David Ives Returns to STC with The School for Lies

 

DAVID IVES RETURNS TO THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY WITH THE SCHOOL FOR LIES IN THE 2016-2017 SEASON

Washington, D.C. — Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) announces the return of playwright David Ives with The School for Lies in spring of 2017. The Tony Award-nominee pairs once more with Artistic Director Michael Kahn as director, the team that previously created the highly-lauded French “trilogy” of The Liar, The Heir Apparent and The Metromaniacs at STC.

“We could not resist the opportunity to bring a favorite of audiences and of mine back to Washington—David Ives, with his hilarious hit The School for Lies,” says STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn. “This adaptation of Molière’s The Misanthrope is as biting as it is clever, and I am thrilled to direct this merging of two great comic minds.”

In this Baroque buffet, Molière’s ruthless French truth-teller Alceste becomes Frank, an aristocrat who despises hypocrisy—and, frankly, doesn’t mind telling you so. His chief delight a well-aimed barb, Frank wreaks havoc in a world of pompous suitors and extravagant ladies, hurling abuse and affection with equal gusto as he vies with admirers for his beloved Celimene.

Ives and Kahn return to old stomping grounds in this uproarious update of one of the greatest masterpieces of French comedy. Outrageous gags and vicious couplets strike a hilarious balance of class and crass in this classic collision of Molière’s biting satire and Ives’s modern wit.

The School for Lies first premiered at New York’s Classic Stage Company in 2011. It has had several successful productions since, including a run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2012. Kahn’s production at STC will play in the spring 2017 slot that was previously announced for Women Beware Women.

 

ABOUT THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY

Recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award®, the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) is the nation’s leading premier classical theatre company. Today, STC is synonymous with artistic excellence and making classical theatre more accessible to audiences in and around the nation’s capital.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Kahn and Executive Director Chris Jennings, STC’s innovative productions inspire dialogue that connects classic works to the modern human experience. The Company focuses on works with profound themes, complex characters and poetic language written by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and the playwrights he influenced in order to preserve and promote classic theatre—ambitious, enduring plays with universal themes—for all audiences.

A leader in arts education, STC has a stable of initiatives that teach and excite learners of all ages, from school programs and adult acting classes to accessible community programming like play-relevant discussion series and the Free For All. For the past twenty-five years the Free For All program has offered an annual remount of a popular production completely free of charge to all audience members.

Located in downtown Washington, D.C., STC performs in two theatres, the 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre and the 774-seat Sidney Harman Hall. In addition to STC productions appearing year-round, these spaces also accommodate presentations from outstanding local performing arts groups and nationally renowned organizations. The Company has been a fixture in the vibrant Penn Quarter neighborhood since 1992.