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When John Turturro approached American Repertory Theater artistic director Diane Paulus about collaborating on a production of Eugène Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros”…Paulus was immediately intrigued.

“These doppelgänger stories capture the ways in which the human capacity for self-discovery is such a gift and such a weapon all in one,” [playwright Jen Silverman says]. “There’s always the question of, ‘Do I know who I am, and what happens when I discover something about myself I didn’t know? In many ways, that is Nina’s trajectory.””

With its focus on dance, Black Swan was an obvious fit for the stage. The challenge was transforming a psychological thriller into a musical.

“[Thom] Sesma said he is “so excited” for audiences to see “Black Swan,” which he called an “emotional thriller” that is “not like any other Broadway musical” he has ever seen or of which he has been a part.”

“We really tell [Nina’s] story through dance, and through the body, and seeing the experience of her body on stage,” [said associate director Benita de Wit]. “Anything heightened, anything going to emotional extremes, I think tends to translate well to the stage.”