I had this ambitious project pencilled in for this season some time ago, so for me the question wasn’t necessarily whether or not to recover our lost projects, but whether or not I wanted to wait any longer for the War of the Roses. Frankly, I’m sick of waiting. We will be bringing back most of the titles that were lost, but for this moment: I really wanted to do the kind of ambitious season that only a fringe company like New Muses can do in this region. There are certainly advantages to being small and flexible.
You’ve probably never seen the Dukesbay Theater stripped to the bare walls before. This series, this saga of five plays and nearly 400 characters, tells a story of glorious scenery, magnificent battles, and luxurious appointments. But the roots, the text written to be performed before a restless crowd, to stride upon a wooden O, not unlike our own, lives on its own. As it was hundreds of years ago, there are no barriers between the actor and the audience, no walls to hide behind. Our wooden O becomes a grassy plain, or a lavish court, or the fields of France. The actors watch from the shadows, but the characters ascend the boards. Thank you for joining us. Please enjoy the War of the Roses.