We’ve acquired discounted tickets to the extended run of The Score at Shakespeare Theater, and we invite you to join us for a theater outing to see this highly acclaimed play featuring Brian Cox.
Powerhouse Golden Globe-winning actor Brian Cox (HBO’s Succession) is directed by the legendary Trevor Nunn (Les Misérables, Cats) in The Score, which pits creativity against the whims of power.
In spring 1747, Johann Sebastian Bach (Cox) reluctantly visits the court of Frederick II, Europe’s most ambitious and dangerous leader. When the king presents Bach with a musical puzzle, the composer must confront how to rise to the challenge without forsaking his own morality. Brian Cox brings a “volcanic presence” (The Times (UK)) to Bach in the play’s only American engagement.
Set against the backdrop of mid-18th-century Europe, this compelling drama interrogates the profound philosophical and artistic tensions between the aging, devout composer Bach and the formidable, Enlightenment-driven monarch Frederick the Great. The piece animates the volatile friction between absolute power and creative genius, probing questions of faith, legacy, and intellectual freedom, and asks a critical question: How does art survive when despots rule?
Runtime: Approximately two hours and 45 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.
Harman Hall
610 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004