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A Tale of Two Cities to Debut in Florida this October
By: BWW News Desk Mar. 05, 2007
It's just been announced that Jill Santoriello's A Tale of Two Cities, which has seen a few delays throughout it's creative process, has now announced its official world premiere at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. Previews are set to begin on October 13th, with the show opening on October 19th and running through November 18th. The show's director, Michael Donald Edwards is also the Asolo's producing artistic director.
Thommie Walsh (My One and Only) has been assigned the job of choreographer, while sets will be handled by Tony Walton (Guys and Dolls, Grand Hotel, Pippin), lighting by Christopher Akerlind (The Light in the Piazza) and costumes by David Zinn (Bach at Leipzig). Michael Donald Edwards was announced as the show's director after a months-long search that followed the withdrawal of previous director David H. Bell. Edwards has won acclaim for his work as a director of both theatre and opera.
Based on the internationally revered novel by Charles Dickens, this theatrical first is being produced with the musical's Broadway producing team, Russell-Sharpe Productions, Inc. (Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe) and Sharon A. Fordham (Fordham Entertainment Marketing, LLC). General Management for the show is provided by Town Square Productions, Inc.
"Set against the epic backdrop of the French Revolution and based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities is a sweeping musical about injustice, vengeance and the redemptive power of love. When Dr. Manette is released from the French Bastille after 17 years, he must be resurrected from the brink of madness by his daughter, Lucie. In England they meet two very different men: the exiled French aristocrat, Charles Darnay, whom Lucie marries, and the drunken cynic, Sydney Carton. Soon family secrets and political intrigue combine to draw Lucie and her family back to Paris. At the height of the Reign of Terror, the musical finds an unlikely hero in Carton, inspired by love to make an extraordinary sacrifice," as the show is described in concert notes from last year.
