In terms of life, the universe and theatre my motto is "different is good." So you'd think I'd be thrilled about the passing of the torch at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. And I am... really... truly... sort of.  Okay, I'm torn.

The production set to begin previews on October 21^st  (opening November 18^th)  is A Free Man of Color - a new play by John Guare. How great is this? I mean Guare and Lincoln Center Theatre are forever linked in the most idyllic of ways -- his The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, Four Baboons Adoring The Sun and Chaucer in Rome, were all mounted there, and with the exception of Chaucer..., they each received Best Play Tony nominations.

This latest Guare, described as "a freewheeling epic set in 1802 New Orleans" has a wealthy Don Juan "of color" at its central character, so it's not hard to let one's imagination run creatively amok when mulling over casting potential. (You can bet I'm looking forward to that press release.)

Still, bringing in the latest Guare means losing a two-year old classic: LCT's staggeringly awesome revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, directed by Bartlett Sher. According to the powers that be, the Tony-winning production will end its record-breaking run at the Vivian Beaumont at the August 22^nd Sunday matinee. And I can't imagine that it was an easy decision to cut the musical -- a frequent sell-out -- loose. The longest-running Broadway revival of any Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, the show will have played 1,000 performances and 37 previews by the time it sails off.

Having seen South Pacific, twice, I am in a sort of mourning state at the prospect of its leaving. I understand LCT is currently laying plans for staging the production in London and Australia, but that doesn't assuage me much. I know, I'm projecting -- I still have half a year to see it a few more times - and I will.  I definitely need to get it out of my system if I'm going to be able to turn my attention to Guare... and new... and very, very different. And yet, I doubt I'll be able to totally Wash that Musical Right Out of My Hair. Ah, well, there's always the CD.

            Further down the Vivian Beaumont road -- that would be spring 2011 -- comes the American premiere of War Horse - a work adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford after a novel by Michael Morpurgo. Directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, the show features life-sized puppet horses, and reunites the London production's original design team which includes puppetry by Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler for Handspring Puppet Company. 

Incidentally, after two sell-out runs at the National Theatre, the show moved to London's West End in March, 2009 where it continues to play to capacity houses. As for its NYC debut, the show is set to begin previews on March 17, 2011 for an April 14^th opening.

     And in case you haven't heard, it appears another coveted London import may well be heading to Broadway: Evita, starring Elena Roger in the title role. Roger -- the Argentine actress who had British critics swooning when the musical opened at London's Adelphi Theatre in June of 2006.  Nothing definite here, but fingers crossed as this would mark the first Broadway revival of the multi-Tony-winning musical since 1980 when it sent Patti LuPone's career off into the stratosphere.

As for the role of Che Guevara (Mandy Patinkin, as you may recall, was cast opposite LuPone), there has been some buzz citing Ricky Martin, but again, nothing definite so we'll have to wait and see whether the pop icon will be Livin' La Vida Loca on the Great White Way... or not.

Posted on March 02, 2010 - by

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