Matthew Bourne's new dance-meets-musical theatre work, The Car Man, will not be making its way back east following its stay in California. The presenters at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, Toronto's Hummingbird Centre and Boston's Wang Center for the Performing Arts have all canceled their scheduled runs of the production that would have played through Dec. 9.
According to a released statement, the prospective venues said, "It is with reluctance and great regret that we announce the cancellation of this spectacular show. We share in the disappointment that we know our audiences will feel because this outstanding production will not visit our cities, but we encourage people to continue their support of the arts in these difficult times."
The show's engagement at the University of California in Berkeley (Oct. 30-Nov. 3) is still scheduled to follow its run at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre (closing Oct. 28), according to press director Tony Sherwood. Ticket holders for the Chicago, Toronto and Boston engagements can request their refunds at point of purchase.
Produced by Katharine Doré for Adventures in Motion Pictures and Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre, Bourne's The Car Man, an interpretation of Georges Bizet's great opera, Carmen, premiered at the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota Aug. 22. Bourne, a Tony winner for Swan Lake, directed and choreographed the piece, subtitled "an auto-erotic thriller."
The Car Man moves Bizet's Spanish story to a small 1960's Midwestern town called Harmony where a blossoming love triangle proves quite disharmonious. As sexy and mysterious drifter Luca arrives and takes a job as a mechanic, he begins to seduce the populace starting with his boss' wife, Lana. Caught up in their web of betrayal and lust is Angelo, a shy young man whose involvement leads the story to its ultimate tragic conclusion. Terry Davis and Rodion Schedrin adapted Carmen's original score. Olivier and Tony Award-winning designer Lez Brotherston created the sets with lighting by Chris Davis.
? by Ernio Hernandez
and Christine Ehren
