Renegade Theater to Put Limited Runs of Classics on Bway

A new theatre company, dedicated to reviving classic American plays in limited Broadway runs, has been formed.

Renegade Theater was developed by Steve Van Zandt, a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band who is also known for his acting work on "The Sopranos," as well as by his wife Maureen, and Broadway producers Nina Keneally and Jamie Lightstone (both of Good Vibrations), Variety has reported.

Maureen Van Zandt, who previously founded the With Out Papers theater company, will serve as Renegade's artistic director. The company plans to mount the plays of Clifford Odets, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, and to later expand into more contemporary playwrights. According to the article, Renegade "hopes to lure TV and film stars to its shows with engagements of eight to 12 weeks, plus a communal artistic agenda that will solicit thesps on dream projects and collaborators."

Van Zandt also plans for those actors to commit their performances to the camera. "Our ultimate goal is to film them, so these plays can be preserved and possibly broadcast. We'll do a short run on Broadway, and the cast will commit to filming it," she said. Each production would be capitalized at around $1.5 million. The company has recently begun talking to Broadway theatre owners about production prospects.