Broadway Preview: The American Plan
Broadway Preview: The American PlanAs noted last week, Tony-winning playwright Richard Greenberg will be represented on Broadway twice during the 2008-09 Theatrical Season.
First comes Pal Joey at the Roundabout's Studio 54 this November; Greenberg will supply a new book for this classic tuner. Then, in early January comes the Broadway premiere of The American Plan, which enjoyed its West Coast premiere earlier this year at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre.
The play is included as part of the new Broadway season for the Manhattan Theatre Club's (MTC) Biltmore Theatre, with previews beginning January 2, 2009 and opening night set for January 22, 2009. Helmed by Tony-winning director David Grindley, the limited run is scheduled through March 15.
While casting is yet to be announced, MTC provides a rather veiled description:
An exciting new look at an early, acclaimed play by the Tony Award-winning author of Take Me Out. It is the Catskill Mountains in the early 1960s, and Lily Adler and her mother Eva are spending the summer across the lake from a bustling hotel where comics entertain and buffets overflow. When a handsome young stranger enters their world, the emotionally fragile Lily finds herself falling in love. But once her imperious mother learns of their relationship, lies are exposed, alliances are forged and Lily's one chance to escape her mother's control may be lost forever. Playwright Richard Greenberg continues his long association with MTC where his other New York premieres have included The Violet Hour, Three Days of Rain and Eastern Standard.In fact, it was only after taking a look at the Old Globe's information that I found much more intriguing details:
Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg (Take Me Out, Three Days of Rain) is considered one of the American theatre’s greatest living playwrights. The American Plan is his funny and intriguing look at deeply rooted double standards of America in the early 1960s. Set in an idyllic Catskills lake retreat, The American Plan tells the tale of an elegant and imperious German-Jewish refugee mother, her eccentric daughter who strains against her domineering mother’s tight leash, and the young, mysterious man who enters their lives.For more background on the play's setting, check out the Old Globe's exceptional Program Notes, which provides insights on how the Catskill Mountains became known as “Borscht Belt" -- a preferred vacation spot for Jews in the mid-1900s.
I'm a huge fan of Greenberg's work and as a subscriber to the MTC, I'll be anxious to take in this work.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:
Broadway Preview: Shrek The Musical (July 13, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Waiting For Godot (July 12, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Pal Joey (July 11, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Dividing The Estate (July 10, 2008)
Broadway Preview: 13 (July 9, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Speed-The-Plow (July 8, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Billy Elliot - The Musical (July 7, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Godspell (July 6, 2008)
Broadway Preview: All My Sons (July 5, 2008)
Broadway Preview: A Man For All Seasons (July 3, 2008)
Broadway Preview: To Be Or Not To Be (July 2, 2008)
Broadway Preview: The Seagull (July 1, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Equus (June 30, 2008)
Broadway Preview: A Tale Of Two Cities (June 28, 2008)
Broadway Preview: for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf (June 25, 2008)
Broadway Preview: [title of show] (June 24, 2008)
Broadway: What's Next (June 20, 2008)
Broadway Estate Planning (March 17, 2008)
Labels: David Grindley, First Word On New Show, Manhattan Theatre Club, Old Globe Theatre, Play, Richard Greenberg, The American Plan
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, July 14, 2008
2 Comments:
It's quite a good play and it is in print in case anybody's interested in reading it. I don't want to reveal too much but it's the kind of play that would lend itself to movie actors who want to get legit credits on their resume.
BB, Appreciate your endorsement of the play. I have an affinity towards each of the Greenberg works I've already seen, so I'm already favorably predisposed. It will be interesting to see who's cast in it.
I also noted that Kate Arrington was in the West Coast production. She was in the world premiere of Greenberg's The Well-Appointed Room at Chicago's Steppenwolf, along with Josh Charles, Amy Morton and Tracy Letts just a couple years ago -- all were superb.
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