The Kander and Ebb musical All About Us, based on the Thornton Wilder play The Skin of Our Teeth, will be presented at the Westport Country Playhouse in CT from April 10th through 28th, 2007.
With music by
John Kander, lyrics by the late
Fred Ebb and a book by
Joseph Stein (
Fiddler on the Roof), the musical has been known by several names: first
Over and Over, then
The Skin of Our Teeth, and finally by the present title.
Gabriel Barre (
Summer of '42, The Wild Party) will direct the show, which will be receiving its first major production in about 8 years.
All About Us, which is set in the "Now and Always," concerns Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus, as well as sexy narrator/maid Sabina--all of whom traverse the centuries in a theatrical ode to human will and resilience. The show--as
Over and Over-- fared less than successfully when in premiered at Arlington, VA's Signature Theatre in 1999, but has had several workshops since.
The original 1942 Broadway production of
The Skin of Our Teeth--directed by Elia Kazan--starred Tallulah Bankhead, Fredric March and Florence Eldridge. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The songwriting partnership of John Kander and Fred Ebb marked one of the most successful and enduring collaborations in Broadway history. Together, they penned Flora, the Red Menace, Cabaret (their first major hit), The Happy Time, Zorba, 70, Girls, 70, Chicago, The Act, Woman of the Year, The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Steel Pier, as well as The Visit
(which was presented at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago but has yet to
see Broadway). They also wrote the scores for films and TV specials
such as New York, New York, Funny Lady and "Liza with a Z." Curtains, written with bookwriter Rupert Holmes before Ebb passed away in 2004, opened at the Ahmanson Theatre on August 9th for a run through September 10th. The musical is Broadway-bound, although details have not yet been confirmed.Visit www.westportplayhouse.com for more information on the theatre.
