Research Guides
Arabian Nights by Mary Zimmerman and Powys Mathers
Arabian Nights was first produced by the Lookingglass Theatre Company, and opened on September 22,1992. It was directed by Mary Zimmerman.
Cast:
Scheherezade Jenny Bacon
Jester and others Mark Brodie
Greengrocer and others David Catlin
Ishak of Mosul and others Thomas J. Cox
Madman and others Lawrence E. DiStasi
Shahryar and Aziz Christopher Donahue
Butcher and others Christine Dunford
Sympathy the Learned and others Laura Eason
Perfect Love and others Joy Gregory
Boy and others Doug Hara
Clarinetist and others David Kersnar
Harun al-Rashid and others Phil Smith
Dunyazade and others Heidi Stillman
Abu al-Hasan and others Andy White
Pastrycook and others Temple Williams
Slave Girl and others Meredith Zinner
Designers: Allison Reeds and Michael Lapthorn
Lighting Design: Kenneth Moore
Musical Consultant: Bruce Norris
Stage Manager: Anastasia Congdon
Select Production History
1992 Lookingglass Theatre Company at Chicago Filmmakers
1994 Lookingglass Theatre at Manhattan Theatre Club, New York
1997 Lookingglass Theatre Company at Steppenwolf Studio, Chicago
1997 Lookingglass Theatre in association with Actors Gang Theater, Los Angeles
1997 Lookingglass Theatre at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
2009 Lookingglass Theatre Company in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Water Tower Water Works, Chicago
Select Publication History
Zimmerman, Mary and Powys Mathers. Arabian Nights. Northwestern University Press, 2005.
Select Reviews (links are to full-text articles; UW-restricted)
Brantley, B. (1994, Mar 21). A classic of storytelling as a force for good. New York Times, pp. 1.
Canby, V. (1994, Mar 27). 'The arabian nights'. New York Times, pp. 232.
Christiansen, R. (1992, Sep 29). Looking glass' `Nights' weaves a delightful tapestry of tales. Chicago Tribune, pp. 18.
Christiansen, R. (1994, Mar 21). New 'Arabian Nights' casts a familiar spell. Chicago Tribune, pp. 14.
Gener, R. (1994, March 29). Cameos. Village Voice, pp. 98.
Simon, J. (1994). No brass ring. New York, 27(14), 73.
Stuart, J. (1994, Mar 21). An `Arabian nights' frolic on broadway. Newsday, pp. 0-B9.
Weiss, H. (1992, Sep 28). Arabian nights' dances with wit, exotic charm. Chicago Sun - Times, pp. 29.
Select Bibliography
Monographs
Demastes, W. W. and Iris Smith Fischer. Interrogating America through theatre and performance. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Abstract: Essay on Metamorphosis.
Fliotsos, A. and Wendy Vierow. American women stage directors of the twentieth century. Urbana and Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Excerpt: Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote, "Ms. Zimmerman has orchestrated her ensemble into a seamless narrative of recital, song and carefully stylized movements in which stories endlessly beget other stories, like the boxes within boxes in a Chinese puzzle toy" (1994, C18). (pp. 441-442)
Friedman, S. Feminist theatrical revisions of classic works : critical essays. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2009.
Abstract: Essay on Metamorphosis.
Loweth, J. The Director's voice: Twenty interviews, v.2. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2012.
Excerpt: My original mounting of The Arabian Nights was prompted by the run-up to the first Gulf War, when I saw a news report about how many children Muslim women tended to have in Iraq, and how they expected to lose a lot of them to disease and violence. The clear implication was that Iraqi women don't attach themselves to their children in the same way that we do. I was young, but I could clearly see what was going on: they were diminishing the humanity of the Other so that dropping bombs on them would feel acceptable. (p. 442)
List of Published Mary Zimmerman Plays
Metamorphosis. Northwestern University Press, 2002.
Arabian Nights. Northwestern University Press, 2005.
The Odyssey. Northwestern University Press, 2006.
Argonautika : the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts. Northwestern University Press, 2013.
The White Snake. Northwestern University Press, 2013.