RLT will stage the revised 1974 version of the legendary musical Candide.

Raleigh Little Theatre will stage the revised 1974 version of the legendary Broadway musical Candide June 2-4, 8-11, and 15-18 in its Cantey V. Sutton Theatre. This new and improved version of the 1956 musical features marvelous music by Leonard Bernstein; biting lyrics by Richard Wilbur, Stephen Sondheim, and John Latouche; and a brilliant book adapted by Hugh Wheeler from the 1759 satirical novella by Voltaire (1694-1778).

"Candide is one of those things that I've always known about from when I was a kid and collecting records," says RLT director Haskell Fitz-Simons. "That famous [1957] Barbara Cook-Robert Rounseville cast recording is a classic recording. That was the first incarnation of Candide, and it was less successful than [the 1974 and 1997 Broadway revivals] although it certainly had star power."

When Candide made its Broadway debut on Dec. 1, 1956 at the Martin Beck Theatre, it featured a book by Lillian Hellman. Although it garnered five 1957 Tony Award® nominations, including a nomination for Best Musical, the show's inaugural production ran on 73 performances and won no Tonys. But the new and improved version of Candide , which premiered March 10, 1974 at the Broadway Theatre and featured a new book by Hugh Wheeler, earned eight 1974 Tony nominations and won five Tonys, including the award for Best Book of a Musical. This vivacious Broadway revival ran for 740 performances and closed on Jan. 4, 1976.

"That famous revival in 1973 at the Chelsea Theatre, which moved to Broadway, was highly reimagined," notes Haskell Fitz-Simons. "I dropped everything and made sure that I saw it; and it was just fabulous. They ripped out the whole innards of the house and made it an environmental set, as opposed to a proscenium stage, with action all around the theater. Of course, we are not able to do that [at RLT]. But it was a very, very exciting production.

Fitz-Simons claims, "Candide has been one of my favorite shows ever since. I've been looking for an opportunity to do it and, lo and behold, here it is."

He adds, "The music [in Candide ] is just brilliant. It's unmistakably Bernstein, but it's so lighthearted. It's really and operetta -- or his take on an operetta. It's almost a satirical operetta; and, of course, Voltaire's novella is equally brilliant and biting and delicious. So, the whole project is something that has just resonated with me for centuries it seems."

He adds, "One of the things about this story is that it is very hard to encapsulate. It is sort of a satire of the picaresque novel. It is a journey. Voltaire wrote it in reaction to a very popular philosophy of the period that he really loathed that espoused optimism. In fact, that is the subtitle of his novel: it's Candide, or Optimism. That philosophy espoused the notion that everything that happened happened for the best.

"As simplistic as that was," Fitz-Simons says, "I think it was in 1753 that there was a huge earthquake in Lisbon that killed thousands and thousands of people. It's roughly analogous to the tsunami [in December 2004]. Voltaire had just had enough and said, if that was for the best, I'm crazy. So he wrote this satire."

Fitz-Simons says, "Candide is about a young man named Candide [William Hennenlotter], who has been taught by his master and his teacher [Brent Wilson] that everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds. The story takes Candide through an EPIC series of misadventures. He travels the world around, from Bulgaria to Montevideo and Cartagenia; and at every turn, he is beset by disaster. His friends are repeatedly slaughtered and murdered [only to be resurrected]. 'How did you survive?' he asks. They say, 'That's another story.' So, only in a world that's for the best could these things happen. Finally, by the end of the play, he comes to the realization that only by honest labor can man hope to win respect and happiness."

Fitz-Simons says, "The [musical] play is held together by Voltaire [Brent Wilson], who narrates and plays any number of roles over the course of the evening. He also plays Dr. Pangloss, who is Candide's tutor; the venal and grasping governor of Cartagenia; a hedonistic host in Constantinople; and also the wisest man in the world: the sage at the end of the play.

"Candide is the central character," Fitz-Simons points out. "He is, as his name would suggest, an open book. He's naïve and trusting and tremendously in love with his beautiful cousin Cunégonde [Catherine Anderson]. Cunégonde's vain and self-absorbed brother Maximilian is played by Drexel Heard II, and the serving wench Paquette is played by Sandi Sullivan. The faithful Old Lady who ends up being Cunégonde's duenna, is played by Maggie Bunce. Then there is an ensemble of 16 who play about 90 other roles over the course of the evening."

In addition to director Haskell Fitz-Simons, who doubles as sound designer for Candide, the show's production team includes choreographer Nancy Rich, musical directors Julie Flinchum Bradley and Nancy Wheelan, set designer Rick Young, lighting designer Andy Parks, costume designer Vicki Olson, props master Betsy Bates, and stage manager Beth Folta.

"I think it's always a challenge to write a script from a novel," Fitz-Simons says, "although some novels adhere to the unities better than others. This one by definition is one episode after the other. It's a picaresque novel. So, we're just going from one place to the next, to the next, to the next. That's a challenge.

"Similarly, for costumes, dressing all those people for all those roles is a HUGE challenge," Fitz-Simons says. "We've had to find solutions, because they're mostly very quick changes."

He adds, "Bernstein's music is a delicious challenge; it's wonderful stuff, but it is not easy. It makes vocal demands that few scores do. Cunégonde, in 'Glitter and Be Gay,' sings a high E-flat, which is a third above high C …. In addition to that, there are modern harmonics that are difficult. There are rhythmical challenges that are difficult. We change meters about every three bars.

"Bernstein himself loved this work HUGE," claims Haskell Fitz-Simons. "He loved the entire New York Philharmonic and chorus. But these are resources that we don't have. The 1973 revival scaled it down considerably. Our cast is the same size, and our orchestra is about the same size. It's not the New York Philharmonic sound, but it's a darn good sound. [Musical directors] Julie Flinchum Bradley and Nancy Wheelan have found some great musicians, and it's a great sound. All that, and Candide comes in at under two hours, without an intermission, so plan accordingly."

Fitz-Simons says, "The set is a unit set that serves as all the places in the world. It is decorated by cartouches of antique maps that slide and reveal. It's a wonderful set. You could do any Shakespeare play ever written on this set, and a number of other plays as well."

He adds, "The lights take us through a variety of moods, from bright and innocent, through war, pestilence, plague, the Spanish inquisition, the jungles of South America, Eldorado.…

"The costumes are 18th century," says Fitz-Simons, "sort of 1750s, when the play was written, with add-on pieces to help us [change costume] for these 90 roles, with appropriate hair and trimmings and accessories."

RLT's long-time artistic director adds, "Candide is a great classic of literature. I think it stands on its own…. I think everybody has learned a great deal from working on it, and I think the audience will find it compelling and provocative as well. I don't think it's appropriate for little-bitty youngsters, because we're dealing with death and destruction, rape and pillaging -- all with a satirical eye, mind you. This is a lighthearted musical comedy, but the subject matter is a little dark."

Raleigh Little Theatre presents Candide Friday-Saturday, June 2-3, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, June 4, at 3 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, June 8-10 and 15-17, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, June 11 and 18, at 3 p.m. in its Cantey V. Sutton Theatre, 301 Pogue St., Raleigh, North Carolina. $17-$21 ($12 students and seniors), except all seats $10 June 4th. 919/821-3111 or http://www.etix.com/ticket/servlet/onlineSearch?action=nextCalendar&venue_id=279&display_month=4&display_year=2006 . NOTE 1: All shows are wheelchair accessible, and assistive listening devices are available for all shows. NOTE 2: The June 4th Sunday matinee will be audio described and American Sign Language interpreted. RALEIGH LITTLE THEATRE: http://www.raleighlittletheatre.org/performances/candide.html. INTERNET BROADWAY DATABASE: http://www.ibdb.com/show.asp?ID=2382. INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290155/ ("Live from Lincoln Center: Candide," 1986) and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0180509/ ("Bernstein Conducts Candide," 1989).

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