ROUNDABOUT BLOG

I am pleased to announce three productions for our 2012-2013 Season. We will make our return to musicals with The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Studio 54, directed by Scott Ellis and starring Chita Rivera. In addition, Sam Gold will direct a revival of William Inge’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Picnic at the American Airlines Theatre, and Scott Ellis will return to direct the world premiere of The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin at the Laura Pels Theatre, a play by Steven Levenson.

It is a thrill to have three diverse productions, fulfilling every facet of our mission.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood
This production will be our first musical revival since opening Anything Goes last year, and I am excited to see this eccentric comedy with a Roundabout favorite, Chita Rivera, center stage. Chita was nominated for a Tony when she was last at Roundabout in Nine, and I am sure she will be wonderful in this production. I am also glad to have Associate Artistic Director Scott Ellis, following up Harvey with a very different show in the very same theatre, bring us Rupert Holmes’ mad-cap adaptation of Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel.

Picnic
Last produced on Broadway by Roundabout in 1994, Picnic will offer the kind of timeless revival Roundabout has always been known for. Associate Artist Sam Gold will trade in the cramped Midlands apartment of Look Back in Anger for a quiet neighborhood in small-town Kansas. I have no doubt that Sam will bring a fresh perspective to this classic American masterpiece.

The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin
Steven Levenson will follow in our newest tradition of graduating artists from the Underground upstairs to the Laura Pels Theatre with the commissioned play, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin. I can’t wait to share the incredible work that Steven has done. With the guiding hand of Scott Ellis, who we are keeping very busy, I know this new play will make an incredible impression.

These three productions will give our audience a chance to see the full breadth of what Roundabout is capable of, as well as continuing the great tradition of providing an artistic home for today’s most exciting artists at all stages in their careers.

See you at the theatre,

Todd Haimes, Artistic Director
Roundabout Theatre Company