The Miracle at Naples

Huntington Theatre Company presents the world premiere of David Grimm’s The Miracle at Naples, directed by Peter DuBois.

In the play, Don Bertolino Fortunato and his motley band of traveling commedia dell’arte players arrive in a Neapolitan town square. It’s September 19, 1580, and the locals are awaiting the annual miracle: the liquefaction of blood the of the city’s patron saint. But the miracle won’t occur, and therefore neither can the feast of San Gennaro nor Don Bertonlino’s troupe’s performance. As the locals and the travelers anticipate the satisfaction of the miracle’s occurrence, their passions ignite and various combinations of lustful lovers romp through the town piazza seeking pleasure and discovering the many forms of love.

Grimm sets his play as the era of traveling troupes is coming to a close and Italy’s first playhouses are being built to house written dramas. The Miracle at Naples explores and rejoices in the varied forms of both theatre and love — the scripted and the improvised.