THE WORLD PREMIERE of
James Fenimore Cooper’s



adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
directed by The Guthrie’s John Miller-Stephany
 

poster design by Kevin Sprague

Neutral Ground…Demilitarized Zone…No Man's Land

The words, the phrases, the euphemisms are the same today as they were 250 years ago. In THE SPY, the first espionage novel, we find ourselves in a territory that is ruled neither by the British army nor its Colonial rebels.  Washington's army is in a fight to the death with the King's redcoats to determine who will control the wilderness north of the New York City.

In the parlance of the day, it is called "neutral ground"—a lawless, free-fire zone, its allegiances constantly shifting among loyalists, revolutionaries, marauders and violent men and women whose murderous talents are offered up to the highest bidder. Like such 20th century settings as "Check Point Charlie" in Berlin, the neutral ground of THE SPY is a territory rife with plots and double- crosses; families torn apart and communities divided along political lines. The bloody scramble of history is written on the landscape and its people, resonating down the ages.

In this subtle and ambiguous wilderness, spies and counterspies play out their roles to achieve political goals and personal honor. No one in THE SPY—man or woman—is who he or she appears to be. Lies are sometimes told by the best of them. And the truth—even a truth that could save a life or reputation—may never be known.

Romance, adventure, disguises and the ticking clock of a coming battle all conspire to make THE SPY a very modern and vivid entertainment.

With the presentation of The Spy, The Acting Company will present Shakespeare's Henry V and continue its 35-year tradition of bringing touring classical productions, talented young actors and teaching artists into communities across America.

Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, Jesse L. Martin, Frances Conroy, David Ogden Stiers, Jeffrey Wright and Rainn Wilson are but a handful of actors whose careers have been developed by The Acting Company.  Honored by the TONY Awards for Excellence in Theater, the Company has won the Obie, Audelco, Citibank’s Excellence in Education and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. 

See for yourself what makes The Acting Company – winner of a TONY Award for Excellence in Theater the
most respected and praised touring repertory theater in America.