University theater boasts unique season

STRIKE A POSE--The International Theatre Program goes Rochester with its October production of George Etherege's classic Restoration comedy The Man of Mode. Pictured here (left to right) are cast members Anthony Bagnetto, a junior; freshman Andrea Shaye; and sophomore Claire Heath. The play focuses on the 17th-century notorious rake the Earl of Rochester.

In the fall, the International Theatre Program presents two plays that tell the story of the lecherous but complicated Earl of Rochester. Written three centuries apart, the works give audiences an opportunity to see the same subject matter refracted through the mores of the times.

George Etherege's The Man of Mode, premiering this month, is the first Restoration play ever presented by ITP. It will be followed by The Libertine by Stephen Jeffreys, which takes the 20th-century tack of delving into the Earl's inner nature. Though The Libertine was commissioned by London's Royal Court Theatre to be performed in tandem with The Man of Mode, the works are rarely seen together. Rochester audiences will have that opportunity though in December, when the plays run alternate nights in repertory. The productions will be directed by ITP artistic director Mervyn Willis.

An original production of Homer's The Iliad, directed by ITP associate director Nigel Maister, will have its world premiere at the University in the spring. Adapted from an award-winning translation by Robert Fagles, a renowned classicist at Princeton University, the work will be performed in two parts, each presented on alternate evenings. On selected weekends both parts will be presented back-to-back, with an extended dinner break in between.

For more information about these upcoming productions, check the Currents calendar.

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