Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Andre Bishop, Artistic Director, and Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer) has announced plans to produce the New York premiere of A MINISTER'S WIFE, a new musical adapted from George Bernard Shaw's Candida by Austin Pendelton, with music by Joshua Schmidt and lyrics by Jan Tranen during its 2010-2011 season. A MINISTER'S WIFE, which was conceived and will be directed by Michael Halberstam, will begin performances Thursday, April 7, 2011 and opening on Thursday, May 5, 2011 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street).
LCT's first Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater production for next season will be announced at a later date.
A MINISTER'S WIFE had its world premiere last spring at Writers' Theatre in Glencoe, Illinois. Based on an early 1898 version of Candida (
George Bernard Shaw revised the work in 1930) A MINISTER'S WIFE explores the fires burning beneath the surface of a seemingly ordinary marriage: The Revered James Morrell and his wife, Candida, are happily married - or at least they think - until a romantic young poet enters their life, turning their world upside-down.
Austin Pendelton is an actor, director and playwright whose recent plays include Booth, Orson's Shadow and Uncle Bob. His recent New York directing credits include Uncle Vanya (
Classic Stage Company),
Michael Weller's Fifty Words (MCC) and
Barbara Eda-Young's Lillian Yuralis (La MaMa).
Joshua Schmidt composed the music for the multi-award winning musical, Adding Machine. His other off-Broadway credits include the music for LCT'S current production of When The Rain Stops Falling, Fifty Words (MCC), Crime and Punishment (59E59 Theatres) and Candida (
Jean Cocteau Repertory). He is an Artistic Associate at Writers' Theatre.
Jan Tranen's credits include the lyrics for the one-act opera, Night in Sarajevo and the book and lyrics for the musicals, Crazy Mary, based on the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, and Steadfast the One Legged Tin Soldier, a family holiday musical.
Michael Halberstam is the artistic director and co-founder of Writers' Theatre where he has directed more than 30 productions including Look Back In Anger, Benefactors, Othello and The Duchess of Malfi.
LCT productions scheduled for the 2010-2011 season include Women on the Verge of A Nervous Breakdown, a new musical based on the film by Pedro Almovódar, with book by
Jeffrey Lane, music and lyrics by
David Yazbek and direction by
Bartlett Sher which will begin performances Saturday October 2 at the Belasco Theatre, A Free Man of Color, a new play by
John Guare, directed by
George C. Wolfe, which will begin performances Thursday, October 21 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater and, in a co-production with the
National Theatre of Great Britain,
War Horse, based on the novel by
Michael Morpurgo and adapted by
Nick Stafford with direction by Mari
Anne Elliott and
Tom Morris, beginning performances Thursday, March 17, 2011 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. .
Lincoln Center Theater is currently celebrating its 25th year with a season consisting entirely of new work. This fall LCT presented the New York and world premieres of
Nathan Louis Jackson's Broke-ology, directed by
Thomas Kail,
Sarah Ruhl's In The Next Room or the vibrator play, directed by
Les Waters, and Anne Marie Healy's What Once We Felt, directed by
Ken Rus Schmoll. This spring, LCT is producing the American premiere of
Andrew Bovell's When The Rain Stops Falling, directed by
David Cromer through April 18 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater and the LCT3 productions of Graceland a new play by
Ellen Fairey, directed by
Henry Wishcamper (May 3 - May 29), and On The Levee a play with music, conceived and directed by
Lear deBessonet, play by
Marcus Gardley and music and lyrics by
Todd Almond (June 14 - July 10). LCT's Tony Award winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, directed by
Bartlett Sher, continues its record-breaking run in the Vivian Beaumont Theater through Sunday, August 22.
