Geoff Packard and Lauren Molina in the Huntington Theatre Company's CANDIDE. Directed and newly adapted by Mary Zimmerman. Playing 9/10-10/16 at the BU Theatre. huntingtontheatre.org. Photo © T Charles Erickson

Candide, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Richard Wilbur, Adapted by Mary Zimmerman, Huntington Theatre Company, 9/10/11-10/13/11, http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/season/production.aspx?id=10114.

Reviewed by Leah White

(Boston, MA) Wow.  It’s hard to know where to begin when discussing Huntington Theatre Company’s Candide.  Mary Zimmerman’s new adaptation of this revered and much revised musical is staggering.

Based on Voltaire’s 1759 novella, “Candide, Or Optimism,” Candide was first produced as a musical in 1953 by the genius Leonard Bernstein.  Unfortunately, although he had the beginnings of a musical masterpiece, the show was not received well.  Reworked for decades, director and adapter Zimmerman has created a cohesive, brilliantly staged, beautifully performed work of art. Continue reading →