Download Electronic Press Kit - Huntington Theatre Company

Electronic Press Kit
Table of Contents:
Candide Press Release .........................................................................................................2
Useful Links ......................................................................................................................... 7
Photo Library .......................................................................................................................8
Globe Feature: “A ‘Candide’ that has a lot to say”.............................................................10
Selections from Spotlight .................................................................................................. 13
Before I Leave You Press Release ..................................................................................... 16
Contact:
Rebecca Curtiss, Communication Manager
617 273 1537  [email protected]
Coming up next:
Before I Leave You Opening Night
Wednesday, October 26, 7pm
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 28, 2011
CONTACT: Rebecca Curtiss, [email protected] / 617 273 1537
PHOTOS: huntingtontheatre.org/news/photolibrary.aspx (see instructions at the bottom of this release)
NEW ADAPTATION OF LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S RARELY-PRODUCED
“CANDIDE” BY TONY AWARD WINNER MARY ZIMMERMAN BEGINS
HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY’S 30TH SEASON ON SEPTEMBER 10
WHAT:
Huntington Theatre Company begins 30th Anniversary Season with Leonard Bernstein’s Candide,
directed and newly adapted from the Voltaire by Mary Zimmerman.
WHEN:
September 10 – October 16, 2011
Evenings: Tues. – Thurs. at 7:30pm; Fri. – Sat. at 8pm; Select Sun. at 7pm
Matinees: Select Wed., Sat., Sun. at 2pm
Days and times vary; see complete schedule at end of release.
Opening/Press Night: Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 7pm
RSVP online at huntingtontheatre.org/news
WHERE: Boston University Theatre – 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA
TICKETS: Single tickets start at $25 and subscriptions are on sale:
 online at huntingtontheatre.org;
 by phone at 617 266 0800, or
 in person at the BU Theatre Box Office, 264 Huntington Ave. or the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Box Office, 527 Tremont St. in Boston’s South End.
$5 off: senior and military
$10 Subscriber and BU Community discounts
$25 “35 Below” tickets for patrons 35 years old and younger (valid ID required)
$15 student rush seats (available 2 hrs. before curtain time for each performance; valid ID required)
(Boston) – The award-winning hit production of Candide that sold out in Chicago and Washington, DC comes to
the Huntington Theatre Company in September to kick off its 30th Anniversary Season. Tony Award and
MacArthur “Genius” winner Mary Zimmerman (Metamorphoses on Broadway, Journey to the West and
A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Huntington) helms the production, for which she has newly adapted the book
from Voltaire’s text. Doug Peck offers music direction of Leonard Bernstein’s beloved score, featuring nearly
30 songs. The ambitious production, featuring an award-winning cast of 19 and a live orchestra of 14 musicians,
recreates Voltaire’s satirical story of Candide (Geoff Packard, Helen Hayes Award winner for his portrayal), a
young optimist shipwrecked, soldiered, swindled, and separated repeatedly from his true love, Cunegonde
(Lauren Molina, Helen Hayes award winner for her portrayal). Variety calls this production, “The best of all
possible Candides!”
“Candide is exquisite entertainment -- a blend of opera, comedy, travel, adventure, and romance,” says
Zimmerman, whose major revival has been made using her signature style of collaboration with her company and
creative team. The quick-paced story follows the young Candide, living on his Baron uncle’s manor estate and
studying the philosophy of Dr. Pangloss, who teaches that everything happens for the best. When Candide and the
Baron’s daughter Cunegonde fall in love and are discovered, they are cast out into the world. The audience takes a
satirical ride with the pair through adventures and misfortunes that test their seemingly undoubting optimism.
Bernstein’s Candide enchants with some of the most memorable music ever written for Broadway including “The
Best of All Possible Worlds,” “Oh Happy We,” “I Am Easily Assimilated,” “Glitter and be Gay,” and “Make Our
Garden Grow.”
“One of the things that we wanted to do for our 30th Anniversary Season was return our productions to a level of
grandeur, ambition, and imagination in our larger space,” says artistic director Peter DuBois, “and that’s just what
Mary’s production of Candide will do.”
“Candide’s gorgeous music and lyrical wit act as proof of the very best potential of human beings and the beauty of
this life—while at the same instant, the story is revealing some of the worst and most difficult aspects of that life,”
says Zimmerman. Voltaire’s satiric genius is found in Candide’s earnest attempts to trivialize the tragedy and
uphold the contention of his mentor, Dr. Pangloss, that all things happen for the best in this ‘best of all possible
worlds’. Although the journey is described with humor, Voltaire also raises serious questions: How can mankind
deal with disaster without surrendering to despair? Can optimism prevail in a world that frequently seems
randomly cruel? How is survival itself possible in an environment that often gleefully refutes Pangloss’s hopeful
axiom?
Mary Zimmerman (adapter/director) is the 1998 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the 2002 Tony Award
for Best Director of a Play, and ten Joseph Jefferson Awards (including Best Production and Best Direction). At
the Huntington, she directed Journey to the West (also at the Goodman Theatre and Berkeley Repertory Theatre)
and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company of Chicago, an Artistic
Associate of both Goodman Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre, and a professor of performance studies at
Northwestern University. She has adapted and directed across the country Argonautika, Mirror of the Invisible
World, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, The Odyssey, Arabian Nights, Metamorphoses (Tony Award),
Secret in the Wings, and a new opera with Philip Glass called Galileo Galilei. She made her Metropolitan Opera
directorial debut with Lucia di Lammermoor in 2007; subsequent Met productions include Armida and
La Sonnambula.
Leonard Bernstein (composer, 1918 – 1990) was a world-renowned musician, conductor, and composer
throughout his entire adult life. He was music director of the New York Philharmonic and conducted the world’s
major orchestras, recording hundreds of these performances. His books and the televised Young People’s Concerts
with the New York Philharmonic established him as a leading educator. His compositions include Jeremiah, The
Age of Anxiety, Kaddish, Serenade, Five Anniversaries, Mass, Chichester Psalms, Slava!, Songfest, Divertimento
for Orchestra, Missa Brevis, Arias and Barcarolles, Concerto for Orchestra, and A Quiet Place. Bernstein
composed for the Broadway musical stage, including On the Town, Wonderful Town, Candide, and West Side
Story. In addition to their West Side Story collaboration, Bernstein worked with choreographer Jerome Robbins
on three major ballets: Fancy Free, Facsimile, and Dybbuk. Born in Lawrence, MA and educated at Boston Latin
and Harvard College, Bernstein was the recipient of many honors, including the Tony Award for Distinguished
Achievement in the Theatre, eleven Emmy Awards, the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, and the Kennedy
Center Honors.
THE CAST
Tom Aulino (Martin, others), Spencer Curnutt (Sailor, others), McCaela Donovan (Paquette, others),
Alexander Elisa (Soldier, others), Rebecca Finnegan (Vanderdendur, others), Evan Harrington (Orator,
others), Erik Lochtefeld (Maximilian, others), Lauren Molina (Cunegonde), Abby Mueller (Orator’s Wife,
others), Geoff Packard (Candide), Jeff Parker (Anabaptist and others), Jesse J. Perez (Cacambo, others),
Emma Rosenthal (Bird, others), Cheryl Stern (Old Lady), Timothy John Smith (Governor, others), Joey
Stone (Soldier, others), Tempe Thomas (Queen of El Dorado, others), Travis Turner (Servant, others), and
Larry Yando (Pangloss, others). Swings are Tom Hamlett, Shonna McEachern, and Matt Spano.
PRODUCTION ARTISTS
Mary Zimmerman (direction/adaptation), Doug Peck (Musical Direction), Daniel Pelzig (Choreography),
Dan Ostling (Scenic Design), Mara Blumenfeld (Costume Design) Timothy J. Gerckens (Lighting Design),
Richard Woodbury (Sound Design), M. William Shiner (Production Stage Manager), Kevin Fitzpatrick
(Stage Manager), Katie Most (Stage Manager).
SPONSORS
 Grand Patron: Boston University
 30th Anniversary Sponsor: Carol G. Deane
 Season Sponsor: J. David Wimberly
 Production Sponsors: Gerry and Sherry Cohen
 Production Co-Sponsor: Shirley Spero
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“Gorgeously imagined, Candide is a garden of delights!” – Chicago Sun-Times
“Zimmerman makes many of the songs feel far more dramatic and layered than they have before. The best of all
possible Candides.” — Variety
“A pleasure to behold...polished, pretty, and well-sung.” — The New York Times
“Eye-poppingly lavish. An extravagant parade of wonders. The cast is an embarrassment of riches. Gardens bloom
eternal in Zimmerman’s Candide.” — Chicago Examiner
ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON
Since its founding in 1982, the Huntington Theatre Company has developed into Boston’s leading theatre
company. Bringing together superb local and national talent, the Huntington produces a mix of groundbreaking
new works and classics made current. Led by Artistic Director Peter DuBois and Managing Director Michael
Maso, the Huntington creates award-winning productions, runs nationally renowned programs in education and
new play development, and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion
at the BCA. The Huntington is in residence at Boston University. For more information, visit
huntingtontheatre.org.
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MEDIA NOTES
For interviews and more information, contact Communications Manager Rebecca Curtiss at
[email protected] or 617 273 1537.
PHOTO DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS
To download high-resolution (or smaller) photos of Candide:
1. Visit huntingtontheatre.org/news/photolibrary.aspx
2. Click on a thumbnail, and let the image load in your browser on the Flickr site. Note caption
information is displayed below the image.
3. Click the Action button, located above the image on the Flickr site, and select View All Sizes.
4. Select the size you wish to download from the choices listed across the top of the image.
5. Let the image load in your browser, then right-click on it to save to your computer.
MORE ON CANDIDE
THE ADAPTATION
Few modern musicals have enjoyed the extensive exploration and reexamination that Candide has in the years following
its 1956 Broadway debut. Mary Zimmerman, “a specialist in literary spectacle (from whom) theatrical fireworks are
expected” (The New York Times), has created a new book for this production by returning afresh to Voltaire’s original
Candide, Or Optimism (1759). She has ordered the sequence of events in Candide’s adventure—many of which had been
altered for previous productions—to align more closely with the novella’s original structure.
Music Director Doug Peck has tailored Bernstein’s score for the cast of 19 and orchestra of 14, “wrapping the music
around Mary’s adaptation, blending Bernstein and Voltaire in a way that emphasizes them both.” Audiences will be
treated to such popular songs as “Candide Overture,” “The Best of All Possible Worlds,” “It Must Be So,” “I Am Easily
Assimilated,” “We Are Women,” “My Love,” “Quiet,” and the heartfelt finale, “Make Our Garden Grow.” Bernstein’s
score reflects a variety of classical influences, including Mozart and Verdi (“Auto-da-fé”), Gilbert and Sullivan (“Bon
Voyage”), Gounod’s Faust (“Glitter and Be Gay”) and Schoenberg (“Quiet”).
“With Candide, Bernstein composed something wholly unusual; the singing style is more complex and challenging than
most musicals,” said Peck, who bases his orchestrations on those used in the Royal National Theatre’s production, and
uses underscoring for scenes that Zimmerman selected from the novella but that were never set to music.
THE HISTORY
“There is more of me in that piece than anything else I have ever done.” (Leonard Bernstein, on Candide)
The idea for musicalizing Voltaire’s novella came to Bernstein and playwright Lillian Hellman in the midst of the antiCommunist Congressional purges of the early 1950s; both agreed that the political excesses of 18th century France
mirrored the assault on individual rights that they were experiencing. Collaborating with lyricist John Latouche,
Hellman and Bernstein began work in 1954, eventually involving young poet Richard Wilbur as lyricist, and Dorothy
Parker and James Agee contributing to the book, as well.
Candide premiered on Broadway in 1956, playing at Boston’s Colonial Theatre beforehand. The show’s cast recording
attracted a cult following among musical theater aficionados, but few new productions were attempted until 1974, when
director Harold Prince created a new version of the show for Brooklyn’s Chelsea Theater Center. Hugh Wheeler created
a new book that emphasized the loopy humor of Voltaire’s satire. In 1982, again under Prince’s direction, the New York
City Opera presented a greatly expanded Candide, and Prince revived Candide on Broadway in an opulent 1997
production. A year later, British director/playwright John Caird created another new iteration of the show for a
production at London’s Royal National Theatre. Although Bernstein’s score remained intact, both Sondheim and Wilbur
provided slightly revised lyrics for some songs.
A 2004 semi-staged New York Philharmonic concert version starred Kristin Chenoweth as Cunegonde and Patti LuPone
as the Old Lady. In honor of the show’s 50th anniversary in 2006, Candide was revived at Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet and
at La Scala in Milan.
See excerpts of musical numbers from Candide at huntingtontheatre.org/candidevideo.
THE BOSTON CONNECTIONS
 Composer Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, MA. He attended Boston Latin and Harvard College.
 Candide played Boston’s Colonial Theatre in 1956 before premiering on Broadway.
 The cast includes Boston actors McCaela Donovan as Paquette (The Donkey Show at A.R.T.’s Oberon, The
Drowsy Chaperone at SpeakEasy Stage Company) and Timothy John Smith as the Governor (Prelude to a Kiss
at the Huntington, Nine at SpeakEasy Stage Company, and The Receptionist at Trinity Repertory Company).
THIS PRODUCTION
 A Voltaire Musical? Must be Mary Zimmerman at the Goodman, Chicago Tribune, 9/10/10
 First-degree Bernstein: Doug Peck revamps Candide's score, Time Out Chicago, 9/22/10
(Also available at huntingtontheatre.org/AboutCandide)
PRODUCTION CALENDAR AND RELATED EVENTS
Post-Show Audience Conversations
Ongoing
Led by members of the Huntington staff. After most
Tuesday - Friday, Saturday matinee, and Sunday
matinee performances throughout the season. Free with
a ticket to the performance.
35 Below Wrap Party
Sat., 9/10, following the 8pm performance
A post-show wrap party with free drinks, live music, and
exclusive backstage access. $25 ticket includes
admission to both performance and party. Learn more
at huntingtontheatre.org/35Below.
Humanities Forum
Sun. 9/18, following the 2pm performance
A post-performance talk exploring the context and
significance of Candide.
Actors Forum
Thurs., 10/6 following the 7:30pm performance
Wed., 10/12, following the 2pm performance
Participating cast members answer questions from the
audience.
Student Matinee Performances
Thurs., 10/6, 10am
For groups of students in grades 6-12. Call 617 273-1558
for more information. Learn more at
huntingtontheatre.org/studentmatinee.
Useful Links: Candide

Dramaturgical articles including a director’s note from Mary Zimmerman, a piece about the evolution of the
show, and more:
huntingtontheatre.org/season/1112/candide/multimedia.aspx#ARTICLES

Video interviews with director Mary Zimmerman, Doug Peck, and other artists; excerpts from the production,
and more:
huntingtontheatre.org/season/1112/candide/multimedia.aspx - VIDEO

Biographical information about the artists who created and perform in this production:
huntingtontheatre.org/season/1112/candide/whos-who.aspx

High-resolution production photos – available for download: huntingtontheatre.org/candidephotos

The fall issue of Spotlight, the Huntington’s magazine:
huntingtontheatre.org/season/1112/spotlight/index.aspx

Huntington Theatre Company website:
huntingtontheatre.org
Photo Library
Candide
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Richard Wilbur
Directed and newly adapted from the Voltaire by Mary Zimmerman
Additional lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, and Leonard Bernstein
Sept. 10 – Oct. 16, 2011
Avenue of the Arts / BU TheatreBoston University Theatre
Availalble at huntingtontheatre.org/candidephotos
The cast of the Huntington Theatre Company's
CANDIDE. Directed and newly adapted by Mary
Zimmerman. Playing 9/10-10/16 at the BU Theatre.
huntingtontheatre.org. Photo T Charles Erickson
Lauren Molina (Cundegonde) and Geoff Packard
(Candide) in CANDIDE, directed by Mary
Zimmerman. At the Huntington Theatre
Company's B.U. Theatre 9/10-10/16/11.
huntingtontheatre.org. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Lauren Molina (Cunegonde) in CANDIDE, directed
by Mary Zimmerman. At the Huntington Theatre
Company's B.U. Theatre 9/10-10/16/11.
huntingtontheatre.org. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Cheryl Stern and Lauren Molina in the Huntington
Theatre Company's CANDIDE. Directed and newly
adapted by Mary Zimmerman. Playing 9/10-10/16
at the BU Theatre. huntingtontheatre.org. Photo ©
T Charles Erickson
Larry Yando (Pangloss) and Geoff Packard
(Candide) in CANDIDE, directed by Mary
Zimmerman. At the Huntington Theatre
Company's B.U. Theatre 9/10-10/16/11.
huntingtontheatre.org. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Geoff Packard and Lauren Molina in the
Huntington Theatre Company's CANDIDE.
Directed and newly adapted by Mary Zimmerman.
Playing 9/10-10/16 at the BU Theatre.
huntingtontheatre.org. Photo © T Charles Erickson
Cheryl Stern (center) and the cast of the
Huntington Theatre Company's CANDIDE.
Directed and newly adapted by Mary Zimmerman.
Playing 9/10-10/16 at the BU Theatre.
huntingtontheatre.org. Photo by T. Charles
Erickson.
Lauren Molina, Timothy John Smith, and Cheryl
Stern in the Huntington Theatre Company's
CANDIDE. Directed and newly adapted by Mary
Zimmerman. Playing 9/10-10/16 at the BU Theatre.
huntingtontheatre.org. Photo by T. Charles
Erickson.
Lauren Molina and Cheryl Stern in the Huntington
Theatre Company's CANDIDE. Directed and newly
adapted by Mary Zimmerman. Playing 9/10-10/16
at the BU Theatre. huntingtontheatre.org. Photo ©
T Charles Erickson
The cast of the Huntington Theatre Company's
CANDIDE. Directed and newly adapted by Mary
Zimmerman. Playing 9/10-10/16 at the BU Theatre.
huntingtontheatre.org. Photo © T Charles Erickson
A ‘Candide’ that has a lot to say
Voltaire’s words, Bernstein’s music come together
September 09, 2011|By Laura Collins-Hughes, Globe Staff
CANDIDE Presented by Huntington Theatre Company
At: Boston University Theatre, Boston, Saturday through Oct. 16. 617-266-0800,
www.huntingtontheatre.org
Members of the Huntington Theatre
Company rehearse a scene from Candide
(PHOTOS BY ARAM BOGHOSIAN FOR THE
BOSTON GLOBE)
It was a revelation, but the kind
of revelation that might easily
have gotten in the way.
Perusing the manuscripts in the
Leonard Bernstein Collection at
the Library of Congress late last
year, Tony Award-winning
director Mary Zimmerman
suddenly grasped the sheer multitude of possibilities the composer had left behind for adapters
of his 1956 musical “Candide.’’
“It was thrilling to find just, like, on a piece of scrap paper the first handwritten lyrics of very
famous songs, but also versions of music with entirely different sets of lyrics, different
characters singing them,’’ says Zimmerman, whose acclaimed take on the musical - with a book
she penned from Voltaire’s 18th-century satire - was by then having its second production, at
Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre.
“It was already done, thank God,’’ she says, looking briefly alarmed at the idea of what might
have been. She thrusts a hand out, palm first, as if to push away the thought. “I honestly am
really happy that we did not plunge into that before we did our show, because I think it just
would have been overwhelming and too intimidating and just too much to choose from.’’
Bernstein kept coming back to “Candide’’ over the decades, reworking and adding to his score.
Zimmerman’s “Candide,’’ which premiered last fall at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and
begins previews tomorrow at the Huntington Theatre Company, isn’t quite done, either - mostly,
but not entirely.
As Zimmerman speaks, in a tiny room down the hall from the Huntington rehearsal space, she
has not yet finished tinkering with it. She’s mainly been cutting the book, jettisoning
redundancies and even bits she loves that don’t advance the plot, which follows the wide-eyed
young Candide and his beloved Cunegonde through misadventures in a brutal world. Her
version, she says, is something of a hybrid form, with plenty of Bernstein’s music but more
dialogue than most musicals.
“There are patches in ‘Candide’ where we go eight, nine, 10 minutes between songs, which
apparently is not really standard for musicals,’’ says Zimmerman, her own expertise being in
straight plays and opera. “It’s more like three. Which I didn’t really know.’’
A breakout star of the Chicago theater scene, Zimmerman won a Tony for best director in 2002
for “Metamorphoses,’’ an episodic play she also wrote, adapting the text from Ovid. In 1998, she
won a MacArthur “genius’’ grant, an accolade that does not appear to have gotten in the way of
her evident Midwestern modesty.
At the Huntington, where she directed “Journey to the West’’ and “A Midsummer Night’s
Dream’’ in the 1990s, her quietly watchful dog, Beary, sticks close to her. She got him at the
pound eight years ago, she explains, and his name came with him.
“I think most people think it’s B-A-R-R-Y, which I like,’’ she says, briskly playful, “but he’s not a
happy-go-lucky Barry in that way. You think of a guy named Barry, he’s sort of a bowler and, you
know, jolly at the barbecue, and Beary isn’t really that way. He’s more timid. Lower self-esteem.
But he’s a good boy.’’
Raised largely in Nebraska, Zimmerman was just learning to read when her parents, both
professors, moved the family to England while her father did a Rhodes Scholarship at
Cambridge. Thus began her enchantment with classic texts, adaptations of which - such as “The
Odyssey’’ and “Arabian Nights’’ - have been among her best-known work.
“We had a teacher who read ‘The Odyssey’ to us in the afternoons and ‘The Tales of King Arthur,’
and I think that was just very, very captivating to me. And I think I’ve just been mining that the
rest of my life,’’ she says.
Voltaire’s 1759 narrative is “a modern text for me. It’s almost contemporary,’’ she adds,
laughing.
“Sometimes those original texts, like this one, the structure’s there, the plot’s there. It’s not
infinite,’’ she says. “Something like ‘The Odyssey’ has the most beautiful structure already given
to you. So … really what you’re figuring out is what to highlight and what to compress and what
to bring forth, what you can lose or have to lose in order for it to make an evening of theater.’’
But “Candide,’’ she says, is unique among the works she’s adapted - partly because it’s a musical,
and partly because it has gone through so many iterations.
“You cannot perform the original version,’’ says Doug Peck, Zimmerman’s music director,
explaining that Lillian Hellman, who wrote the book in 1956, withdrew permission for anyone to
use her much-lambasted text. Hugh Wheeler wrote the book for the two Broadway revivals, in
1974 and 1997, both directed by Harold Prince.
Hellman “had a huge falling-out with Bernstein when he did the Hal Prince version,’’
Zimmerman says. “I actually read some of those letters in the Library of Congress when we were
in D.C., and they’re really heartbreaking.’’
“I feel bad for her, actually,’’ she adds. “She’s very, very unhappy in those letters. And he writes
little comments in the margins of her letters to him that are really not very nice.’’
Stephen Sondheim, in his book “Finishing the Hat,’’ called Bernstein’s score and Richard
Wilbur’s lyrics “the most scintillating set of songs yet written for the musical theater’’ - but
Sondheim, too, has penned lyrics for the piece, which were used in the most recent Broadway
revival. While Wilbur is the musical’s principal lyricist, John La Touche, Dorothy Parker, and
Bernstein himself also contributed.
“I’m neither knowledgeable enough nor brave enough to name a single other musical that I
would feel comfortable rewriting the book of,’’ Zimmerman says. “But ‘Candide’ - it’s this very
fluid thing, and lots of people have thrown their hat in the ring. So it feels open. And the
Bernsteins gave me permission. None of these versions precludes doing another version. They
don’t replace each other. They all just sort of exist in the world. That’s why there’s this
accumulating line of credits.’’
And then there’s Bernstein’s score, several hours long in total.
“There’s this set of songs, except it’s not actually a set - it’s multiple sets, overlapping sets of
music, multiple, multiple versions that have traveled through, gosh, going on 60 years, 50 years
of different reworkings,’’ Zimmerman says. “And there are songs that are mutually exclusive
because of the way different versions are structured.’’
“If you’re doing ‘Hello, Dolly!,’ it’s very clear what the score is,’’ says Peck, one of whose primary
tasks was to educate Zimmerman about the different versions of the show. “Bernstein never
stopped working.’’
Zimmerman, like any other “Candide’’ adapter, has had to pick and choose from the available
music. She’s done likewise with the Voltaire text, rewriting the dialogue and fitting it to the
songs. In her rendition, she says, Bernstein’s voice and Voltaire’s voice have equal weight.
“The whole trick of ‘Candide,’ ’’ she says, “not just for me but for anyone who’s put their mind to
it, is how to merge that very strong Voltaire voice and the voice of the music. And what’s the best
way to try and have those things hold hands most intimately?’’
Laura Collins-Hughes can be reached at lcollins-hughes @globe.com.
Lauren Molina (Cunegonde), Geoff Packard (Candide),
and Director Mary Zimmerman in rehearsal; photos: Liz Lauren
ENTERTAINED AND
ENCHANTED
VISIONARY DIRECTOR/ADAPTOR
MARY ZIMMERMAN ON CANDIDE
“Mary Zimmerman is a true genius. Her production will blow the doors off of the theatre and will kick off
our 30th Anniversary Season with ambition, imagination, and glorious music.” – PETER DuBOIS
I’ve always been drawn to adapt thorny, difficult, epic old texts. Voltaire’s
Candide has that epic sweep and broad range of feeling that I like, and it is
full of difficult things to stage, which I like as well. And then Bernstein’s music
is so glorious.
What makes the play funny and absurd, I hope, is the way in which chance
and mischance pile up so fast and furious, while the characters’ views of
the world as “all for the best” remain absolutely unchanged in the face of all
evidence to the contrary.
It’s the story of a young man named Candide who is the illegitimate nephew of
a Baron in a small province called Westphalia. Along with the Baron’s daughter,
he is tutored by a professor named Doctor Pangloss, who claims that Westphalia
is “the best possible place in all the world.” When Candide falls in love with
Cunegonde, his benefactors kick him out of the kingdom without a penny. The
rest of the story follows Candide making his way in the world, having adventure
after adventure. He is candid and honest and innocent, and he is mistreated
and swindled over and over again. Cunegonde and her family also meet great
misfortune in a war, so some of Candide’s adventures involve reuniting with her.
Candide is a tougher text than people realize. It challenges some of our most
cherished ideas – ideas about one’s own virtue and the virtues of one’s own
home. I think this play is challenging in whichever country it is performed,
because every country thinks it is the best in the best of all possible worlds.
The novel and the play ask people to think about the fact that life is really
complicated and that random, tragic things happen all the time. It suggests that
blind optimism, or the idea that everything is part of a grand plan and that all is
for the best, is not only absurd but also an excuse for inaction in the face of social
injustice. Yet it also rejects blind pessimism, through the figure of Martin, the
scholar who is as consistently cynical and depressed as Pangloss is buoyant.
I read all the previous adaptations – the scripts for the musical – about
three or four years ago, and then I stopped reading because I wanted to
go back to Voltaire’s original novel. Some of the versions have big changes
from the original structure of the novel, and the primary challenge for me in
adapting it anew is that some of the songs have lyrics that are tied to events
or circumstances that don’t exist in the novel. We want to preserve these
songs in a context that makes sense, while trying to be as trusting as possible
of Voltaire’s original structure and story.
Finding the tone is the most difficult key to Candide because
terrible things happen to the characters, yet the novel is hilarious.
I hope that audiences are swept away by the production, that they are
extremely entertained and enchanted, but also attentive to Voltaire’s satire.
Candide has gorgeous music that is incredibly witty, both lyrically and
musically. Voltaire’s and Bernstein’s works are both achievements of such
high order that when combined, they remind us what people are capable of
at their best at the very same moment they are showing us what is worst.
And in this way, the work manages to be affirmative – even transcendent –
in the face of its own cynicism and satiric edge.
- MARY ZIMMERMAN
LEARN MORE ONLINE VISIT THE LEARN & EXPLORE SECTION OF HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG/CANDIDE TO LISTEN TO THE CANDIDE OVERTURE, READ AN INTERVIEW
WITH CHOREOGRAPHER DANIEL PELZIG, AND EXPLORE REHEARSAL AND PRODUCTION PHOTOS.
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
5
The cast of Candide; photo: Liz Lauren
THE BEST OF
ALL POSSIBLE
CANDIDES
Geoff Packard as Candide; photo: Liz Lauren
In the world of musical theatre, Leonard Bernstein’s Candide is the mother
of all do-overs, continuing to evolve long after its original creators’ deaths.
Longtime Huntington Theatre Company subscribers will be familiar with the
1973 version (produced here in 1989) and may be wondering why we are giving
Candide our own do-over. Simply put, the “most labored-over show in theatre
history” has been an irresistible challenge for generations of theatre artists. In
the visionary hands of Mary Zimmerman, it has come to rest after an epic and
improbable journey.
The idea for adapting Candide came to Lillian Hellman in 1953. She
considered Voltaire’s 1759 novella to be “a great book, full of laughter,
wisdom, comment, satire, and bite,” and thought it to be the perfect
piece for her long-awaited collaboration with Bernstein. From the start,
the project was wrought with tribulations: Bernstein initially refused
the project, and the pair dropped their lyricist before even starting the
second act. After tryouts at Boston’s Colonial Theatre, Candide was
mounted on Broadway in 1956, only to close after just 73 performances.
The initial production’s unfavorable reviews inspired several different
revisions, adaptations, and concert versions of Candide across the country
and around the world as different artists tried to solve the book’s inability
to compete with, or effectively complete, the score.
These subsequent productions incited new interest in Bernstein,
who approached poet, playwright, and lyricist Richard Wilbur about
continuing work. Wilbur agreed that there was so much “life in the
show, so much that [was] good and finished, that it would be a shame
to abandon it.” In 1973, director Harold Prince and book writer Hugh
DEDICATED TO SUSAN F. SPOONER
We were all saddened over the summer by the death of our dear friend, Susan Spooner, a Huntington Trustee, generous supporter, and true theatre enthusiast.
Any memory of Susan is invariably filled with one of two attributes: joy or admiration. Sharing private time with Susan was to know someone who
lived life deeply and enjoyed every minute of it. To watch her in action as a deeply engaged Huntington Trustee, whether chairing the Nominating
Committee or strategizing about a Huntington problem at a Board meeting, was to admire her clear-headed insight and intelligence. One of the
things that Susan was looking forward to was the Huntington 30th Anniversary Season opener, Candide. While she will not be in her usual seat
on opening night, we will honor Susan by dedicating our production to her memory. - MICHAEL MASO, MANAGING DIRECTOR
6
BOX OFFICE 617 266 0800
CURTAIN CALLS
NAMEMcCAELA DONOVAN
ROLEPAQUETTE
HOMETOWN BETHLEHEM, NEW YORK
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PHILOSOPHY IMPARTED
IN CANDIDE?
I’m drawn to Candide’s interminable belief that all human
beings are innately good. I love that.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LEONARD BERNSTEIN MUSIC?
I love Bernstein’s score for the ballet Fancy Free
(which later became On the Town), but the Candide
overture is one of the best pieces of music ever written
for the theatre.
Lauren Molina as Cunegonde; photo: Liz Lauren
Wheeler opened a scaled-down version of Candide, with “Words, Words,
Words,” a new song by Bernstein. This version replaced Lillian Hellman’s
original adaptation. Up until that production, Bernstein’s Candide was the
stuff of legend. The 1973 Chelsea Theatre version made Candide, and its
potential for success, a reality.
But the revisions didn’t stop in 1973, and there were several versions of
Candide “kicking around,” in the words of Chicago theatre critic Chris Jones,
by the time Mary Zimmerman was drawn to the piece. A longtime observer
of Zimmerman’s groundbreaking theatrical adaptations (Metamorphoses,
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci), Jones notes that unlike most musicals,
Candide fits nicely into Zimmerman’s aesthetic, complete with “literature,
storytelling, simplicity, nondramatic texts, metaphor, moral dilemmas, and
a theatrical journey with life-and-death stakes.” Undaunted by the many
challenges, Zimmerman revamped the book by returning to the original
text, a blend of biting satire and good-humored comedy. Luckily for us,
the risk paid off, and Candide’s new book pays real tribute to the still fresh,
smart, and effervescent score. Garnering Zimmerman praise in Variety and
elsewhere, this new version just might be “the best of all possible Candides.”
- CHEYENNE POSTELL
NAME
LAUREN MOLINA
ROLECUNEGONDE
HOMETOWN DETROIT, MICHIGAN
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT WHILE
PERFORMING IN CANDIDE?
Mary Zimmerman’s blocking of “Glitter and be Gay”
involves me singing one of the hardest arias in musical
theatre while going from naked in a bathtub to tightened
in a corset to fully dressed in a gown. It’s an acrobatic
tightrope walk that is both thrilling and terrifying.
HOW ARE YOU LIKE OR NOT LIKE YOUR CHARACTER?
She’s spunky and knows what she wants, which is very
much like me. She wants happiness and love. However,
I’m not a gold digger, nor a spoiled brat.
NAME
GEOFF PACKARD
ROLECANDIDE
HOMETOWN CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LEONARD BERNSTEIN MUSIC?
I love West Side Story, as well as his Mass. I think my
favorite song other than the ones in Candide is
“Simple Song.”
HOW ARE YOU LIKE YOUR CHARACTER?
I look just like him (kidding.) I like to think I see the world
as genuinely positive. Sometimes that has served me
wrong, mostly it has served me right, but at the end of
the day I am responsible for my own happiness and love
(as Candide also understands).
NAME
JESSE PEREZ
ROLECACAMBO
HOMETOWN WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT WHILE
PERFORMING IN CANDIDE?
My favorite moment in Candide is the final song when we
end the show together. We have the opportunity to look
at everybody in the cast and in the orchestra and realize
we have just accomplished something special.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LEONARD BERNSTEIN MUSIC?
I love West Side Story. I rarely do musicals, and you would
not believe how many non-musical actors use the songs
from West Side Story to warm up before a show.
LEARN MORE ONLINE
SEE PAGE 23
FOR SHOW PERFORMANCE CALENDAR AND
EVENT LISTINGS
VISIT HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG/CANDIDE
FOR EXPANDED INTERVIEWS WITH THE CAST.
HUNTINGTONTHEATRE.ORG
7
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 16, 2011
CONTACT: Rebecca Curtiss, [email protected] / 617 273 1537
PHOTOS: huntingtontheatre.org/news/photolibrary.aspx (see instructions at the bottom of this release)
HUNTINGTON PREMIERES PLAY BY CAMBRIDGE BASED 72-YEAR OLD
HUNTINGTON PLAYWRITING FELLOW ROSANNA YAMAGIWA ALFARO
WHAT:
Huntington Theatre Company premieres Before I Leave You, a love story for grownups about second
chances, by Cambridge-based Huntington Playwriting Fellow Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro.
WHEN:
October 14 – November 13, 2011
Evenings: Tues. – Thurs. at 7:30pm; Fri. – Sat. at 8pm; Select Sun. at 7pm
Matinees: Select Wed., Sat., Sun. at 2pm
Days and times vary; see complete schedule at end of release.
Opening/Press Night: Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 7pm
RSVP online at huntingtontheatre.org/news
WHERE: Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston – South End
TICKETS: Single tickets start at $25 and subscriptions are on sale:
 online at huntingtontheatre.org;
 by phone at 617 266 0800, or
 in person at the BU Theatre Box Office, 264 Huntington Ave. or the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Box Office, 527 Tremont St. in Boston’s South End.
$5 off: seniors
$10 off: subscribers and BU community (faculty/staff/alumni)
$25 “35 Below” tickets for patrons 35 years old and younger (valid ID required)
$15 student and military tickets
(BOSTON) – Huntington Theatre Company continues its 30th Anniversary Season with Before I Leave You, a
new play by Cambridge-based 72-year-old Huntington Playwriting Fellow Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro. This is the
first major regional production for Alfaro, who writes of Cambridge, MA and the “sixty-something” demographic
from intimate and extensive experience. Acclaimed Off Broadway director Jonathan Silverstein (The
Temperamentals) helms the production.
Before I Leave You tells the story of four longtime friends in Harvard Square. Emily (Kippy Goldfarb), a
painter, is surrounded by change. Koji (Glenn Kubota), her husband of forty years, suddenly embraces his Asian
roots. Jeremy (Ross Bickell) is at work on a novel but interrupted by a health scare. Trish (Karen
MacDonald), Jeremy’s sister and an out-of-work realtor, further complicates his life by moving in. Emily’s son
Peter (Alexis Camins) prepares to move out and make empty nesters of his parents. When one of the old friends
jumps at an expected chance for happiness, the others face crisis and opportunity in this moving new comedy.
The play’s action takes place in and around Harvard Square at locations that will be familiar to local audiences;
the friends dine together regularly at the Royal East, a Chinese restaurant located between Cambridge’s Central
and Kendall Squares.
“We aging playwrights make up a huge part of the theatre audience,” says Alfaro. “We have a distinct point of
view. We travel more slowly, but we’ve seen a lot. There is a certain urgency to our writing. I have lived in Harvard
Square for 45 years and have been a playwright for 30, so it was time to write a Cambridge comedy about four
friends on the cusp of old age.”
Alfaro joins an accomplished and acclaimed group of Huntington Playwriting Fellows to be produced by the
Huntington including Lydia R. Diamond (Stick Fly, opening on Broadway this fall), Ronan Noone (The Atheist,
Brendan), Melinda Lopez (Sonia Flew), Sinan Ünel (Cry of the Reed), Rebecca Maggor (Shakespeare’s Actresses
in America), Kirsten Greenidge (The Luck of the Irish – upcoming), and Ryan Landry (Psyched).
Playwright Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro’s plays include Behind Enemy Lines (Pan Asian Repertory Theatre),
Mishima (East West Players), Martha Mitchell (Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Theater Center Philadelphia; Six
Figures Theater Co., New York; and others), Barrancas (Magic Theatre), Pablo and Cleopatra (New Theater),
Mexico City (The Boston Women on Top Festival), Sailing Down the Amazon (BWTF and JRV Productions), and
It Doesn’t Take a Tornado and Amsterdam (La MaMa E.T.C.). She is writer and narrator of Japanese American
Women: A Sense of Place, a documentary directed by Leita Hagemann (part of a Smithsonian Institution exhibit
and aired by PBS in Seattle). Seven of her short plays have been in the Boston Theater Marathon, and seven were
finalists in the National Ten-Minute Play Contest. Her plays have been anthologized by Baker’s Plays, Heinemann,
Charta Books, Smith and Kraus, and Meriwether Publishing.
Director Jonathan Silverstein’s Off Broadway credits include The Temperamentals (Drama Desk Award for
Outstanding Ensemble); Lemon Sky and The Dining Room (Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding
Director, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble), Tea and Sympathy, I Never Sang for My Father, and
The Hasty Heart (Keen Company, Resident Director); Red Herring (New York International Fringe Festival,
Outstanding Direction Award); Indiscretions (Phoenix Theatre Ensemble); Blueprint (Summer Play Festival); The
Rats Are Getting Bigger (New York International Fringe Festival); Greater Messapia (Queens Theatre in the
Park); and The Train Play (Clubbed Thumb). His regional theatre credits include The Old Globe, Cleveland Play
House, Dorset Theatre Festival, and The Theatre at Monmouth. In the Boston area, he has worked at Merrimack
Repertory Theatre and Cape Rep Theatre. Mr. Silverstein is a graduate of the MFA directing program at University
of California, San Diego, an alumnus of The Drama League Directors Project, and a member of SDC.
jonnysilver.com
Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois says, “Rosanna’s play tells a beautiful, seldom told middle-age love
story unfolding in our own backyard with the freshness and smart sensibility of a young independent filmmaker.”
THE CAST
 Ross Bickell (To Kill a Mockingbird at the Huntington and The Iceman Cometh and Noises Off on
Broadway) plays Jeremy, a college professor working on a novel and dealing with health problems;
 Alexis Camins (Resurrection at Diverse City/Clurman Theater and Hamlet at New York Classical
Theater) plays Peter, Emily and Koji’s 22-year-old son, who is preparing to move in with his girlfriend and
her young daughter;
 Kippy Goldfarb (Wit at Persephone Theatre and Book of Days at The Lyric Stage Company) plays
Emily, a painter grappling with her husband’s Asian-American awakening and son’s impending
departure;
 Glenn Kubota (Snow Falling On Cedars at Centerstage and Rosa Loses Her Face at Queens Theatre In
The Park/Electric Theatre Company) plays Koji, a theatre professor and director with a newly discovered
interest in his Asian heritage; and
 Karen MacDonald (All My Sons and Bus Stop at the Huntington) plays Trish, Jeremy’s out-of-work
sister in search of her next opportunity.
PRODUCTION ARTISTS
Scenic design by Allen Moyer (Educating Rita at the Huntington, After Miss Julie and Grey Gardens on
Broadway); costume design by Michael Krass (The Rivals and Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the Huntington); lighting
design by David Lander (33 Variations and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo on Broadway); sound design by
David Remedios (Circle Mirror Transformation and Prelude to a Kiss for the Huntington). Production Stage
Manager is Carola Morrone LaCoste (Educating Rita and Vengeance is the Lord’s for the Huntington) and
Stage Manager is Ryan Anderson (The Blue Flower at American Repertory Theater).
SPONSORS
 Grand Patron: Boston University
 30th Anniversary Sponsor: Carol G. Deane
 Season Sponsor: J. David Wimberly
ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON
Since its founding in 1982, the Huntington Theatre Company has developed into Boston’s leading theatre
company. Bringing together superb local and national talent, the Huntington produces a mix of groundbreaking
new works and classics made current. Led by Artistic Director Peter DuBois and Managing Director Michael
Maso, the Huntington creates award-winning productions, runs nationally renowned programs in education and
new play development, and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion
at the BCA. The Huntington is in residence at Boston University. For more information, visit
huntingtontheatre.org.
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MEDIA NOTES
For interviews and more information, contact Communications Manager Rebecca Curtiss at
[email protected] or 617 273 1537.
PHOTO DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS
To download high-resolution (or smaller) photos of Before I Leave You :
1. Visit huntingtontheatre.org/news/photolibrary.aspx
2. Click on a thumbnail, and let the image load in your browser on the Flickr site. Note caption
information is displayed below the image.
3. Click the Action button, located above the image on the Flickr site, and select View All Sizes.
4. Select the size you wish to download from the choices listed across the top of the image.
5. Let the image load in your browser, then right-click on it to save to your computer.
PRODUCTION CALENDAR AND RELATED EVENTS
Post-Show Audience Conversations
Ongoing
Led by members of the Huntington staff. After
most Tuesday - Friday, Saturday matinee, and
Sunday matinee performances throughout the
season. Free with a ticket to the performance.
Humanities Forum
Sun. 11/6, following the 2pm performance
A post-performance talk exploring the context and
significance of Before I Leave You.
Actors Forum
Thurs., 11/3 following the 7:30pm performance
Wed., 11/9, following the 2pm performance
Participating cast members answer questions from
the audience.