent themes of this centuries-old comedy. The play will be performed Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday, Oct. 24, 25 and 26 at 8:00 p.m. in the Agassiz Theatre, Radcliffe Yard. Tickets are for sale at the Holyoke Box Office for $10 and $5 for students.

the miracle worker

“Do you believe in Miracles?” asks director Katherine Sorensen. This weekend’s production of The Miracle Worker by William Gibson answers this question. Based on the life of Helen Keller, Class of 1904, and her teacher Annie Sullivan, Sorensen hopes that the play will be well recieved and “will raise consciousness about the blind.” After searching for years for a way to help their daughter who, due to illness, became blind and deaf as an infant, Helen’s parents hire a young governess, Annie. Several fierce battles follow: between Annie and the spoiled Helen and between Annie and the Kellers. Essentially a story about love and its many consequences, the play explores Mrs. Keller’s excessive love and Annie’s tough love. With characters who triumph over debilitating obstacles and “a really good human story that Harvard students will be able to relate to,” this may just be the “feel-good” play of the weekend. Sara O’Brien ’04 stars in the challenging role of Helen and Iris McQuillan-Grace plays the role of Annie Sullivan, who is haunted by her brother’s ghost and her own experience with blindness. The play is produced by Jenny Marsh, Joanna Marsh and Shira Simon. The show will be performed Oct. 24, 25 and 26 in the Adams Pool Theater.