 
This image is from the poster for the Yale Rep's production of "You Never Can Tell," George Bernard Shaw's cynical look at Victorian marriage. The comedy, the Rep's season opener, will run Sept. 20-Oct. 13. |
'splendid confection' by Shaw
The Yale Repertory Theatre will open its 2001-2002 season with a comic masterpiece exploring the war between the sexes, the absurdities of marriage and the rifts between generations.
George Bernard Shaw's "You Never Can Tell" opens on Thursday, Sept. 20, and runs until Oct. 13 at the University Theatre, 222 York St.
"You Never Can Tell" follows Mrs. Lanfrey Clandon, a Victorian clinging to the last days of the 19th century, as she attempts to shield her three children from "that horrid man" -- their father. While on a seaside holiday, a chance encounter between her daughter, Gloria, and a love-struck dentist named Valentine brings the estranged family together with farcical results.
"'You Never Can Tell' is among the most charming works ever written for the stage," says Stan Wojewodski Jr., artistic director of the Yale Rep and dean of the School of Drama, who will direct the show. "It is pure theatrical fun that, like Valentine, its romantic hero, takes almost shameless pride in a professed 'lightness of heart.' To communicate this levity to an audience requires actors with a comic deftness that is at once technically proficient and emotionally vulnerable. We are fortunate to have an extraordinary ensemble and a gifted design team all bent on doing justice to Shaw's splendid confection."
When "You Never Can Tell" first played on Broadway in 1905, Theatre Magazine called it "a farce with exquisite fancy, trenchant observation, relentless satire, mordant irony and delicious fun." The New York Times proclaimed the 1998 Broadway revival "pleasant as a light, breezy summer's day at the seashore. . . ."
Shaw, a crusader for both art and social reform, was a proponent of socialism and a supporter of women's rights. He advocated equality of income, the abolition of private property and radical change in the British voting system. When awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925, he displayed his loyalty to socialism by accepting the prize but refusing the money. Among his most popular plays are "Candida," "Arms and the Man," "Man and Superman," "Major Barbara," "Misalliance," "Pygmalion," "Saint Joan" and "Mrs. Warren's Profession."
Last season, Wojewodski directed "Big Night" and "The Way of the World" at the Yale Rep. His previous productions include "Richard III," "Hay Fever," "Pentecost," "Candida," "First Lady," "The Adventures of Amy Bock," "The Marriage of Figaro/Figaro Gets a Divorce," "Hamlet," "As You Like It" and "Edward the Second." He has served as dean of the School of Drama and artistic director of the Yale Rep since 1991.
Cast members portraying the Clandon family are Sandra Shipley as Mrs. Clandon, Shannon Koob as Gloria, Mireille Enos as Dolly and Neal Dodson as Philip. Also starring in the production are John Hansen as Valentine, Martin Rayner as Crampton, Michael Allinson as Walter, Thomas James O'Leary as McComas and Richmond Hoxie as Bohun.
The design team for "You Never Can Tell" includes scenic designer John Coyne, costume designer Katherine Roth, lighting designer Stephen Strawbridge and sound designer Mimi Epstein. Rounding out the artistic team are resident dramaturg Catherine Sheehy, production dramaturg Wendy A. Weckwerth, vocal coach Catherine Fitzmaurice and resident stage manager Karen Quisenberry.
Show times are 7 p.m. on Mondays and 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday, Sept. 29, Oct. 6 and Oct. 13, and on Wednesday, Oct. 10.
Tickets for the production range from $22 to $39. Subscription packages, including combination tickets for Yale Rep and Yale School of Drama productions, are also on sale and range in price from $72 to $237. Pay-what-you-can performances are on Monday evenings. For more information or to order tickets and subscriptions, call the Yale Rep box office at (203) 432-1234, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.yalerep.org.
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