Issue #165: February 1, 2006
- Lincoln Center Theater has landed a major coup … the
opportunity to present the first Broadway revival of Rodgers and
Hammerstein’s classic South Pacific. The R&H organization
feels the time is right to bring the 1949 musical back to Broadway.
Taking on directing duties is Bartlett Sher (The Light in The
Piazza) with the production scheduled for the 2007-08 season.
- Writer Marshall Brickman (Jersey Boys) will
be recognized by his peers when he receives the Writers Guild of America,
East lifetime achievement award on Feb. 4.
- Legendary director Hal Prince will take on the
musical Love Music, which is about the relationship between
composer Kurt Weill and his wife Lotta Lenya. Prince is
looking to stage a tryout later this year.
- The 1980s television Dynasty duo Joan Collins and Linda Evans begin rehearsals this summer for their upcoming revival
of James Kirkwood’s Legends. Hitting the road in September,
the show has a stop planned for Toronto. In the eighties Legends played 23 cities with Carol Channing and Mary Martin in the
starring roles … legends themselves.
- The life and times of former Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher reaches the stage this month when Foursight Theatre Company
presents Thatcher: The Musical with an all-female cast of 10. The
story looks back on the Iron Lady’s legacy and her rise from grocer’s
daughter to the most powerful woman of her day. The premiere is at the
Warwick Arts Centre at the University of Warwick in Coventry.
- Broadway lost a major playwright on January 30 when Wendy
Wasserstein died at the young age of 55 of lymphoma. Known for her works
that examined American women in late 20th century, her series of popular plays
included The Heidi Chronicles, The Sisters Rosensweig and Isn’t it
Romantic? Third, her most recent work, closed in December at
Lincoln Centre. A Tony and Pulitzer prize-winner, Wasserstein also will
be remembered for her collections of essays, a children’s book and the
screenplay for The Object of My Affection.
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