Rashad, Rubin-Vega, Murphy and Others Enter LaChiusa's House of Bernarda Alba

Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of André Bishop, Artistic Director, and Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer) will present the world premiere production of BERNARDA ALBA, a new musical with words and music by Michael John LaChiusa and direction and choreography by Graciela Daniele, adapted from the play The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca. BERNARD ALBA begins previews Saturday evening, February 11 at 8pm at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street). Opening night is Monday, March 6 at 6:45pm.

Adapted from Federico García Lorca's final play which is widely acknowledged as a masterpiece of 20th century dramatic literature, BERNARDA ALBA is the story of a newly-widowed mother (to be played by Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad), who enforces her iron will on her large household, only to have her daughters (to be played by Nikki M. James, Sally Murphy, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Saundra Santiago) overwhelm her tyranny.

The cast of BERNARDA ALBA will also feature Yolande Bavan, Candy Buckley, Laura Shoop and Nancy Ticotin and will have sets by Christopher Barreca, costumes by Toni Leslie-James, lighting by Stephen Strawbridge, orchestrations by Michael Starobin and musical direction by Deborah Abramson.

Composer/lyricist Michael John LaChiusa and director/choreographer Graciela Daniele are frequent collaborators whose past LCT productions include Marie Christine, Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Hello, Again. Ms. Daniele, an Associate Director of Lincoln Center Theater, also directed and choreographed LCT's productions of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's Dessa Rose and William Finn's A New Brain and Elegies: A Song Cycle. Mr. LaChuisa is currently represented off-Broadway with his new musical See What I Wanna See at the Public Theatre and Miss Daniele is currently directing and choreographing Chita Rivera A Dancer's Life opening on Broadway next month.

Phylicia Rashad, who will be making her Lincoln Center Theater debut in BERNARDA ALBA, won the Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun, and last season was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean. She began her career in the theater, appearing in such Broadway musicals as Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death, Dreamgirls and The Wiz, before starring opposite Bill Cosby in the highly popular TV series The Cosby Show and its follow-up Cosby. Her other Broadway credits include Jelly's Last Jam and Into The Woods.

Now in its 21st season, Lincoln Center Theater is currently presenting the on-going run of its Tony Award-winning production of the Craig Lucas-Adam Guettel musical The Light in the Piazza at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, Wendy Wasserstein's new play Third, directed by Daniel Sullivan at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater and Edward Albee's Seascape, directed by Mark Lamos, on Broadway at the Booth Theatre. This spring Lincoln Center Theater will celebrate playwright Clifford Odets' centenary with a revival of the playwright's classic Awake and Sing!, directed by Barlett Sher, on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre (previews begin Thursday, March 23, opening Monday, April 17) and the world premiere of Richard Greenberg's new play The House in Town, directed by Douglas Hughes (previews begin Thursday, May 11, opening Thursday, June 15).