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From the Director Abigail Adams Gotthold Ephraim Lessing wrote Nathan the Wise in 1778, Germany. He set the action in 1192, Jerusalem. Edward Kemp did a new translation for the Chichester Festival in England, 2003. We perform it now in the fall of 2009 here in Malvern, Pennsylvania to begin our 35th Anniversary Season. Why this play? Hardly anyone has heard of it. Never mind, we have reasons; good ones. Everything about Nathan the Wise — its themes, scope, relevance to current affairs, its eccentric form (not quite a comedy, not quite a tragedy), the design challenges it presents, and the ensemble it requires — expresses who we are as a Theatre, demonstrates what we value, and celebrates our hopes for the future. It is the perfect choice to celebrate the triumphs and throes of becoming 35. Most critics would argue that Nathan the Wise pleads for religious tolerance. Lessing made a parable of the German enlightenment that presents a utopian vision of people co-existing despite ethnic, religious, and cultural differences in a world overflowing with different pathways to the truth. We agree with those critics. First and foremost, though, Nathan the Wise insists on the importance of friendship and the deep need we all feel for families — for the family we’re born into and for those we make with our love and work. This theme informs every aspect of our production, beginning with the cast. Guests and company, from near and far, we value our relationships with every one. First the guests: David Strathairn, known to most of you for his films (Passionfish, Goodnight, and Good Luck, The Bourne Ultimatum, etc.), last seen at People’s Light in Sally’s Gone, She Left Her Name in 1999. David has maintained a friendship with People’s Light for over twenty years. Roslyn Ruff, recent Obie Winner, has worked with us several times beginning with In the Blood in 2003, and has sandwiched Nathan in between starring roles in two productions at New York Theatre Workshop. Brian Anthony Wilson, no stranger to film and television, first came to People’s Light in 2001 to play Alexandre Dumas in Les Trois Dumas and most recently played Refrigerator John in Eggs. And Luigi Sottile, who may be familiar to audiences from his work at the Lantern Theatre and with Azuka Theatre, makes his first appearance on our stage in Nathan. He’ll join us later this season for the holiday Panto and King Lear as well. Saige Thompson is both guest and family. She began her company career at age six, playing Nora’s youngest child in A Doll House; she has taken a break from her successful television and film career to return home. Nathan includes four senior members of our resident artistic ensemble — the soul of People’s Light: Stephen Novelli, who has played countless roles from Hamlet to The Father in Six Characters in Search of an Author, and will be directing The Secret of Sherlock Holmes later this season; Kathryn Peterson, a sought-after actor in Philadelphia currently on the tenure track at Arcadia University, and writing our 5th Holiday Panto; Peter DeLaurier, teacher, director, adapter, and leading actor (Sherlock himself); and Graham Smith, The Miser and Sir Toby Belch among others, and now preparing to play King Lear later this season. We’ve assembled a Nathan design team of company and long-established colleagues, and added a new friend, set designer Wilson Chin. This mix creates a web of connection that provides the different points of view, the trust, and the imagination essential to what we value as a Theatre and that finds eloquent expression in the themes and actions of the play. 5