Performances

Past Events

Performance: The Beaux Stratagem

August 1, 2013 until September 1, 2013, Schiller Park, Columbus, OH

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A comedy by George Farquhar, adapted by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig.

In the summer of 2004, the Estate of Thornton Wilder asked Ken Ludwig to complete a play that Wilder had begun in 1939 and never finished. It was an adaptation of The Beaux’ Stratagem, a classic piece of late Restoration comedy written in 1707 by the British playwright George Farquhar (author of The Recruiting Officer). Wilder had made a brilliant start – he’d finished about half of it – and Ludwig was delighted to be asked to complete the rest.

The resulting play received its world premiere production at The Shakespeare Theatre of Washington, D.C. from November 7 to December 31, 2006, directed by Michael Kahn. The adaptation
will be published in book form by the Theatre Communications Group.

The play, set in 1707 in Lichfield, England, tells the story of two young bucks who, having spent all their money by living too well, leave London and roam from town to town in search of love and fortune. In order to find a wealthy heiress for at least one of them, they pose as master and servant – exchanging roles from one town to the next. In Lichfield, Aimwell is the master and Archer the servant, and there they meet the lovely, wealthy Dorinda and her equally desirable sister-in-law, Mrs. Kate Sullen. They set their caps for these women, but problems abound. Kate is married to a drunken sot who despises her; the innkeeper’s saucy daughter, Cherry, has set her cap for Archer; Dorinda’s mother, Lady Bountiful, mistakenly believes herself to be a great healer of the sick, and she guards her daughter like a dragoness; and a band of brigands plans to rob the house of Lady Bountiful that very night, putting all schemes in jeopardy.

This is a play in the great tradition of Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer and Sheridan’s The Rivals and The School for Scandal. It is classic, formal, robust and hilarious.

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Performance: Our Town

July 19, 2013 until August 17, 2013, Theater at Monmouth, Monmouth, ME

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Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Our Town, presents a timeless tale of the universal experience of being human. Teenagers George and Emily meet, fall in love, and marry; enduring both the joys and sorrows of everyday life. Wilder transforms their ordinary story into a poignant and captivating exploration of mortality and the wonder of living. Mark S. Cartier plays the Stage Manager who invites us to the mythical Grover’s Corners in celebration of the play’s 75th anniversary.

For more information, please visit the 2013 schedule on the Theater at Monmouth website.

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Performance: The Matchmaker

July 12, 2013 until July 28, 2013, Indiana Festival Theatre, Bloomington, IN

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Wilder’s uproarious farce about love and money stars the irrepressible busybody, Dolly Gallagher Levi. Through Dolly’s subtle machinations, several unlikely couples come together to find happiness in 19th-century New York.

The Indiana Festival Theatre is the professional summer theatre of Indiana University’s Department of Theatre and Drama in Bloomington, Indiana. This summer the IFT will present Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker on the following dates: July 12, 13, 14(matinee), 17, 19, 20(matinee), 21, 23, 25, 27, 28. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m., and matinees begin at 2:00 p.m.

Visit the Theatre and Drama area of Indiana University’s website for forthcoming details.

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Performance: Our Town Opera

July 6, 2013 until July 28, 2013, Central City Opera, Central City, CO

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Thornton Wilder’s classic American play has been transformed into an opera and tells the story of the ordinary and extraordinary events in the lives of those in Grover’s Corners, a small New Hampshire town in 1901. The story delves into three critical components of the human experience – daily life, love/marriage and death/loss.

For further details, please visit the Our Town Opera page on the Central City Opera website.

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Performance: Hello, Dolly!

June 28, 2013 until September 8, 2013, Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, CT

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One of the greatest musicals ever written lights up the Goodspeed stage for the very first time. You’ll grin from ear to ear as Dolly Levi meddles in many a person’s affairs while at the same time seeking her own “half a millionaire.” Jerry Herman’s rousing score is bursting with joy and tunes like “Put On Your Sunday Clothes,” “Before the Parade Passes By,” and “It Only Takes a Moment.” Sparkling, dazzling, delightful—one musical that you cannot miss!

Hello, Dolly! is a musical based on Thornton Wilder’s 1955 farce, The Matchmaker.

For more information, please visit the Hello, Dolly! page on the Goodspeed Musicals website.

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Performance: Our Town

June 26, 2013 until July 20, 2013, King's Head Theatre, 115 Upper Street, Islington, London

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Following their acclaimed double-bill of two classic Thornton Wilder one-acts, The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden and The Long Christmas Dinner, Savio(u)r is pleased to be returning to the King’s Head Theatre with their production of Our Town for the play’s 75th anniversary in its first major London revival in a generation.

After winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1938, this seminal American play by Thornton Wilder has been performed somewhere in the United States every night since. Following a generation of villagers in a small New England town—through their daily lives, loves, marriages, and deaths—it is as famous for its portrayal of turn-of-the-century America as it is for its unique theatricality and timeless themes. Directed by Off-West End Award nominee Tim Sullivan and featuring a cast assembled from eight different countries around the world, the streets of tiny Grover’s Corners stretch globally to underscore the true universality of Our Town.

For more information, please visit the King’s Head Theatre website or the Savio(u)r Theatre Company website.

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Performance: The Beaux’ Strategem

June 5, 2013 until June 30, 2013, Everyman Theatre, Baltimore, MD

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By George Farquhar
Adapted by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig

A raucous romp through the trials and tribulations of love, money, and marriage, The Beaux’ Stratagem follows the adventures of Archer and Aimwell, two young gents who are short on cash and long on schemes. The duo travel from village to village in search of wealth and women. When they happen upon the lovely Dorinda and the equally beautiful Mrs. Kate Sullen, they devise a plan to woo and win them. But, as in every great love story, obstacles abound! A hysterical Restoration comedy, in the style of The School for Scandal, this delightful adaptation by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig is a true comic gem.

For more information, please visit The Beaux’ Strategem entry on the Everyman Theatre’s website.

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Performance: Our Town

May 1, 2013 until May 19, 2013, Phoenix Theatre, Phoenix, AZ

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Described as “…the greatest American play ever written,” the audiences follow the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry and live out their lives. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938, this true American classic is reimagined for Phoenix Theatre’s stage, complete with Americana music from the turn of the 20th century. Our Town speaks to the core of our American values and reminds us that no matter the generation, we are all searching for the same things. This look at ordinary people living extraordinary lives has never been more extraordinary.

For more information, please visit the Our Town page on the Phoenix Theatre website.

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