arts & life

theater

Bunny has its world premiere

at the Canadian festival,

taking its place among a

stellar lineup.

Bonnie Jordan in A Chorus Line

The T

Stratford
Season

132 May 26 • 2016

PHOTO BY DON DIXON

he 64th season of the
Stratford Festival, run-
ning through Oct. 30, features
two productions with music by
Jewish-American composers — A
Chorus Line by the late Marvin
Hamlisch and A Little Night Music
by Stephen Sondheim. The
drama All My Sons, by the late
Jewish playwright Arthur Miller,
also will be presented. Here, a
complete rundown of the sea-
son.
• As You Like It by William

Shakespeare. Set in
Newfoundland, this version of
a romantic comedy filled with
surprises asks for audience par-
ticipation. Through Oct. 22.
• All My Sons by Arthur
Miller. A long-held secret shat-
ters a family’s dreams. Through
Sept. 25.
• Macbeth by William
Shakespeare. A military hero and
his wife plot to seize the throne
of Scotland. Through Oct. 23.

Hannah Moscovitch

Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer

H

annah Moscovitch will be
reaching her 38th birth-
day during this season of
the Str
Stratford Festival in Canada. So
th main character in Bunny,
will the
the pla
play Moscovitch has written
com
on commission
for the theater
compa
company.
Mos
Moscovitch,
who will be spend-
ing a l large part of the Stratford
season working with cast and crew
dev
to develop
the debuting produc-
h parents with an academic
tion, has
bac
background.
So has Sorrel
(n
(nickname
Bunny), the main
c
character
portrayed by Maev
B
Beaty.
And Moscovitch has con-
fr
fronted
personal sexual choic-
es. So has Sorrel, as acted out
during the unfolding of this new
roman comedy being staged July
romantic
29-Sep 24.
29-Sept.
“To some degree, Bunny pres-
ents a very exaggerated version of
me, ” M
Moscovitch says in a phone
conver
conversation
from her home in
Canad “There’s nothing auto-
Canada.
biogra
biographical
in it. Everything is
fiction but I am talking about
fiction,
i s like to have grown up
what it’
in my generation and contended
c
with choices,
in particular sexual
choice ”
choices.

• S Shakespeare in Love, based
on the screenplay by Marc
Norman and Tom Stoppard and
adapted by Lee Hall. A muse
ends writer’s block for young Will
Shakespeare. Through Oct. 16.
• A Chorus Line by James
Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante
with music by Marvin Hamlisch
and lyrics by Edward Kleban.
Competing dancers share their
life stories. Through Oct. 30.
• The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis as

PHOTO BY DON DIXON

Hop
Over To
Stratford

Emphasizing comedy represents
a turn in focus for Moscovitch,
who is known and has received
awards for very serious work. This
Is War, for instance, addresses the
psychological effects of battle as
faced in Afghanistan. East of Berlin
explores the issues affecting the son
of a former Nazi doctor addressing
the nature of his father’s crimes.
“It’s a great pleasure to write
something that’s whimsical, sexy
and funny,” Moscovitch says. “I
like to work with anything where
there’s a moral complexity, and that
exists in Bunny. The characters
behave well and badly, sometimes
in the same moment, with a fram-
ing that is a lot lighter.
“It’s a coming-of-age story: one
woman followed through high
school, college and into her late
30s. Over the course of her life, she
often has a choice to make between
two men. Which man should she
be with?
“The character shows a strong,
critical mind, but she’s self-depre-
cating and ironic. She is beautiful,
a little bit odd and a little bit of an
anti-hero.”
There also is the suggestion of
Jewish family life.
“It’s not explicitly stated in the
play, but if you are like me, you
know it’s a Jewish family,” the
playwright explains. “The style of
humor is very Jewish in my mind.”
Moscovitch, whose father is
Jewish but whose mother is not,

Scott Wentworth in
John Gabriel Borkman

dramatized by Adrian Mitchell.
In this tale of imagination, four
youngsters travel through a
wardrobe to the land of Narnia.
Through Oct. 29.
• A Little Night Music by
Hugh Wheeler with music and
lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
Lovers, old and new, get caught
up in summer romance. Through
Oct. 23.
• Breath of Kings – Rebellion
by William Shakespeare as
adapted by Graham Abbey. A