WASHINGTON, D.C.: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced its 2015—16 season of World Stages, featuring six works of theatre, music, and dance from the U.S. and abroad.
The season begins with the U.S. premiere of Seuls (Sept. 18—19, 2016), written, directed, and performed by Wajdi Mouawad, billed as the semiautobiographical reflection of a child leaving home to escape the civil war. Mouawad is from Lebanon and Canada.
Following will be the world premiere of Wagner, Max! Wagner! (Sept. 25—26) by the “Wagner Problem,” which is what Stew and Heidi Rodewald, formerly of the band the Negro Problem, are calling themselves for this commissioned song cycle about the musical links between Wagner and the blues, with text by Freya Stewart.
Next will be Sancho: An Act of Remembrance (Oct. 23—24), written and performed by Paterson Joseph of the United Kingdom, about the slave Charles Ignatius Sancho, who later became an actor and the first black person of African origin to vote in Britain. Simon Godwin will co-direct.
Next is Laurie Anderson’s The Language of the Future (March 4—6, 2016), a collection of songs and stories about dreams, reality, and the elusive world of information.
Following will be Happy Hour (March 10—11, 2016) by Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass, a cocktail party dance show featuring Barnes and Bass as famous men from the entertainment industry. Barnes will choreograph.
Next, from Vietnam will be the East Coast premiere of The Odyssey: From Vietnam to America (March 11–12, 2016), by composer Vân-Ánh Võ, about the personal and spiritual journeys of boat people after the Vietnam War.
