Lorenzaccio

Alfred de Musset's 1832 play depicts Lorenzo de Medici, the 16th-century Florentine nobleman who killed his tyrannical cousin but did not establish a republican government afterwards and was forever disgraced by a debaucherous past. "Impressive. A sleek, stirring adaptation ... LORENZACCIO is a civic tragedy, charting the cruel decline of a formerly free city-state ... Recounted by ... playwright John Strand with clarity and directness, Musset's story of a society cowed by and despairing over its political leadership seems an apt one to tell just now. Its bitter conclusion is designed as a final dagger to the spirit ... LORENZACCIO speaks to our time, loud and clear." -Peter Marks, The Washington Post "Inherently dramatic, the stakes being so high and the game so dangerous. [Yet] humor still finds its way to the surface through Strand's script ... LORENZACCIO may be a play for our time in the way that it was in 1833. But whether we choose to see it in a modern light, the play is a masterpiece for all times." -Margaret Lawrence, The Star-Exponent "The play connects electrically and viscerally to our times ... Splendid, powerful and affecting ... Strand hits just the right mark in this almost grand guignol tale of power, politics, murder, courage and betrayal in Renaissance Italy." -Gary Tischler, The Georgetowner "If only George W Bush could have seen the gripping 19th-century French drama LORENZACCIO before being sworn in as commander-in-chief. Musset's play centers on the assassination of a tyrant. There's an occupying army detested by its citizenry. And there's the utter lack of a day-after plan once the repressive regime has been toppled, plunging the country into chaos. Sound familiar?" -Mary Carole McCauley, The Baltimore Sun "French playwright Alfred de Musset's LORENZACCIO has long been a fixture in French theater but the 1833 play is seldom performed in the U S. One chief reason is the absence of an English translation that addresses its unwieldy structure. Consider the problem fixed in this nicely accessible version from playwright John Strand. A welcome addition to American theater of one of France's cultural pillars." -Paul Harris, Variety