The Old Vic, headed by artistic director Kevin Spacey, has announced three shows that will be staged in 2006. They include the politically-charged drama The Soldier's Tale by Igor Stravinsky and Charles Ramuz, Arthur Miller's Resurrection Blues directed by Robert Altman and a production of Eugene O'Neill's drama A Moon for the Misbegotten, which will star Spacey.
The Soldier's Tale will run at the prestigious London theatre from January 26th through February 4th, 2006. In the new adaptation by Abdulkareen Kasid and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Stravinksy's (best known as the composer of The Rite of Spring and The Firebird) and Ramuz' tale of a soldier who trades his soul for bottomless riches will be accented by references to Iraq. Iraqi actors and musicians, as well as British, will take part in the show, which will leave for New York (as a Culture Project production) after its UK run and then set off on an international tour.Miller's Resurrection Blues will hold the Old Vic stage from February 14th through April 22nd. Helmed by Altman (M*A*S*H, Nashville, Short Cuts), the play is an unrelenting look at the media and politics as a New York production company shoots a revolution--and an execution--in an unnamed third-world South American country. The play was first produced at the Guthrie Theatre in Minnesota in 2002; it received respectable but mixed reviews.
Next, Spacey will headline a production of O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten in September of 2006. The show will be directed by Howard Davies, who previously directed Spacey in the Broadway revival of O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh; the latter received a Tony Award nomination. In the play, Josie Hogan, the tart-tongued, talked-about daughter of a farmer in Connecticut, falls in love with his alcoholic friend and landlord Tyrone, played by Spacey.
Spacey, who won a Tony for Lost in Yonkers but who is best known for his film work, recently appeared opposite Jennifer Ehle in the Old Vic production of The Philadelphia Story. He will next take on the title role of the doomed king in Shakespeare's Richard II (Sept. 14th-Nov. 26th). Also, Ian McKellen will star in the pantomime Aladdin this holiday season.