McGovern's 'Road' to premiere at Huntington

The season also includes Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's "A Civil War Christmas" and the late August Wilson's Tony- and Pulitzer-winning "Fences," directed by longtime Wilson collaborator Kenny Leon.

"A Long and Winding Road" (Oct. 9-Nov. 15 at the Calderwood Pavilion), co-conceived by McGovern and Philip Himburg, charts the path of the baby boomer generation through songs by Bob Dylan, Carol King, and others. It is presented in cooperation with Arena Stage.

McGovern has experienced both hard-won praise and really hard times, says DuBois, which makes her show especially distinctive.

"She's an incredible woman. I mean, she wins the Grammy and a year later she's a secretary again, she's nominated for a Grammy, back to secretary," DuBois says. "She starts the show saying, 'This is for those of us born in the years 1946 to 1964.' And she ends the story talking about how the music and emotions behind the '60s movement got stalled and are actually being realized and activated today."

Fresh from receiving rave reviews in New York, DuBois directs "Becky Shaw" (Jan. 8-Feb. 7, 2010 at the BU Theatre), a dark comedy about newlyweds who set up friends on a blind date that goes horribly awry.

"Peter and I have been friends and collaborators for over a decade," says playwright Gionfriddo. "He's been with this play since the first draft asking me all the right questions and pushing me to fully realize these characters and ideas. I'm thrilled that he's bringing 'Becky Shaw' to his artistic home, the Huntington."

DuBois wants to use the show to kick off a multiyear festival of American comedy featuring talk-back sessions with audiences. Next season, he says, the Huntington will offer different styles of comedy on both the BU and Calderwood stages simultaneously.

"One thing I discovered over the past couple of years directing comedy is that the human experience is often illuminated in comedy in the most surprising ways," DuBois says. "I don't know of any other major theater in the country that's stepping back and saying let's create a festival environment around American comedy, and let's really ask the questions of what's the difference between American and European comedy styles, what characterizes it, and go all the way back to the '20s and '30s."

Leon will direct both "Fences" (Sept. 11-Oct. 11 at the Boston University Theatre), a drama about a black family dealing with prejudice in 1950s Pittsburgh, and "Stick Fly" (March 26-May 1, 2010 at the Calderwood Pavilion), about a complicated upper-middle-class black family living on Martha's Vineyard.

DuBois says Leon is uniquely qualified to explore Wilson's work as one of the great African-American voices of the 20th century and to present Diamond as one of the great new voices of the 21st century.

"We want to start a conversation that looks at these two very different lenses of class and family," says DuBois. "It's not just about the notion of diversity, but it's about the American reality; that's what we are really interested in presenting."

Vogel's "A Civil War Christmas" (Nov. 13-Dec. 13 at the BU Theatre), which made its world premiere at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven last December, weaves together narratives involving President Lincoln and his wife, an escaped slave and her daughter, and a freed slave-turned-soldier. It's set on Christmas Eve 1864. Music director Daryl Waters, from "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk" will re-orchestrate Christmas songs in this production, and DuBois plans to bring in different Boston choirs each night to carol before the show.

Two other shows are envisioned for the 2009-10 season; details are still to be announced.

Megan Tench can be reached at mtench@globe.com.