The Acting Company

2008-2009
The Acting Company

Here at The Acting Company we are gearing up for our next exciting season. Look for us in New York City and across the country on our 2008-2009 National Tour with William Shakespeare’s Henry V and The Spy by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper. Click on the images to discover our pages dedicated to each production .

Website Coming Soon...
The Spy
Continuing its highly praised series of commissioned new plays adapted from American literary masterpieces, The Acting Company presents The Guthrie's Associate Artistic Director - John Miller-Stephany - directing The Spy. Noted playwright Jeffrey Hatcher has written this World Premiere of the book by James Fenimore Cooper - the country's first successful novelist and inventor of the American war novel genre.
The best of Cooper's historical romances, The Spy, a tale of espionage, romance and intrigue, does what few histories have ever done fairly-present both sides of the fateful conflict. In Hatcher's riveting adaptation about the American Revolution, a family in New York Colony is torn between British loyalists and Revolutionary sympathizers. This thrilling adventure not only features the first American spy, it also skillfully weaves into the story our first double agent, a mysterious peddler whom the whole countryside suspects is a traitor working for the Crown, but who is, in fact, working for General George Washington.
At long last, this innovative genius of American literature is presented as captivating theater.

Image and Website Coming Soon...
Henry V
Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater and The Acting Company will co-produce and tour King Henry V.
Young, restless and ambitious, Henry V inherits a troubled crown and seeks to secure his position at home by turning the country's attention abroad, launching a hasty invasion of France. Shakespeare's charismatic warrior King's aggressive pursuit of the French crown earns him iconic status, uniting England and France and briefly banishing the civil strife that will long outlive him.
This Shakespearean epic follows Henry and his men through the brutality of warfare as the ragtag band confronts heavy opposition and their own destinies. Directed by Davis McCallum , the play expertly balances the thrilling heroics of battle with the painful and complex reactions of men who are sometimes unsure of the justice of their cause as an unnamed Chorus offers running commentary on their action...a rousing, fascinating story of the power of courage and the price of glory.
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends..."

THE ACTING COMPANY’S
production is part of
Shakespeare for a New Generation,
a national theater initiative sponsored by
the National Endowment for the Arts in
cooperation with Arts Midwest.

SHAKESPEAREAN
quote of the week

"O God of battles! steel my soldiers' hearts;
Possess them not with fear; take from them now
The sense of reckoning, if the opposed numbers
Pluck their hearts from them. Not to-day, O Lord,
O, not to-day, think not upon the fault
My father made in compassing the crown!
I Richard's body have interred anew;
And on it have bestow'd more contrite tears
Than from it issued forced drops of blood:
Five hundred poor I have in yearly pay,
Who twice a-day their wither'd hands hold up
Toward heaven, to pardon blood; and I have built
Two chantries, where the sad and solemn priests
Sing still for Richard's soul. More will I do;
Though all that I can do is nothing worth,
Since that my penitence comes after all,
Imploring pardon."
-Henry
Henry V, Act IV, Scene 1

TAC
over the years

1972-73
WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN
by Thomas Middleton, directed by Michael Kahn
THE LOWER DEPTHS
by Maxim Gorky, directed by Boris Tumarin

RING ROUND THE MOON
by Jean Anouilh, directed by Stephen Aaron
INTERVIEW
by Jean Claude Van Itallie
directed by Gene Lesser
THE INDIAN WANTS THE BRONX
by Israel Horovitz, directed by Gene Lesser
THE HOSTAGE
by Brendan Behan, directed by Gene Lesser
U.S.A.
by Paul Shyre and John Dos Passos,
directed by Anne McNaughton *(1973-74)
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
by Richard Brinsley Sheridan,
directed by Gerald Freedman

1973-74
NEXT TIME I’LL SING TO YOU
by James Saunders, directed by Marian Seldes
MEASURE FOR MEASURE
by William Shakespeare,
directed by John Houseman
THE THREE SISTERS
by Anton Chekhov, directed by Boris Tumarin
*(1974-75; 1975-76)

THE BEGGAR’S OPERA
by John Gay, directed by Gene Lesser
THE KNACK
by Ann Jellicoe, directed by Garland Wright
SCAPIN
by Moliere, directed by Pierre Lefevre
THE BEAR
by Anton Chekhov, directed by Boris Tumarin
THE DIARY OF ADAM AND EVE
FROM THE APPLE TREE
by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick,
directed by Gerald Gutierrez

1974-75
EDWARD II
by Christopher Marlowe,
directed by Ellis Rabb
PLAY
by Samuel Beckett,
directed by Jack O’Brien
THE ORCHESTRA
by Jean Anouilh, directed by Jack O’Brien
LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Gerald Freedman
*(1975-76; 1976-77)
THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE
by William Saroyan,
directed by Jack O’Brien *(1975-76)

1975-76
SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER
by Oliver Goldsmith,
directed by Stephen Porter
ARMS AND THE MAN
by George Bernard Shaw,
directed by Edward Payson Call
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Gerald Gutierrez
THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM
by Alfred Uhry and Robert Waldman,
directed by Gerald Freedman

1976-77
THE KITCHEN
by Arnold Wesker, directed by Boris Tumarin
THE WAY OF THE WORLD
by William Congreve,
directed by Norman Ayrton
CAMINO REAL
by Tennessee Williams,
directed by Gerald Freedman *(1977-78)
DUCK VARIATIONS
by David Mamet,
directed by Gerald Gutierrez

1977-78
KING LEAR
by William Shakespeare,
directed by John Houseman

CHAPEAU
by Alfred Uhry and Robert Waldman,
directed by Gerald Freedman
MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN
by Bertolt Brecht, directed by Alan Schneider

1978-79
ANTIGONE
by Jean Anouilh, directed by Alan Schneider
*(1979-80)
ROMEO AND JULIET
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Nagle Jackson
A VOICE OF MY OWN
by Elinor Jones, directed by Amy Saltz
BROADWAY
by George Abbott and Philip Dunning,
directed by Gerald Gutierrez *(1979-80)

1979-80
THE WHITE DEVIL
by John Webster, directed by Michael Kahn
DOMINO COURTS
by William Hauptman,
directed by Richard Hamburger
SPLIT
by Michael Weller,
directed by Jonathan Furst
ELIZABETH I
by Paul Foster, directed by Liviu Ciulei

1980-81
WAITING FOR GODOT
by Samuel Beckett,
directed by Alan Schneider *(1981-82)

IL CAMPIELLO, A VENETIAN COMEDY
by Carlo Goldoni,
directed by Liviu Ciulei *(1981-82)
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
by William Shakespeare,
directed by David Chambers and
Christopher J. Markle *(1981-82)

1981-82
THE COUNTRY WIFE
by William Wycherley,
directed by Garland Wright *(1982-83)
TWELFTH NIGHT
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Michael Langham
*(1982-83)

1982-83
TARTUFFE
by Moliere, directed by Brian Murray
PERICLES
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Toby Robertson *(1983-84)
PLAY AND OTHER PLAYS
by Samuel Beckett,
directed by Alan Schneider *(1983-84)
THE CRADLE WILL ROCK
by Marc Blitzstein,
directed by John Houseman
(Alumni Ensemble Production)

1983-84
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Michael Kahn
PIECES OF 8, EIGHT CONTEMPORARY
ONE-ACT PLAYS
directed by Alan Schneider *(1984-85)
THE CRADLE WILL ROCK
by Marc Blitzstein,
directed by John Houseman and Christopher J. Markle

1984-85
THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH
by Thornton Wilder,
directed by Gerald Freedman
A NEW WAY TO PAY OLD DEBTS
by Philip Massinger, directed by Michael Kahn
AS YOU LIKE IT
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Mervyn Willis *(1985-86)

1985-86
ORCHARDS: SEVEN AMERICAN
PLAYWRIGHTS PRESENT STORIES BY
CHEKHOV
by Maria Irene Fornes, Spalding Gray, John Guare,
David Mamet, Wendy Wasserstein, Michael Weller
and Samm-Art Williams,
directed by Robert Falls *(1986-87)
TEN BY TENNESSEE, A RETROSPECTIVE
OF ONE-ACT PLAYS BY
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
directed by Michael Kahn
(Alumni Ensemble Production)

1986-87
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Gerald Gutierrez *(1987-88)
THE GILDED AGE
by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner,
adapted by Constance Congdon,
directed by Mark Lamos *(1987-88)
ON THE VERGE OR THE GEOGRAPHY
OF YEARNING
by Eric Overmyer, directed by Garland Wright
(Alumni Ensemble Production)

1987-88
FIVE BY TENN, A RETROSPECTIVE
OF ONE-ACT PLAYS BY
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
directed by Michael Kahn
KABUKI MACBETH
by Karen Sunde, directed by Shozo Sato
THE WITCH OF EDMONTON
by Thomas Dekker, John Ford and
William Rowley,
directed by Barry Kyle
(Alumni Ensemble Production)

1988-89
LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Paul Giovanni
BOY MEETS GIRL
by Bella and Samuel Spewack,
directed by Brian Murray
THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH
by Susan Nanus, based upon the book by
Norton Juster, directed by Jennifer McCray

1989-90
ROMEO AND JULIET
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Leon Rubin *(1990-91)

1990-91
THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Charles Newell
FIVE BY TENN, A RETROSPECTIVE
OF ONE-ACT PLAYS BY
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
directed by Michael Kahn,
(Soviet and Eastern European Tour –
Alumni Ensemble Production)

1991-92
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Joe Dowling
BLOOD KNOT
by Athol Fugard, directed by Tazewell Thompson

1993-94
THE AFRICAN COMPANY PRESENTS
“RICHARD III”
by Carlyle Brown,
directed by Clinton Turner Davis *(1994-95)
A DOLL’S HOUSE
by Henrik Ibsen,
directed by Zelda Fichandler *(1994-95)
TWELFTH NIGHT
by William Shakespeare, directed by Bartlett Sher

1994-95
OTHELLO
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Penny Metropulos

1995-96
ARMS AND THE MAN
by George Bernard Shaw,
directed by Mark Rucker
KING HENRY V
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Mary Lou Rosato
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
by Richard Brinsley Sheridan,
directed by Gerald Freedman
(Alumni Ensemble Production)

1996-97
AS YOU LIKE IT
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Liviu Cuilei
THE GLASS MENAGERIE
by Tennessee Williams,
directed by Gregory S. Hurst
MUD, RIVER, STONE
by Lynn Nottage, directed by Seret Scott

1997-98
ROMEO AND JULIET
by William Shakespeare,
directed by James Bundy
LOVE’S FIRE: FRESH NUMBERS BY
SEVEN AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS
by Eric Bogosian, William Finn, John Guare,
Tony Kushner, Marsha Norman, Ntozake Shange
and Wendy Wasserstein,
directed by Mark Lamos

1998-99
TWELFTH NIGHT
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Penny Metropulos
TARTUFFE
by Moliere, directed by Mark Ax,
based on Garland Wright’s original production

1999-2000
MACBETH
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Anne Justine D’Zmura
THE RIVALS
by Richard Brinsley Sheridan,
directed by Nicholas Martin

2000-01
O PIONEERS!
adapted by Darrah Cloud from the novel
by Willa Cather, with music composed by
Kim D. Sherman,
directed by Richard Corley
THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
by William Shakespeare, directed by John Rando

2001-02
PUDD’NHEAD WILSON
adapted by Charles Smith from the novel by
Mark Twain, directed by Walter Dallas
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
by William Shakespeare, directed by Eve Shapiro

2002-03
AMERICAN DREAMS: LOST AND FOUND
adapted by Peter Frisch from the book by
Studs Terkel, with lyrics by Lois Walden,
Music by Nana Samapoulos,
directed by Rebecca Guy
AS YOU LIKE IT
by William Shakespeare,
directed by Richard Corley

2003-04
MURDER BY POE
by Jeffrey Hatcher, adapted from the stories of
Edgar Allan Poe,
directed by John Miller-Stephany
RICHARD III
by William Shakespeare, directed by Eve Shapiro

2004-05
THE TURN OF THE SCREW
by Jeffrey Hatcher, adapted by Henry James,
directed by Davis McCallum
THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
by William Shakespeare, directed by Matt August

2005-06
THE THREE MUSKETEERS
by Alexandre Dumas, adapted by Linda Alper,
Douglas Langworthy and Penny Metropulos,
directed by Casey Biggs
MACBETH
by William Shakespeare, directed by Eve Shapiro

2006-07
JANE EYRE
by Charlotte Bronte, adapted by Polly Teale,
directed by Davis McCallum

2007-08
THE TEMPEST
by William Shakespeare
directed by Davis McCallum
MOBY DICK REHEARSED
by Herman Melville, adapted by Orson Welles
directed by Casey Biggs

* Indicates that it remained in the repertory for listed seasons