"To err is human, to be able to talk about it for two hours with divine wit and passion is 'Shaw.'"
So says Stan Wojewodski Jr., dean of the School of Drama and artistic director of the Yale Repertory Theatre, where he is directing a production of George Bernard Shaw's "Candida" later this month. The show, the second in the Yale Rep's 1997-98 season, will be staged Nov. 28-Dec. 20.
The Shaw play, which has been described as "one of the jewels of the theater," offers a comic examination of marriage, rivalry and domestic power. At the beginning of the play, the Reverend James Morrell, a hard-working pillar of the community, believes he and his wife, Candida, have a perfect marriage. However, when an 18-year-old poet named Eugene declares his love for Morrell's wife, the clergyman's world comes crashing down.
"Very much her own woman". "In 'Candida,' Shaw has written a play of tremendous heart and intelligence along one of his favorite themes -- the ecstatic agony of the poetic imagination," says Dean Wojewodski. "Of course, because he is a great dramatist, he explores his theme by creating delightfully rich characters like Candida, a devoted wife to her husband, an inspiration to a budding young poet, and, to the surprise of these two, very much her own woman."
Now in his seventh season at the School of Drama and the Yale Rep, Dean Wojewodski directed two productions last season, "First Lady" and "The Adventures of Amy Bock." In previous seasons, he has staged "Pentecost," "Oleanna," "The Baltimore Waltz" and "On the Verge or The Geography of Learning," among other productions.
Appearing in the title role of Candida will be Kathleen McNenny, who appeared on Broadway in "A Few Good Men" and locally in "As You Like It" at the Long Wharf Theatre. The Reverend James Morrell will be played by James McDonnell, who has acted extensively at Baltimore's Center Stage and whose New York credits include "Fun" at Manhattan Punchline and several productions at Playwrights Horizons. Candida's would-be wooer, the poet Eugene Marchbanks, will be portrayed by Alan Tudyk, a founding member of the improvisation troupes Court Jesters and Rubber Chicken, who has appeared in regional theaters throughout the country. Rounding out the cast are Blair Sims as Proserpine Garnett, Jameson Selby as Reverend Alexander Mill and George Ede as Burgess.
"There is little more rewarding than working with actors as talented as this cast on material of this caliber," says Dean Wojewodski. "As rich as Shaw is on the page, his true genius as an artist of the theater only fully asserts itself through gifted actors speaking his words on the stage."
"Candida" will be presented at the Yale Rep, corner of Chapel and York streets. Previews begin on Friday,
Nov. 28; opening night is Tuesday, Dec. 2. Tickets range in price from $25 to $32. Group discounts and subscriptions are also available. To purchase tickets or for futher information, call the Yale Rep box office at 432-1234,
10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays.