CAMBRIDGE, MASS.: American Repertory Theater has announced its 2017-18 season, including four world premieres and shows based on works by Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, Jane Austen, and Alanis Morissette.
“The ART’s 2017-18 season draws inspiration from pop art to a landmark alt-rock album, from poetry to classic literature,” said artistic director Diane Paulus in a statement. “I am so excited about next season’s visionary artists, whose bold, uncompromising voices will resonate deeply with the world we are living in today.”
ART’s mainstage season will begin with the world premiere of the musical Burn All Night (August 2017), by Andy Mientus, Van Hughes, Nick LaGrasta, and Brett Moses. The musical is about four lost souls who come into the city in search of themselves. Jenny Koons will direct and Sam Pinkleton will choreograph.
Next will be the world premiere of Warhol Capote (September 2017), based on recorded conversations between Truman Capote and Andy Warhol and adapted by Rob Roth. The late artists were taped discussing a play they want to create together about the times they were living in. Michael Mayer will direct.
Then ART will stage Bedlam Theatre’s production of Sense and Sensibility (December 2017), irreverently adapted by Kate Hamill from Jane Austen’s novel. Bedlam’s artistic director, Eric Tucker, will direct.
Also in December, ART will present Charlotte’s Web, adapted by Joseph Robinette from E.B. White’s book. The production, about a talking pig and his spider friend, will feature graduate students from ART’s Institute for Advanced Theater Training. Dmitry Troyanovsky will direct.
ART will offer an encore presentation of Hear Word! Naija Woman Talk True (January 2018), created and directed by Ifeoma Fafunwa. The work, which was presented last season, is about Nigerian women and the issues that affect their lives.
After that will be the world premiere of The White Card by Claudia Rankine (February 2018). The play takes place at a Manhattan dinner party and poses the question: Can American society progress if whiteness stays invisible? The White Card will be coproduced with ArtsEmerson. Paulus will direct.
The final mainstage production will be the world premiere of the musical Jagged Little Pill (May 2018), by Alanis Morissette, Glen Ballard, and Diablo Cody. It will feature songs from Morissette’s Grammy-winning ’90s album. Paulus will direct.
In addition to its mainstage programming, ART will also present works on its second stage, the Oberon. The first production will be The Bitter Game, Keith A. Wallace’s solo performance about living as a black man in America (September 2017).
Next will be The Fever, a work from Brooklyn-based company 600 Highwaymen (November 2017). The work is billed as an examination of “how we assemble, organize, and care for the bodies around us” and features audience participation.
After that will be Dragon Lady, created and performed by Sara Porkalob (March 2018). The play is about Porkalob’s grandmother and her past in the Philippines as a gangster and a nightclub singer.
The Oberon season will end with a coproduction with the Boston-based Company One, to be announced at a later date (April 2018).
American Repertory Theater was founded in 1980 and aims to produce groundbreaking new works and revivals.
