2010 marks Emily Mann’s 20th anniversary as the artistic director at the McCarter Theatre Center. During that time, Emily Mann – already a well known playwright – has turned the McCarter into an internationally recognized center for creative work in the theater. In 1994, the McCarter received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre – just after Mann was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. With the support of the McCarter’s board and its growing audiences, Mann continued to guide the theater during her recovery, overseeing a growing number of world premieres and the construction of a second stage, the Berlind, in 2003. One of the defining characteristics of Mann’s tenure has been the playwrights who have chosen the McCarter to develop and premiere their new work, including Edward Albee, Christopher Durang, Athol Fugard, Beth Henley, and Nilo Cruz. The McCarter is also known for innovative productions of classics including works by Moliere, Chekov, Shakespeare, and Shaw.
Emily Mann has continued to both write and direct while at the McCarter. The 1995 season featured “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years,” written and directed by Mann. “Having Our Say” went on to Broadway, a CBS television production, and a national tour. Now, “Having Our Say” has opened the McCarter’s 2009-2010 season – the first time a play has been revived during Mann’s leadership. As Emily Mann says, “One of the things I wanted the 20th anniversary season to do was look at where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going. And so I thought we should pick one of our shows that people loved and that we felt was a great artistic success and that mattered. And “Having Our Say” without a doubt is one of the peak experiences of the past 20 years as a production.”
State of the Arts has featured Emily Mann and the productions mounted by the McCarter Theatre over the past 20 years and clips from many of these productions are featured in the story, dating back to “The Glass Menagerie,” the opening play of Mann’s first season. Emily Mann talks to State of the Arts producer Susan Wallner about the challenges and rewards of balancing her creative energies, and about the importance of theater to her life. Wallner also speaks with Mann’s friends and colleagues, including playwrights Edward Albee and Christopher Durang, Princeton University scholar Cornel West, McCarter producing director Mara Isaacs, and the stars of the new production of “Having Our Say,” Yvette Freeman and Lizan Mitchell.
where to see
"Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years”
September 11-October 18, 2009
McCarter Theatre
91 University Place,
Princeton, NJ
609.258.ARTS (2787) • www.mccarter.org
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Emily Mann, Artistic Director, McCarter Theatre
(L-R) Yvette Freeman and Lizan Mitchell in Emily Mann’s Having Our Say, the Delany Sisters’ First One Hundred Years at McCarter Theatre.
Photo credit: T. Charles Erickson
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On NJN1: Thursday, October 8, 2009
@ 8:00 pm
Preview
