John Doyle announces 2020-2021 season at Classic Stage Company

CSC will present new stagings of A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Island, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, and the New York premiere of Ten Cents a Dance.

John Doyle, Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company, has now revealed details of his upcoming 2020-2021 Off-Broadway season.

In fall 2020, Mr. Doyle will direct a new production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Synopsis: "A Midsummer Night's Dream is Shakespeare's beloved, effervescent tale of love and chaos. Mischievous fairies, quarreling lovers, and a floundering amateur acting troupe take center stage in this delightful tale of joy and romance that famously—and with timeless relevance—declares, "Lord, what fools these mortals be.""

CSC will follow this in winter 2021 with a third installment of its repertory series, to be helmed by emerging directors. CSC will present new productions of The Island, devised by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona, and Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman (translated by Allan Baker) in repertory.

The Island is "set in the jail where Nelson Mandela spent the majority of his 27-year political imprisonment on Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town. The play tells the story of two cellmates rehearsing Sophocles'& Antigone for a prison concert. As their lives unnervingly echo the world of this Greek tragedy, the men find solace and strength in their burgeoning friendship."

Kiss of the Spider Woman is "set in Buenos Aires in the 1970s and portrays the relationship between two prisoners—in this case, one imprisoned for his political beliefs, and the other for his sexuality—offering a provocative and tender look at the intersection of humanity and politics. The characters form an intimate bond that transcends the walls of their cell."

Finally, CSC concludes its 2020-2021 season at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater in spring 2021 with the long-awaited New York premiere of Mr. Doyle's Ten Cents a Dance, featuring the music of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, which he will also direct.

Synopsis: "The unforgettable music of Rodgers and Hart, whose sublime lyrics and melodies highlight the Great American Songbook, provides the inspiration for Ten Cents a Dance. In this innovative production, the love affair between a piano player and a taxi dancer is told through the artistry of six actor-musicians as a dazzling and haunting elegy on the power of memory and music."

Ten Cents a Dance staged its world premiere at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2011.

Exact dates, casting and creative team information for all productions will be announced at a later date.

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