2002-03 theater season includes Sondheim musical

The Cornell Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts has announced the lineup for the 2002-03 theater season, and subscriptions are on sale.

The artists and actors at the Schwartz Center are anxious to test their talents in a season that was chosen for its combination of laughter, its timelessness and its exploration of the current questions of war and power. This enticing and challenging season features three regional play premieres, Shakespeare and a Sondheim musical.

Single ticket prices are increasing at the Schwartz Center next season, but season subscription rates are still an excellent value. Subscriptions are available at the Schwartz Center box office (open weekdays, 12:30-5:30 p.m.) or by calling 254-ARTS. Prices are $35 for students and seniors and $45 for the general public.

The season opens with the high-spirited comedy, The Miser, by Moliére. This play boasts one of the theater's most memorable characters, the avaricious Harpagon. The miser's famed stinginess sets awhirl a hilarious and surprising story about love, loyalty and money.

Cornell's is the first regional theater to premiere Betty's Summer Vacation by popular playwright Christopher Durang. Winner of the 1999 Obie Award for Best Play, this outrageous and funny show follows Betty on an unforgettable vacation to a surreal beach house filled with oddball rejects from tabloid newspapers and daytime TV.

Next, Bertolt Brecht's great historical gangster play, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, takes the proscenium stage. This farce transforms Hitler into Arturo Ui, a mobster engineering a takeover of Chicago's greengrocer trade during the Depression.

The center also will bring a full-fledged musical to its main stage. Company, with its six Tony awards, is sure to be a crowd pleaser. This popular musical follows a bachelor as he debates the pros and cons of marriage by observing the lives of five committed couples.

The main stage season concludes with perhaps the most acclaimed play in history, Shakespeare's Hamlet. A fascinating combination of ghost story, murder mystery and political intrigue, Hamlet's relevance continues undiminished.

This year, for an additional $5 on the subscription price, patrons can add the Black Box theater production of Good 'n' Plenty to their subscription series. This regional premiere is a fast-paced tale of a high school history experiment that threatens to wreak havoc on the school. Angst-ridden teens, psychedelic candy and scary teachers populate this amusing play.

Early season subscribers will receive a free Schwartz Center key ring/flashlight while supplies last. Pick up season subscription form at the Schwartz Center or call 254-ARTS to have one mailed. Online subscriptions are available at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/theatrearts