The Illusion

What is reality and what is not? In The Illusion by Pierre Corneille, adapted by Tony Kushner, a father seeks to reunite with his estranged son. When he enlists the services of a powerful sorcerer to conjure up scenes from the young man’s life, however, the provocative images that the sorcerer shows the anxious father may or may not be quite what they seem.

Tony Kushner (Angels in America) triumphantly revitalizes this 17th century theatrical fairy tale, first told by French classical dramatist Pierre Corneille in 1639, and the intoxicating result is poetic and profound, timely and transcendent, comic and moving, and a luminous paean to live theater, the celebratory theme of this ANW season.