More Awards News: Huntington Receives 12 Elliot Norton Award Nominations

The IRNE Awards were presented last night, and so now our attention turns to the Boston Theatre Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards, to be presented on Monday, May 21. The 2012 Elliot Norton Awards will honor productions that played April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012.

The Huntington received 12 nominations, second only to SpeakEasy Stage Company, our friends and neighbors in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, who recieved 13.

Outstanding Visiting Production: Richard III and The Comedy of Errors
(Propeller Theatre Company)

Richard Clothier, photo: Manuel Harlan

We've Received 39 IRNE Award Nominations!

We've received 39 IRNE Award nominations from the Independent Reviewers of New England, which recognized each our 2011 productions. The 39 nominations are five more than we received for our 2010 productions and more than twice as many as any other company in New England.



The cast of Candide, photo: T. Charles Erickson

Our September-October 2011 production of Leonard Bernstein’s glorious musical Candide received 13 nominations, more than any other production of 2011, and was nominated in every category in which it is eligible: 

Propeller's THE COMEDY OF ERRORS and RICHARD III: Audience Comments

Dugald Bruce-Lockhart and Richard Frame in

The Comedy of Errors. Photo: Manuel Harlan

Have you seen Propeller's The Comedy of Errors or Richard III?


How did it differ from other productions of Shakespeare's plays you've seen? Other productions of Comedy or Richard?

Did you attend a post show conversation? What comments surprised you or made you think differently about the play? Would you attend a post show conversation again? What were you thinking about on the way home from the theatre?

Have you seen both shows? If so, how was your experience impacted or enhanced by doing so?

Jon Trenchard in Richard III. Photo: Manuel Harlan

(Don't miss the experience of seeing both, by the way. In this writer's opinion, you'll more fully appreciate the actors' depth and range of talent and find interesting connections between the two plays.) 

Leave your comments here.


The Huntington Theatre Company's presentation of Propeller Theatre Company's The Comedy of Errors and Richard III plays now through June 19, 2011 only at the B.U. Theatre. Get tickets and information or call our Box Office at 617 266-0800.

The Darling Buds of...June?

I woke up this morning and the first thing I thought to myself was "June? When did it suddenly become June?" Now, logic would dictate that it became June after the month of May was all said and done, but for those of us here at the Huntington, the entire month of May has been something of a blur. My internal clock still doesn't know if we closed Sons of the Prophet last week, last month, or last year. It's just been that crazy around here!

And so with that, I feel I should apologize for the apparent radio silence here on the blog. It's not that we've had nothing to talk about it; on the contrary, there's been a bit too much going on that our blogkeeping fell to the wayside. Fortunately, we're back now, and we brought t-shirts for everyone!

(Please note: we didn't actually bring t-shirts for everyone)

So what have we been doing, you ask? Well let's see...there was our annual gala, the 2011 Spotlight Spectacular!...the 2nd annual Emerging America Festival with A.R.T. and the ICA...then we welcomed Propeller Theatre Company to the B.U. Theatre, with performing Richard III and The Comedy of Errors in repertory with a fantastic all-male (all-British!) cast...the 18th annual Elliot Norton Awards...oh, I'll just show you!

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Our 2011 Spotlight Spectacular! took place at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel on Monday, May 9. We're still awaiting the final fundraising numbers, but it looks like we raised a record-breaking amount of money to support our productions, as well as our award-winning youth, education, and community programming. During the evening, we presented former President of the Board of Trustees Bill McQuillan and Stick Fly playwright (you guys remember that show, right?) Lydia R. Diamond with the Wimberly Award, the Huntington's highest honor.

Also the event was hosted by some dude named Zach Braff (who, sidenote, would not armwrestle me when I presented the challenge) who thought it'd be a great idea to organize the Huntington staff into a flashmob performance of "One Day More" from Les Miséables (with a little help from Lauren Molina, who will appearing at the Huntington this fall as Cunegonde in Candide). Watch, and enjoy:

(Also, special thanks to that Zach Braff guy

for helping this video reach over 12,000 hits)

The following weekend was the 2nd annual Emerging America Festival, a joint collaboration with our friends at the American Repertory Theatre and the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston featuring groundbreaking performances by American artists. The Huntington presented the world premiere of Ryan Landry's Psyched, featuring Larry Coen and Jonathan Popp (as well as Intern Ben). The untold story of Alfred Hitchock's Psycho told from the point of view of Norman Bates' mother, Norma, Psyched played to two sold-out houses and entertained audiences with that trademark twisted wit that only Mr. Landry can provide.

On Sunday morning, the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA exploded with our "Join the Conversation!" brunch, featuring live performances throughout the Calderwood lobby, and food provided by Panera Breads (thanks!). The afternoon concluded with a breathtaking performance of CollaborationTown's self-help-parody-that-may-have-inadvertently-helped The Momentum. Anyone who was there can tell you that it was indeed a tough life for a poor little bunny rabbit.

Company One's ARTiculation troupe broke out into performance in

the Calderwood lobby during the "Join the Conversation!" Brunch

We also produced a series of site-specific audio plays for the festival, written by our Huntington Playwriting Fellows and featuring the voices of some of Boston's best local talent. The plays are completely free to download, and definitely an enjoyable experience (even if you aren't able to listen to them on site), so check those out when you have the chance.

Almost immediately after the festival ended, we went into tech for Richard III and The Comedy of Errors, presented by the Boston University School of Theatre. The shows are being performed in repertory through June 19 by the incredibly talented Propeller Theatre Company from the UK, under the leadership of one Edward Hall (whom you may remember as the director of Two Men of Florence in 2009).

Audiences have been absolutely raving about their intensely physical and highly creative approach to Shakespeare. Chainsaws? Check. Sombreros? Check. Nuns with nunchecks? Check. I'm not even going to mention the butt sparklers, because I still can't believe that my job has actually required to use that phrase in a completely professional context.

And that's just intermission, folks!

We also had our final 35 Below event of the season on Friday, May 20, following that evening's performance of The Comedy of Errors. We had an awesome turnout at the party, including some great entertainment by Boston's premiere all-male Lady Gaga cover band, Alejandro and the Fame, featuring international pop star Cody Grey, and, well, me (not that I'm biased or anything).

Oh yeah, and then President Obama stopped by the Calderwood Pavilion and the BCA for a brief visit (Pavilion General Manager Joey Riddle even has a nice little certificate of appreciation from the Secret Service. FROM THE SECRET SERVICE!).

Last Monday night was a two-fold celebration. First, our annual end-of-the-season staff BBQ in the Huntington Avenue Scene Shop. While Richard III/The Comedy of Errors are both still running through June 19, we traditionally celebrate the end of the season after Opening Night. And this year, we totally had a bouncy castle (it was awesome).

Later that evening, members of the staff journeyed over to ArtsEmerson's newly redone Paramount Theatre for the 18th annual Elliot Norton Awards, where our production of Ruined was recognized with the award for Outstanding Production (Large Company). We would be remiss not to sing the praises of our good friends in Company One, whose production of The Aliens (part of this past fall's Shirley VT Plays Festival) was recognized for Outstanding Design for a midsize/small/fringe company (Cristina Todesco's sets, Bobby Frederick Tilley II's costumes, Aaron Mack's sound, and Benjamin Williams's lighting), Outstanding Director for a small/fringe company (Company One Artistic Director Shawn LaCount), Outstanding Actor for a small/fringe company (Alex Pollack), and Outstanding Production for a small theatre. In addition, the award for Outstanding New Script went to Huntington Playwriting Fellow John Kuntz for The Hotel Nepenthe, produced by Actors' Shakespeare Project. Congratulations to the casts and crews of Ruined and The Aliens, as well as all of the other winners that night! (and the nominees, too. You were all great!)

So what's next? Well, for starters, we just announced the final line-up of our 2011-2012 30th anniversary season. In addition to our previously announced shows, we'll be rounding out the season with the pre-New York production of Evan M. Weiner's Captors, directed by Peter DuBois, and Noël Coward's Private Lives, directed by Maria Aitken (Educating Rita and Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps). Captors is based on the true story of the capture of Adolf Eichmann, "the architect of the Holocaust," in Buenos Aires in 1960 by covert Israeli agents. Private Lives is a classic Noël Coward comedy about a divorced couple whose paths cross again — on both of their second honeymoons, with new spouses in tow. Private Lives replaces the previously announced Tartuffe, which is postponed to a later season.

I think that should just about catch us up with this crazy month of May. In the meantime, be sure to check out Richard III and The Comedy of Errors, if you haven't done so already. You can also catch a free performance of Know the Law at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester on Thursday, June 2 (that's tomorrow as of this writing) at 11am and 7pm. Know The Law is a 40-minute play of interwoven dramas about teenager in trouble, designed specifically for a young urban audience as part of a collaboration between the Huntington Theatre Company's Education Department and Youth and Police in Partnership (YPP), a community-based program of United Methodist Urban Services that seeks to improve relationships between young people and the police. A discussion between the actors, the audience, and a Boston Police Officer follows each performance.

While things tend to stay quiet around here during the summer months (at least as far as productions go), rest assured we'll be busy preparing for our big 30th anniversary party. Meanwhile, Peter DuBois will be directing the world premiere of All New People, a new play by that same Zach Braff guy, at New York's Second Stage Theatre. If you find yourself missing the skilled handiwork of our Scene Shop artisans, they'll be helping to build that set, as well as Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's All's Well That Ends Well on the Boston Common.

Cheers!

-Thom Dunn, Web & New Media Manager, signing off from the longest blog post EVER

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS - Pre-production Photos

contributed by Anne G. Morgan

Propeller Theatre Company is busily rehearsing The Comedy of Errors, which they'll present along with Richard III at the Huntington in the spring. They've shared some photos from their rehearsal process and it looks like the show will be a lot of fun.

Edward Hall (Director) in THE COMEDY OF ERRORS rehearsals. Photo: Drew Hart

Jon Trenchard (Dromio of Ephesus) & Dugal Bruce-Lockhart (Antipholus of Syracuse) in THE COMEDY OF ERRORS rehearsals. Photo: Drew Hart

Kelsey Brookfield (Courtesan) & Chris Myles (Aemilia) in THE COMEDY OF ERRORS rehearsals. Photo: Drew Hart

 

 

 

View the rest of the photos on our Facebook page.

The Huntington Theatre Company presents Shakespeare in Repertory May 18 - June 19, 2011 at the Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. For tickets and information click here or call our Box Office at 617 266-0800

How Richard Gave Me Back My Mojo

Tony Bell: Diary of A Gossip

Week One - Coventry

Actor Tony Bell plays Margaret in Richard III and Pinch in The Comedy of Errors, the two plays Propeller will perform in repertory when they visit the Huntington in the spring. Below, Tony writes about his experience working with Propeller again after time away. 

I’ve got a confession to make. After I left Propeller in 2007 following the Twelfth Night/The Taming of the Shrew Tour, I fell out of love with acting - which is weird coming from Mr. Method himself. I was obsessed for the first ten years of working with the company. I didn’t get round to doing the things normal people do when they grow up, like having a wife, or a husband, or a partner, maybe a kid or two, a car, a pension, a life. I just forgot about everything else when I was in a production, going to ludicrous lengths to get into character. When I played Bottom [in A Midsummer Night’s Dream], I broke into Mark Rylance’s office at the Globe to pilfer his custom-made donkey teeth, so my dentist could make a set for me. I appropriated an afgan rug from a Brick Lane skip after a photo of Brian Jones of the Stones in a mink had triggered an idea for Autolyclus [in The Winter’s Tale]. I shaved my hair off across the top of my head, giving myself a Care in the Community haircut for Feste [in Twelfth Night] (it took a year to grow normal again, during which time I never went without a seat on the bus). During rehearsals for “The Dream” I left a detailed answer-phone message for Michael, the designer, about how I thought we could make my donkey penis rise to attention using a pulley system, only I dialed another Michael, my football team captain, and left the message on his machine by mistake. His wife got to it first and never forgave her husband for not telling her about his secret love life. I copped the blame for their divorce six months later.

Judgement Day: Richard III The Musical?

The actors of Propeller Theatre Company all do double duty, playing characters in both Richard III and The Comedy of Errors, the two plays that will be performed in repertory when Propeller visits the Huntington in the spring.  Jon Trenchard does triple duty; in addition to playing Lady Anne/Mayor in Richard III and Dromio of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors, he is also responsible for arranging the music for the plays. Below, he writes about the music of Richard III. To read his first blog about the music, click here

Judgement Day is nigh! We have just a day and a half left of technical rehearsal before our first preview in Coventry on Thursday. We still have lots of ideas for the play, and lots could change even now. For example, the soundscape of the show will become quite different now that we are rehearsing in a theatre: our new sound designer, David, can now add not only reverb effects to our voices, but also other recorded sounds – a feature that would controversially break from Propeller's tradition of producing all sound effects live from the stage! I think recorded sounds could be really effective for the eerie ghost scene in the second half... But the jury is still out on all these ideas, so good luck to Ed [Hall, Propeller’s artistic director] and the creative team who will be making final decisions this week to sort the wheat from the chaff!

Aiming High: The Richard III Requiem Mass

The actors of Propeller Theatre Company all do double duty, playing characters in both Richard III and The Comedy of Errors, the two plays that will be performed in repertory when Propeller visits the Huntington in the spring.  Jon Trenchard does triple duty; in addition to playing Lady Anne/Mayor in Richard III and Dromio of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors, he is also responsible for arranging the music for the plays. Below, he writes about the music of Richard III.

When Ed offered me Lady Anne in Richard III a few months ago, my first response was to stifle a rather girly "whoop" of excitement: it's a role I've always thought was really hard to play, and therefore a brilliant challenge for me! However, my next reaction was more down to business: what musical ideas did Ed have for the play? You see, for the last tour of The Merchant of Venice, I spent a significant proportion of the rehearsal process arranging music for the production when I really should have been learning lines, so this time around I wanted to get a musical head start...

Huntington's 2010-2011 Season Announced

Contributed by Temple Gill

Our 29th Season will include two world premieres directed by Artistic Director Peter DuBois, an American classic, two Shakespeare plays in repertory, a three-play festival from a breakout writer, and the 2009 winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

The season will include William Inge’s classic romantic comedy Bus Stop; the previously announced Circle Mirror Transformation as part of the Shirley, Vermont Plays festival; the world premiere of Bob Glaudini’s latest play, Vengeance is the Lord’s; the previously announced Ruined; a revival of Willy Russell’s warm comedy Educating Rita; the world premiere of Stephen Karam’s Sons of the Prophet; and a special engagement of William Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors and Richard III performed in repertory by Edward Hall’s UK-based Propeller Theatre Company and presented in association with Boston University’s School of Theatre.

“Smart. Fun. Those two words kept coming up as we approached programming this season at the Huntington,” says Huntington artistic director Peter DuBois. “We have created a season of plays that promise to engage audiences deeply throughout the year – comedies with sharp perspectives, dramas with searing centers, and stories about families and relationships that stir, inspire, and leave us feeling more alive. Each play in next season’s mix builds emotionally, intellectually, and stylistically on the shows that surround it. "

THE 2010-2011 SEASON LINEUP
In William Inge’s classic American romantic comedy Bus Stop, a snowstorm strands a bus outside of Kansas City, and its passengers – including a stubborn, lovestruck cowboy and the nightclub singer he hopes to marry – seek shelter and warmth at a roadside diner. The motley crew spends one night together, filled with bluster, heartache, and laughter, while searching for love. The Wall Street Journal calls Inge an “indisputably major artist, one of this country's half-dozen greatest playwrights.” “William Inge had a timeless sense of humor,” says DuBois, “and this play, perhaps his greatest, has a very modern feeling of openness and honesty. Inge was celebrated in his time, but I believe his plays are just hitting their finest moment. I know that Nicholas Martin will bring his terrific sense of comedy and warmth – so appreciated by Boston audiences – to bear in our production.” Bus Stop, directed by former Huntington Artistic director, Nicholas Martin, will play at the Huntington’s main stage, the Boston University Theatre, September 17 – October 24, 2010, replacing the previously announced You Can’t Take It With You.

In Circle Mirror Transformation, Annie Baker’s 2009 Off Broadway hit, the four students in Marty’s creative drama class experiment with theatre games as hearts are quietly torn apart and tiny wars of epic proportions are waged and won. Set in the Shirley, Vermont community center, this gentle and beautifully crafted new comedy mixes antic sadness and hilarious detail, and became a runaway hit Off Broadway. The New York Times called the play, “absorbing, unblinking, and sharply funny.” Circle Mirror Transformation is the Huntington’s offering in The Shirley, Vermont Plays festival of plays by the breakout writer Annie Baker, which also includes Body Awareness from SpeakEasy Stage Company and The Aliens from Company One. The plays will have staggered openings beginning October 15 but run concurrently, providing audience members the opportunity see all three between October 30 and November 14. Special same-day “marathon” scheduling is being designed so that one will be able to attend the entire festival in one day. Subscribers to each of the three participating companies will receive discount offers on the other two festival productions.

“I fell in love with the characters in these plays and with the idea of creating a fictional New England town at the Calderwood Pavilion and the BCA campus,” says DuBois. “Each of Annie’s plays stand on their own with their imagination and subtle humor, and seen together they form a striking portrait of Shirley, Vermont. The same is true for this festival; each company has their own identity and audience, but together we hope to bring out the richness of a writer’s vision in the creation of this fully imagined community. Annie’s writing makes you happy to be in the theatre.” Circle Mirror Transformation, directed by Melia Bensussen  at the Wimberly Theatre, the Huntington’s second stage in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, October 15 – November 14, 2010

Vengeance is the Lord’s is a world premiere from smart, edgy, and insightful playwright Bob Glaudini, a John Gassner Playwriting Award recipient. The Horvath family forgives their trespassers - all but one. A mother's call for mercy clashes with a father's need for retribution when their daughter's murderer comes up for parole. Sharp jokes and tough love drive this searing and funny new drama, which unfolds at dinners from Thanksgiving to Easter. A modern American family asks a classic moral question: what can we do when “justice” is not enough? DuBois reunites with Glaudini to direct, having previously collaborated on Jack Goes Boating with Philip Seymour Hoffman for LAByrinth Theater Company and A View from 151st Street, also with LAByrinth. “I love directing Bob’s work. He writes with a muscular, spare lyricism and creates deep, meaty roles for actors," says DuBois. “This play is propelled by magnetic characters, and takes place at the holidays when the quirkiest dynamics of everyone's family come out at full tilt. Bob imbues this darkly comic domestic drama with a soul-stirring poignancy.” Vengeance is the Lord’s, directed by Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois, at the B.U. Theatre November 12 – December 12, 2010

As previously announced, the Huntington, in cooperation with La Jolla Playhouse and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, will produce Lynn Nottage’s 2009 Pulitzer Prize Winner Ruined, directed by Liesl Tommy (Ruined, Eclipsed). Savvy business woman Mama Nadi knows how to survive in the midst of the Congo civil war: don’t take sides. She sells beers and girls to any man who'll leave his gun at the door. The good-time atmosphere of the canteen and her sharp wits can’t always protect her and her girls from the atrocities afflicted on them, but their courage, humor, and hope live on in this gripping drama. The Chicago Tribune wrote, “Sincere, passionate, and courageous, Ruined is a remarkable theatrical accomplishment.” “The first time I saw Ruined, I was simply unable to hold back tears,” says DuBois. “ Lynn Nottage has created an astonishing, enduring piece of writing that should be seen by everyone. The play is unflinching, emotionally cathartic, and absolutely revelatory.” Ruined, directed by Liesl Tommy, at the B.U. Theatre January 7 – February 6, 2011.

Educating Rita, by Willy Russell (Shirley Valentine, Blood Brothers), is the 1980 Olivier Award winner for Best Comedy and enjoyed a highly acclaimed London revival this spring. Rita, a young, brash hairdresser, wants more out of life. With a newly discovered passion for English literature, she enrolls in the local university despite the disapproval of her husband. Rita’s tutor, Frank, is a middle-aged poet and professor, and her fresh, unschooled reactions to the classics cause him to question his own understanding of his work and himself in this warm and witty tale of self-discovery. "Re-discovering Educating Rita was a delight as I was planning the season,” says DuBois. “I found the play as intelligent, surprising, and funny as ever. The play's warmth and sense of self-discovery radiates. In a city celebrated for its centers of learning, I expect the play to pop with particular meaning." Educating Rita, a revival of Willy Russell’s warm and witty tale of self-discovery, March 11 – April 10, 2011 at the B.U. Theatre.

Sons of the Prophet, a world premiere by acclaimed young writer Stephen Karam (Speech and Debate, Columbinus), will be the second play directed by DuBois next season. Charles and Joseph are having one hell of a year. When a prank-gone-wrong in the small town of Nazareth, PA leads to the death of their father, the two brothers struggle with their health, livelihoods, and sanity as a series of unfortunate events spiral into operatic miseries. In an age where most people look to faith, finances, or even modern medicine to solve any unpleasantries in life, Sons of the Prophet takes a brutally funny look at unresolved chronic pain and the many ways we cope with the overwhelming. “Stephen Karam comes through as a writer whose voice is clear, and laugh-out-loud funny," says the NY Daily News. DuBois says, “The depth of feeling in Stephen Karam’s writing is ravishing. His play is fresh, bracing, and alive. He takes the mess of our lives and turns it into phenomenal comedy.”  Sons of the Prophet, directed by Peter DuBois, March 25 – April 24, 2011 at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. Sons of the Prophet was commissioned and is produced by special arrangement with Roundabout Theatre Company.

The renowned British Propeller Theatre Company will perform Shakespeare’s history Richard III in repertory with Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors in a special residency to end the season. Richard III centers on one of the great characters of world literature, the Machiavellian Richard, Duke of York and his jealousy-driven ambition to unseat his brother and become the King of England. One of Shakespeare’s funniest and most youthfuil plays, Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of identical twins separated at birth who are surprisingly reunited, but not before a series of slapstick mishaps of mistaken identity and more occur. The much beloved story has been adapted for centuries into opera, film, and musical theatre.

The all-male Shakespeare has drawn international acclaim for its rigorous approach to the text with a modern physical aesthetic. The New York Times declares, “The daring, the dazzle, and the pure craft of this company is absolutely exhilarating.” Propeller Artistic Director Edward Hall (Two Men of Florence, Rose Rage) says, “I want to rediscover Shakespeare simply by doing the plays as I believe they should be done: with great clarity, speed and full of as much imagination in the staging as possible.” “Edward Hall’s production of Two Men of Florence was such a monumental experience for all of us my first season, and I’m delighted now to bring his dynamic company to Boston," says DuBois. "Propeller’s actors are incomparably talented; they hit the darkest notes of the drama and the antic shenanigans of the comedy. These productions are not to be missed.” Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors and Richard III performed in repertory  May 18 – June 19, 2011 at the B.U. Theatre, presented in association with Boston University’s School of Theatre.

Subscriptions now on sale - visit www.huntingtontheatre.org for more information.

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