COMIC MYSTERIES (MISTERO BUFFO) Set for Theater Emory, 9/27-30

Theater Emory opens its 2012-2013 "Provocative Tales: Eccentrics, Beasts, & Misfits," with Dario Fo's lively, street-theater style comedy "Comic Mysteries (Mistero Buffo)," translated by Ed Emery (September 27-30) in the Theater Lab of the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts.

Dario Fo, a Nobel Prize winning Italian playwright, performed his "Mistero Buffo" as a solo piece for over three decades. For this production, Theater Emory is adapting the play for a company comprised of both students and professionals. Some scenes are performed by a single actor, others are duets, and still others involve the whole company of performers.

Pantomime, music, and physical theater complement a text derived from Mediaeval and Renaissance sources. "Fo's adaptation of these ancient words will be our anchor," says Donald McManus, director, "but the company will work together to develop an original approach, style, and set of references for the provocative, funny, and sometimes intensely emotional scenes. Theater Emory's version redirects the satire from Italy to America, underscoring shared absurdities in religious hypocrisy and systemic inequality."

Performances are September 27-29 at 7 p.m. and September 30 at 2 p.m. in the Theater Lab of the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. Tickets ($18 general admission; $14 discount category members; $6 Emory students) are available at the Arts at Emory box office at 404-727-5050 or arts.emory.edu. For more information on Theater Emory, visit theater.emory.edu.

Photo credit: Ann Borden