Shakespeare Theatre Company opens season with The Heir Apparent
As the Shakespeare Theatre Company celebrates 25 classical years in the nation's capital, the 25th Anniversary Season opens with a World Premiere production. The Heir Apparent kicks off the celebratory season, featuring the creative team behind STC's hit 2010 production of The Liar. David Ives' The Heir Apparent will play in the company's intimate Lansburgh Theatre (450 7th Street NW) from September 6-October 23, 2011, under the direction of STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn.
The Heir Apparent, an adaptation of Jean-Francois Regnard's 1708 comedic masterpiece, marks the return of Broadway playwright David Ives to STC. Eraste desperately wants to marry Isabelle, but needs to secure an inheritance from his miserly old uncle, Geronte. Geronte doesn't make it easy for Eraste, though, first because he's bequeathed his money to distant relatives-second, and worse, because he plans to marry Isabelle himself. Can Eraste's resourceful servant save the day with his powers of disguise and his quick wit? Love, family and intrigue join to make this a hilarious French farce that shouldn't be missed.
STC is pleased to welcome David Ives, fresh on the heels of winning the Helen Hayes Awards' Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play, back to D.C. and the theatre. "One of the most wonderful experiences I've had at STC was the opportunity to work with David on his adaptation of The Liar, so I asked him to do another adaptation of a French play for the 25th anniversary," says Artistic Director Michael Kahn. "David has created a brilliant comedic part in Crispin and he has built up all of the other characters. He's a wonderful writer, immensely inventive, and he is a splendid person to collaborate with in rehearsal."
The Heir Apparent was commissioned through the generous support of The Beech Street Foundation as part of the theatre's ReDiscovery Series. In this series, the company and the audience investigate exemplary plays of the classical canon that are rarely performed in today's theatre through readings by some of D.C.'s and New York's finest actors. The readings provide audiences with a visual and aural sense of the work, and the combined efforts and responses of artists, scholars and audience illuminate the play's potential and limitations. Works for the ReDiscovery series are chosen by Michael Kahn. "Something this theatre stands for and has committed itself to is the discovery of unknown classic plays from the past. On the 25th anniversary it seemed the appropriate time to do not only that, but also to present a World Premiere," says Kahn.
To reserve tickets or for more information, please call the box office at 202.547.1122, or visit online at ShakespeareTheatre.org.