Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble presents Pirandello's Henry IV August 1-5

RIPTON, Vt. — The Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble, under the direction of Alan MacVey of the University of Iowa, will present Tom Stoppard’s version of Pirandello’s Henry IV August 1-5 at the Burgess Meredith Theatre on Middlebury College's Bread Loaf mountain campus in Ripton.

Angela Brazil of Providence, R.I., plays Matilda and Jonathan Fried of New York plays the title role of Henry IV.

Henry IV by Luigi Pirandello is a psychological mystery by one of modern drama’s most celebrated playwrights. Like a Rubik’s Cube or a series of doors that open onto other doors, the play explores a day in the life of a man who believes he is the German emperor, Henry IV.

The play was first performed in 1922 and immediately was hailed as a masterwork. It was recently translated and adapted by Tom Stoppard, author of Shakespeare in Love, Arcadia and many other popular films and plays. Funny, surprising, intellectually engaging and mysterious, Henry IV has something for everyone.

The story begins as two of Henry’s old friends arrive with a doctor who will examine him to see if he may be coming out of his madness. In a strange performance, Henry enters as a penitent and astonishes everyone with his mixture of confusion and clarity. Further surprises are in store for both characters and audiences as the play goes on.

This production is presented by the Acting Ensemble, an Equity theatre company in residence at Middlebury College's Bread Loaf School of English in Ripton.

For more than 20 summers, the Ensemble has presented challenging plays for the campus and the local community. Henry IV is under the direction of Alan MacVey, who is also chair of the theatre arts department at the University of Iowa.

The Burgess Meredith Theatre at the Bread Loaf mountain campus is on the north side of Route 125 in Ripton, behind the Bread Loaf Inn.