John Guare's FOUR BABOONS ADORING THE SUN, with music composed by Stephen Edwards, takes place in Sicily. Two American archeologists, recently married, are set to enjoy a working holiday with the children from their previous marriages. They want to spend their time teaching their kids about the mysteries and splendors of ancient civilizations and mythology. They want to enjoy their newfound love and unite their kids into one happy family. The play begins as a domestic comedy and then moves into a world that is dark, deep and mythic. Guare wrote a play about the repercussions of obsession and idealized love. Philip, Penny and their children go through an extraordinary, almost fantastical journey together through the use of words, music, sound and visual effect. The creators were aiming for an evening that fuses all the elements that make up theater. FOUR BABOONS ADORING THE SUN—the title of an Egyptian sculpture from 2500 B.C. (now in the Louvre)—revealed an author at the peak of his imaginative powers with a new theater piece that contained many of the trademarks of his past work, all rolled into one: wit, a text that begins in the personal and then goes way beyond, use of music and lyrics, and a preoccupation with lost lives and past civilizations.
February 22 - April 19, 1992
