Podcast Audio Series

Our podcast series is really coming together with more content than ever before.

There were five entries in the series for A Civil War Christmas and I would recommend that you take a listen to the conversation at our latest Humanities Forum with Pulitzer Prize winners playwright Paula Vogel and Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

And last week we started rehearsals for All My Sons. You can listen to director David Esbjornson address the staff at Meet and Greet here

If you don't want to miss out you can subscribe to our series on itunes or you can visit the "Watch and Listen" tab for each show on our website.

Enjoy!

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The Huntington Theatre Company's production of All My Sons by Arthur Miller is playing January 8 through February 7, 2010 at our Mainstage, the Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave Boston MA 02115. Online tickets and information available 24/7 or call our Box Office (click for hours this week) at 617 266-0800

Paula Vogel and Doris Kearns Goodwin at the Huntington

The Huntington is more than great performances. Where else can you take part in a conversation about the Civil War with two Pulitzer prize winning authors? It's just one of our regularly scheduled programs and events. Coming this weekend:

HUMANITIES FORUM
A conversation with Pulitzer Prize winners Paula Vogel (A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration and Doris Kearns Goodwin (Team of Rivals). Following the 2pm performance on Sunday, December 6. Free with a ticket.

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A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org

The Huntington helps light Boston's Christmas Tree

BOSTON'S OFFICIAL TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY
Members of the cast of A Civil War Christmas will perform at the Mayor's Tree Lighting on Boston Common (6pm-8pm) on Thursday, December 3. Can't attend? Tune into WCVB-TV - channel 5 at 7pm to watch!

WCVB’s Mary Richardson and Anthony Everett will host Channel 5’s live broadcast of the event beginning at 7 p.m. The celebration will feature “American Idol” Season 6 third-place finalist Melinda Doolittle, R&B singing sensation Brian McKnight, Scottish singer-songwriter Maureen McMullan, the Boston Arts Academy Dance Troupe, the Huntington Theatre Company, the Masquerade cabaret troupe, and MAGIC 106.7’s Nancy Quill and Mike Addams.

Uzo Aduba (Hannah) and Alanna T. Logan (Jessa) in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Paula Vogel’s A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration playing now through December 13 at the B.U. Theatre. 

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A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org

A Civil War Christmas - Choirs thru Dec 6th

The Huntington is welcoming over 30 choirs to the Boston University Theatre to perform before each performance of A Civil War Christmas. In case you missed it - there was a nice write up in the Globe just last week. Click here to read more...

Boston Choral Ensemble

Here's the roster of choirs performing today through Dec 6th . I'll post the next round at the end of the week. If you would like to see the entire roster click here.

• November 27 at 8pm — Choir of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford
• November 28 at 2pm — Liberty Belle Chorus
• November 28 at 8pm — Hudson High Camerata
• November 29 at 2pm — The Choir of Old Cambridge
• December 1 at 7:30pm — Island Grove Chorus
• December 2 at 7:30pm — Boston Choral Ensemble
• December 3 at 10pam — Boston College High School
• December 3 at 7:30pm — Noteworthy at Emerson College
• December 4 at 8pm — Anthology
• December 5 at 2pm — Follow Hymn Interfaith Choir
• December 5 at 8pm — Newton Choral Society
• December 6 at 2pm — Golden Tones

Each Choir will perform starting one half hour prior to the curtain times listed above so show up early to listen in!

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A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org

A Civil War Christmas - Audience Comments

Paula Vogel gives us plenty to think about in A Civil War Christmas. What were you thinking about on the way home after you saw the play? Did you attend a post show discussion? What comments surprised you? What elements of the play struck you as most profound or interesting? Race issues, the history, or the style of the production, the music, the design? We would love to hear your thoughts and reactions to other comments. Please join the conversation and share your ideas - click here to comment.

Uzo Aduba (Hannah) and Alanna T. Logan (Jessa) in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Paula Vogel’s A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration playing now through December 13 at the B.U. Theatre. 

Comment on this post

A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org

Paula Vogel: A Civil War Christmas

Pulitzer-winning playwright Paula Vogel’s newest play, A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration set in and around Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve 1864, brings together the Lincolns, soldiers, runaway slaves, and others in a celebration of hope amidst devastation. Here, in a September 2008 interview with Long Wharf Theatre’s dramaturg April Donahower, Vogel discusses joy and tragedy, the public and private, and why it’s imperative that we acknowledge our history.

      AD: This play is a departure of sorts for you [in that it’s written for a family audience]. What has led you in this direction?

      PV: I am always trying to get to a point where I’m sharing something with the community . . . something painful. And the reason I do that isn’t to hurt people or to dwell in the hurt; it’s to get past it. It’s to resolve it. It’s to change it.

      The alchemy of an audience, with issues that hurt us . . . there’s an alchemy that happens and I think we can turn it to gold. And if that gold is hope, if that goal is action, if that goal is leaving the theatre and feeling as if the person sitting next to me in seat D4 is actually now a neighbor, that’s a huge step forward for me.

      The word “family values” has been used so often, but I don’t see why we’re not saying “community values” because it seems to me every family is the community. Out of that — which I think has been in other plays — this thing came to me.

      In the past 20 years, I’ve had children (some of them now are wonderful grown men) say to me, “Aunt Paula,” or “Godmother, when do I get to see one of your plays?” Usually this is a conversation that’s taking place over Christmastime. And I say, “When you’re 30 years old and you can go and talk to a therapist or talk to me afterwards, but you can’t come see my plays until you’ve reached the age of adulthood.” And it’s always been kind of a family joke.

      But if I’m talking about family values, I should write something that I can say to my family, “Guys, I wanted to give this to you when you were five and I know now you’re 27,” or “Rebecca, you know, you’re six years old, and, you know, I just want you to know this and talk about it with you.” So I wrote [A Civil War Christmas] for my family. This is my Christmas gift. My Hanukah/Christmas — we’re very diverse — Kwanzaa gift to the family.

click here to read the rest:

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A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org

Civil War Christmas - Thanksgiving week performance Schedule

Our performance schedule is a little different than usual around the Holiday next week, so I thought I would post it here. Do you have family coming to visit? Bring them to town for the show, and maybe get some shopping done nearby!

Performances:

Friday      11/20  8PM

Saturday  11/21  2PM, 8PM

Sunday    11/22  2PM, 7PM

Monday   11/23 7:30PM

Tuesday   11/24 7:30PM

Weds       11/25 no performances

Thursday  11/26 no performances (Thanksgiving)

Friday      11/27 2PM, 8PM

Saturday  11/28 2PM, 8PM

Sunday    11/29 2PM

(Choirs start 1/2 prior to the scheduled performance)

A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org  Photo by T. Charles Erickson

A Civil War Christmas - Jessica Thebus

Jessica Thebus, the director of A Civil War Christmas, spoke to the company on the first day of rehearsal - now a month past. It is interesting to read this again within the frame of the work we have done over the last few weeks. Here is the text of Jessica's greeting:

"I usually read something that I write on the first day. I like to do it for a few reasons. One is to share some of my thoughts in the time I have been living with the play, what I see as our map of where we are going, and to give as at least a starting place for our work together."

"Another, more important reason is to celebrate the gathering together of people in a room and launch a new journey, because one is never exactly like another. We are starting a journey, following a star, in celebration of our own, multi-denominational nativity."

"The story of the nativity—why, I wonder, do we as human beings love to hear the same story told over and over? With all our natural love of plot and suspense, we gather in homes and places of worship, and theaters, to hear again and again of the nutcracker, or of Scrooge and the spirits, or the birth of a child in a stable." Read the rest here...

or listen here

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A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org

A Civil War Christmas - Choirs thru 11/22

The Huntington is welcoming over 30 choirs to the Boston University Theatre to perform before each performance of A Civil War Christmas. In case you missed it - there was a nice write up in the Globe just last week. Click here to read more...

Here's the roster of choirs performing tonight through Thanksgiving. I'll post the next round at the end of the week. If you would like to see the entire roster click here.

• November 17 at 7:30pm — Stambandet
• November 18 at 7pm — Revels
• November 19 at 7:30pm — Apollo Club of Boston
• November 20 at 8pm — In Achord
• November 21 at 2pm — Master Singers of Lexington
• November 21 at 8pm — Wellesley Choral Society
• November 22 at 2pm — Lexington Pops Chorus
• November 22 at 7pm — Newton Community Choir
• November 23 at 7:30pm — Archdiosese of Boston Black Choir
• November 24 at 7:30pm — North Quincy High School Select Choir

Each Choir will perform a half hour prior to the curtain times listed above (so, for instance, if you want to see Boston University a capella group In Achord get your tickets and be in your seat by 7:30pm).


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A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org

Inbox: Civil Beard War for "Christmas" Opening

On occasion I'll forward something straight from my inbox that doesn't need much explanation. Last week our Scene shop foreman, Brian Sears, wrote the following:

In the scene shop we have decided to get into the spirit of A Civil War Christmas with some good old fashion facial hair. I encourage all in the company that is capable of growing some facial hair to join us in our adventure. Two weeks from today is opening night and we are hoping for a nice showing, after that it can be over and you can shave off your new look. So please stop shaving today and join us.

Here is photo of approved scene shop facial hair styles

 There are plenty of beards sprouting here on Huntington Ave  - the contest has taken root (sorry) across the company. I should mention that a fair  percentage of the staff is female and many were eager to participate. Come back in a few weeks for photos!  Audience members coming to Opening night are also encouraged to participate.

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A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org

A Civil War Christmas - Model Photos

Here are the model photos of A Civil War Christmas. Scenic design by Dan Ostling. The model is really beautiful, huh? The design makes use of the architecture of the theatre - not really a lot of built units - and we don't hide much. So Dan put his modeling energy into recreating the interior of the Boston University Theatre and took these great photos.

I love being in the theatre when it's empty, no set onstage, the walls and the rigging in plain view. For me it speaks of the promise of what it yet to come, the potential for theatre magic, something new and full of possibilities, taking you anywhere your imagination leads. It's a beautiful space, right? I can't think of a better place to set this play - come see where it takes you.





We'll start set construction in the next week or so, right along with the set for A Long and Winding Road (I'll dig up a sneak preview on that for you soon).

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A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org

A Civil War Christmas - Costume Design Prelims

Here are some prelim costume renderings from designer Miranda Hoffman for our upcoming production of A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel.



I was lucky to listen in on a great design conversation yesterday with the entire artistic team; playwright Paula Vogel, director Jessica Thebus, scenic designer Dan Ostling, costume designer Miranda Hoffman, lighting designer T.J. Gerkens, sound designer Ben Emerson and music supervisor Daryl Waters.

Now that they have settled on a scenic design (next post) conversations have begun on how to integrate the ideas into the other design areas. There was a lot of talk about finding the balance between being specific and detailed with some characters and keeping an overall simplicity for the entire piece. There will be more conversations and this design will certainly evolve in the next couple of weeks. If there's another round of renderings I'll share those with you - and certainly you'll get to see the end product. Enjoy

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A Civil War Christmas - An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel. Music supervised, arranged, and orchestrated by Daryl Waters. Directed by Jessica Thebus. At the Huntington Theatre Company's main stage; The Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston MA, 02115. Runs November 13 through December 13, 2009. Box Office 617 266-0800 or buy online at HuntingtonTheatre.org