American Repertory Launches Rich Season

The 20th season of the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) promises both classic and world premiere productions.

Two preseason productions, Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, and A.R.T. Artistic Director Robert Brustein's Nobody Dies on Friday, wrap up this weekend.

The regular season's lineup follows:

The Marriage of Bette and Boo by Christopher Durang.

Bette and Boo should never have gotten married. Boo is an alcoholic, Bette has dead babies, their in-laws are gibbering sociopaths, and as for their priest . . . he thinks he's a strip of fried bacon! The Marriage of Bette and Boo is Christopher Durang's own anarchic, autobiographical family album come to life. Savage, heartfelt, and wickedly funny, the production -- under the direction of Marcus Stern -- will forever change the way we look at our loved ones. Hasty Pudding Theatre, Oct. 16-Nov. 8.

Phaedra, by Racine, translated by Paul Schmidt.

One of the greatest of all tragedies, Phaedra is the masterpiece of French neoclassical drama. In only a handful of scenes, extraordinary in their passion and concentration, Racine retells the fateful story of the queen of Athens who falls desperately in love with her stepson Hippolytus. In a superb new adaptation, Paul Schmidt reveals the dramatic intensity and stylistic brilliance of this compelling portrait of forbidden desire. This production will mark the A.R.T. debut of the imaginative director Liz Diamond. Loeb Drama Center, in repertory Nov. 27-Jan. 12

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

An unsettling, ambiguous investigation into the nature of prejudice and alienation, and the uncomfortable relationship of commerce and morality, The Merchant of Venice juxtaposes high farce and dramatic intrigue with tragedy and some of Shakespeare's most sublime poetry. Andrei Serban, who directed last season's hilarious The Taming of the Shrew, returns to give this controversial play his own inimitable touch. Loeb Drama Center, in repertory Dec. 11-Jan. 22.

Valparaiso (world premiere) by Don DeLillo.

Valparaiso is an engrossing new play by award-winning author Don DeLillo (White Noise, Libra, Underworld), whose play The Dayroom also premiered at the A.R.T. Written in searing, hallucinatory prose, Valparaiso deals with a man who, having taken the wrong plane to a mysterious destination, finds himself the obsessive focus of interviews and talk shows. This experience leads him to profound revelations about the nature of his self and our culture. A.R.T. Resident Director David Wheeler will direct. Loeb Drama Center, in repertory Jan. 29-March 17.

The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Robert Brustein.

Halvard Solness is not a trained architect but a design impresario who stops at nothing to maintain a monomaniacal self-image. Having built a career on the rotten scaffolding of a colleague's crushed dreams and his own wife's disappointment, Solness battles inner demons of remorse even as he continues to feed his own ravenous drive for success. When a beautiful stranger arrives to collect on a decade-old debt, Solness instinctively tries to seduce her. Is she to be yet another casualty -- or the wrecking ball that will finally bring down the towering ego of the Master Builder? Robert Brustein joins forces with an exciting young talent, Kate Whoriskey, to direct his new adaptation of this lyrical, visionary masterpiece. Loeb Drama Center, in repertory Feb. 12-March 21.

Charlie in the House of Rue (world premiere) by Robert Coover. This project matches the talents of director Bob McGrath (Alice in Bed) and award-winning author Robert Coover with a team of filmmakers, composers, and designers. Part nostalgic tribute to The Tramp and the silent film era, part postmodern reflection on Charlie Chaplin's times and our own, Charlie in the House of Rue will combine live action, film, slides, scrims, voice/sound sampling, and live music to create a unique, not-to-be-missed world-premiere theatrical event. Hasty Pudding Theatre, April 1-25.

The Cripple of Inishmaan (New England premiere) by Martin McDonagh.

This ingeniously funny, suspenseful, and moving play centers on Billy, a disabled boy living on a barren Aran island off the Irish coast in the 1930s. Billy's parents died at sea when he was a baby, and he has been raised by two soft-hearted foster aunts. Relentlessly ridiculed by the other islanders, "Cripple Billy" (as he is known) seizes a chance to escape his confined life on Inishmaan when an American film crew arrives to make a documentary on a nearby island. Scott Zigler, associate director of the A.R.T. Institute, will direct this production. Loeb Drama Center, May 14-June 13.

Tickets are $23 to $55. Call the A.R.T. for information and performance listings at 547-8300 or visit the Website at http://www.amrep.org.