THEATRE + COMEDY

Classical Theatre Company will be performing their second Mainstage production of the 2010-2011 season: Candida by George Bernard Shaw. The production will run three weeks: January 27th-Febuary 13th at the TBH Center.

Set in the suburbs of London, Candida is a charmingly humorous look at the bumbling Reverend Morell, a Christian Socialist, and his enchanting young wife, Candida. Their seemingly perfect marriage is rocked when a young houseguest and romantic poet, Eugene Marchbanks falls in love with Candida and makes every unabashed effort to steal her away from the Reverend.

The arrival of Candida's uncouth father, together with the presence of Prossy, Reverend Morell's smitten secretary, and Lexy, Morell's equally adoring protégé, makes for an abundance of large personalities in quite the full house. Amidst this chaos, with the tender hearted innocence of first love and the safety of a stable marriage both at stake in the balance, Candida must choose between her husband and her houseguest.

Questions pertaining to husband and wife are as old as the concept of marriage itself. Written in 1898, during an age of radical pressures including the movement for women's suffrage, Candida fiercely asks the question, "What does a woman truly desire from her husband?"

There are a limited number of plays in the Classical Cannon that tote a woman as the title character. Amidst all the Hamlets, Othellos, Oedipus, and Tartuffes, it is refreshing to see a Candida once in a while.

With female directors almost as rare as title characters CTC is proud to have Associate Artistic Director Julia Traber at the reins for this production. "Candida essentially is about a woman who has to make an important choice and I think it's exciting that she makes that choice in front of us!" says Traber, "Today, women are still struggling with similar choices: career, family, children, independence, love, etc."

Amidst the themes of husband and wife Shaw cleverly weaves into the tapestry of the play the tenets of Fabian Socialism - the basis for today's British Labour Party, and with the term "Socialism" being tossed around so frequently nowadays, it seems only fair to show its true origins.

The production asks a lot of its actors who must burst into fits of tears as often as they engage in bouts of laughter. Local actress Shannon Emerick plays the title character. Most often seen on the stage at Main Street Theater, Ms. Emerick is a seasoned actress, a Yale School of Drama graduate and a mom. “I think she [Candida] is a modern woman. She is very forward thinking for her time, very grounded, she's not swayed by superficial things. I love plays, like this one, that have an idea at the center of them where people are wrestling with themselves, plays where people are forced to confront serious emotions,” says Emerick.

The Classical Theatre Company is dedicated to boldly re-envisioning classical drama on the stage, in the community, and in the classroom through engaging and enlightening plays - bringing them new life and relevance while maintaining the integrity that the works deserve.

LOCATION:
Talento Bilingue de Houston
333 South Jenson Dr
Houston, TX 77003