Huntington Takes Another Run At 'Candide'

12:00

September 23, 2011

Cheryl Stern and Lauren Molina in the Huntington Theatre Company's "Candide." (T Charles Erickson/Courtesy Huntington Theatre Company)

When Leonard Bernstein unveiled the score for his "Candide," critics threw just about every superlative possible at the legendary composer.

The show, however, was a complete flop. That's where Boston's Huntington Theatre Company comes in.

The company is staging a new production of "Candide." Though the operetta has been re-staged and re-worked again and again, this one is different. This one has a book written by Mary Zimmerman, a Chicago-based Tony Award-winning playwright and director.

Zimmerman's adaptations of "The Odyssey", "Arabian Nights", and "Metamorphoses", have proven her to be a writer of sufficient intelligence and whimsy to enliven even the dustiest of classics. That makes her a good fit for the star-crossed "Candide."

Guest:

Mary Zimmerman, director, "Candide"

This segment aired on September 23, 2011.