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A Riveting, Physical Adaptation with 18 Authentic Sea Shanties

Adapted for the stage by Julian Rad

From the book by Herman Melville
Lyrics adapted from the traditional by Julian Rad 

Directed by Peter Amster

October 10 – November 4, 2012

“Riveting. A brilliant new adaptation… interspersed with a score of haunting traditional sea shanties.” – Nassau Herald

Alive with a soundscape of 18 authentic sea shanties and performed by an ensemble of nine, this highly physical adaption cuts to the core of Melville’s searing narrative and plays with the fury of a Nantucket sleigh ride. A young man seeks adventure on a whaling vessel and finds himself a pawn in an obsessive pursuit of vengeance that threatens death and destruction for all. Director Peter Amster (The  39 Steps and The Fantasticks) returns to guide the ensemble in this thrilling and critically acclaimed telling of a classic American tale.

Irving Berlin’s

White Christmas

The Beloved and Heartwarming Musical with a Score of American Standards

Based on the Paramount Pictures film

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

Book by David Ives and Paul Blake

Directed by Paul Barnes

Musical Direction by Christopher Drobny

Choreography by David Wanstreet

Co-produced with SU Drama

November 23 – December 30, 2012

“Great family fun… a holiday hit!” – St. Louis Post Dispatch

The title song alone is a holiday celebration and a reminder of a time when the simplest pleasures mattered most and having a big heart was genuinely considered a virtue. Two successful showmen join forces to help out their old army commander. Along the way they find, lose, and find romance, have plenty of laughs, and demonstrate what it means to be loyal. The score is filled with favorites—“Happy Holiday,” “Sisters,” “Blue Skies,” “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm”—and the choreography calls for plenty of tap. Winter may not deliver a White Christmas, but director Paul Barnes (The Miracle Worker) and a talented cast sure will.

August Wilson’s

Two Trains Running

Glorious Storytelling, Humorous and Politically Potent

Directed by Timothy Bond

January 30 – February 17, 2013

“Glorious storytelling…  a penetrating revelation of a world hidden from view to those outside it.” – The New York Times

Timothy Bond’s previous Syracuse productions from August Wilson’s 20th Century Cycle (Radio Golf, Fences, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) prove that this two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright is indeed the voice of a century. His dialogue soars with the music and power of operatic arias and his characters inspire great performances. In Two Trains Running, an optimistic ex-con enters the insular confines of Memphis Lee’s diner and awakens a cast of older and skeptical characters to the possibilities of a new era. Set in the turbulence of 1969, a time much like today, Two Trains Running is one of the most humorous and politically potent of Wilson’s plays.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Enchanted Woods, Romance, and Rollicking, Frolicking Comedy

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Bill Fennelly

Co-produced with SU Drama

March 6 – 31, 2013

“A celebration of life and fancy, of man and his imagination, his fate, and the brevity of his brief candle in the light of the world.” – The New York Times

In Shakespeare’s hands, magic and romance and the very midsummer madness make for intoxication, enchantment, and rollicking, frolicking comedy. Get on your mud boots and your donkey ears (is there any character more wonderfully over-the-top than Bottom?) ‘cause it’s off to the woods with four eager young lovers, a band of hapless rustics, and rival camps of puckish sprites.  “All shall be well!” Puck bellows, but it will be a myriad of magical moments and a few hours of laughter before that happens.

Good People

Sharp Humor from South Boston—A Clash of Race and Class

By David Lindsay-Abaire

Directed by Laura Kepley

April 24 – May 12, 2013

“Grandly entertaining… David Lindsay-Abaire’s best work to date.” – Slant Magazine

Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole) returns to his hometown of South Boston and captures the tangy rhythms and sharp humor of the old neighborhood for an edgy take on the state of current affairs in this 2011 Tony-nominated play. Margie (with hard g) is a single mom who just lost her job, is behind in her rent, and like many today, has zero prospects.  With nowhere to turn, she seeks out an old friend Mike, the one who got away—from Southie and from her.  What can she expect from Mike after 30 years? The journey from the old neighborhood to Chestnut Hill is fraught with twists and surprises and measured in much more than miles.  

An Iliad

An Edgy Adaptation of Homer’s Epic Story Told by a Single Poet

Adapted from Homer by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare

Translation by Robert Fagles

Directed by Penny Metropulos

Performed in The Storch Theatre

May 15 – June 9, 2013

“A sweeping, visceral theatrical event that commands attention from start to finish.” – TheatreMania.com

This remarkable interpretation of Homer’s account of The Trojan War vivifies the tale’s epic power while capturing the immediacy of a story told around an open fire. A lone poet, an ancient story-teller, weaves contemporary speech with evocative poetry to create an electrifying encounter with this profoundly resonant chronicle of a distant conflict. Director Penny Metropulos (Up, Picasso at the Lapine Agile, and Red) and actor Joseph Graves (Red) return for this taut and critically-heralded adaptation.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Syracuse Stage and Syracuse University,
in association with Ping Chong & Company and the Congolese Community of Syracuse,
present the world premiere of:

Cry for Peace: Voices from the Congo

Written by Ping Chong and Kyle Bass

with Sara Zatz

Cyprien Mihigo, Dramaturg/Cultural Consultant

In collaboration with the performers and the Congolese community of Syracuse

September 14 – 23, 2012

“Let those speak who have seen with their own eyes.” -  Congolese proverb

Based on in-depth interviews, Cry for Peace: Voices from the Congo brings to the stage five real people, including survivors and refugees from the recent Congolese civil war, members of once opposing tribes—the abductor and the violated—struggling to leave the past behind and form a peaceful community in Central New York.  A composition of interwoven personal narratives, powerful images and beautiful songs, Cry for Peace is a rich theatrical experience—a searing, moving and hopeful hymn to the power of the human spirit. From the creators of the acclaimed Tales from the Salt City.

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