Award-winning composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim stated that his new musical, a collaboration with playwright David Ives, will likely be produced Off-Broadway by the Public Theater in 2017.
Representatives for the Public Theater could not confirm the 2017 production, but stated, 鈥淲e are happily developing the Bu帽uel project with Stephen Sondheim and hope to present it in the near future but no set date has been confirmed.鈥�
The Public Theater previously staged the world premiere of Sondheim and John Weidman鈥檚 Road Show in 2008.
Sondheim revealed the news during a talk back at the Glimmerglass Festival this past weekend.
The project, said Sondheim, is two acts, the first based on Luis Bu帽uel鈥檚 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), the second The Exterminating Angel (1962). The musical, Sondheim said, is about 鈥渢rying to find a place to have dinner.鈥� The first deals with interruptions to dinner, the second is about 鈥減eople who have dinner and can鈥檛 leave,鈥� which 鈥渋s my cheerful view of the world today.鈥�
Sondheim said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e in touch with the Bu帽uel estate 鈥� we will have commercial musical rights,鈥� referring to The New York Times鈥� review that morning of Thomas Ades鈥� opera version of The Exterminating Angel which premiered at the Salzburg Festival last week. Ades, Sondheim said, had 鈥渙pera rights鈥� to the movie, adding, 鈥淚 will not hear any more about (the opera version) except what I read in The Times today鈥�(the musical version) will be own style, my own voice.鈥�
Sondheim also alluded that another A Little Night Music is 鈥渃oming up,鈥� but that he 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 talk about it.鈥�
