Yale Bulletin and Calendar

August 23-30, 1999

Volume 28, Number 1

Yale Rep's coming season features
broad spectrum of plays

The Yale Repertory Theatre's upcoming season will feature a wide range of plays, from classic to contemporary to brand new works.

During the 1999-2000 season, audiences will see plays by Molière and William Shakespeare, celebrated 20th-century works by Harold Pinter and Sam Shepard, a rediscovered Preston Sturges comedy and the world premiere of the second installment of Ralph Lemon's acclaimed "Geography" trilogy.

"This is always a tremendously exciting time of year," said Stan Wojewodski Jr., artistic director of the Yale Rep and dean of the School of Drama, in announcing the new season. "The 1999-2000 season at the Rep represents a terrific spectrum in scale, tone and scope."

The season opens Sept. 16 with "The Imaginary Invalid" by Molière, in a world-premiere translation by James Magruder commissioned by the Rep. Directed by Mark Rucker, the play focuses on Argan, the invalid of the title, an absurd hypochondriac who longs to marry his daughter to a doctor's son -- thus ensuring his own round-the-clock medical care. "The Imaginary Invalid" runs through Oct. 9

Pinter's "Betrayal," directed by Yale Rep resident director Liz Diamond, runs Oct. 21-Nov. 13. Winner of the 1980 Drama Critics Award for Best Foreign Play, "Betrayal" showcases Pinter's insights into the failures of human communication. The work begins at the end of an affair between lead characters Emma and Jerry, and moves scene by scene to its beginning.

"A Cup of Coffee" by Sturges and directed by Joe Grifasi comes to the Rep Nov. 26-Dec. 18. The play follows the romantic and professional aspirations of young salesman Jimmy McDonald as he wades through the murk of office politics. A celebrated filmmaker during the Golden Age of Hollywood, Sturges wrote "A Cup of Coffee" in 1931, and it was slated to premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse, but the production was sidelined by the author's Hollywood success. Although a movie version of the comedy, titled "Christmas in July," was released, the stage play remained unseen by audiences until 1988, when it opened on Broadway.

The Rep continues its season with Shepard's comedy "Curse of the Starving Class," Feb. 3-26. This Obie-winning play about domestic disharmony by one of today's most celebrated playwrights takes a look at the small landowner -- in a setting in which the father is a drunk, the mother is burnt-out, the daughter has "the curse," and the son has inherited "liquid dynamite of the blood." A director for the Rep's staging of the play will be announced at a later date.

In a special project of the School of Drama at the Yale Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare's "Richard III," directed by Wojewodski, takes the stage Mar. 16-Apr. 8. Richard III, one of Shakespeare's most memorable villains, keeps his enemies close while secretly plotting his bloody assent to the throne. This production will feature the graduating acting class of the School of Drama.

The Yale Rep closes its season with the world premiere of choreographer and dancer Lemon's "Geography, Part 2: Asia/Belief." The second installment in a trilogy examining cultural conflict and self-exploration runs Apr. 20-May 13, under Lemon's direction. Lemon and his collaborators from Africa, Asia and America will probe the meeting points of spirituality and sexuality, using both
traditional and cutting-edge forms of dance, music and storytelling.

The Yale Repertory Theatre is located at the corner of Chapel and York streets. Individual tickets for all Yale Rep productions and the special project of the School of Drama go on sale Aug. 1 and range in price from $26 to $34. Discounted tickets are available for students, senior citizens and groups. Several subscription packages are currently on sale and include 10-play subscription packages incorporating the four School of Drama thesis productions, six-play Yale Rep subscriptions, flex passes, and six-play student passbooks. The Yale Rep also sponsors the Rainbow Series for gays, lesbians and friends and the Ale Club Beer Tasting Series. For more information, call the Yale Repertory Theatre box office at 432-1234; box office hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Study finds undercurrent of anger in U.S. workplaces

Translating Shakespeare into sign language was a lesson in the art of communication

'Alternative' therapies not favored over conventional medical care, says survey

Robert Blocker to continue as dean of the School of Music

Mary E. Miller is new master of Saybrook College

Array of appointments announced at Graduate School

Emeritus Faculty

In the News

Women under 50 at greater risk of dying from heart attacks than are men

The world was a classroom for Yale students this summer

Center's creative use of computers aids medical research

Exhibits at Beinecke Library celebrate the pioneering spirit

Stanford-Yale forum will boost junior faculty's skills in legal scholarship

Psychopharmocologist Dr. Robert Byck dies; discovered properties of MSG, THC

Awards support research and outreach programs at Yale Cancer Center

Program on Nonprofit Organizations names new leaders

Hydrogeology expert joins School of Forestry

Yale Rep's coming season features broad spectrum of plays

Correction: Fourth scholar-athlete identified

Campus Notes