Adam Guettel, composer of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway musical Floyd Collins, is back in the spotlight.

His new work, Saturn Returns: A Concert, receives its world premiere Mar. 31 at The Joseph Papp Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival. Preview performances began Mar. 24. The show had been scheduled to run through Apr. 12 but has already been extended to Apr. 26.

The director is Tina Landau and the music director is Ted Sperling, both of whom worked with Guettel on Floyd Collins. Guettel has written his own lyrics for this project.

Saturn Returns is being billed as a non-narrative song cycle about the search for "spiritual meaning in a secular world."

The cast includes Vivan Cherry, Lawrence Clayton, Annie Golden (Broadway `68, filmdom's Hair), Jose Llana (Street Corner Symphony), Theresa McCarthy and Bob Stillman. Guettel, who is Richard Rodgers' grandson, received an Obie Award for the 1996 Playwrights Horizons production of Floyd Collins. The Nonesuch Records recording of the show was released in 1997. Guettel's other credits include an operatic version of A Christmas Carol that was first produced at Trinity Rep and the soundtrack for the feature length documentary Arguing the World. Four of his songs will be featured on Audra McDonald's upcoming CD for Nonesuch Records.

Saturn Returns is performed Tue.-Fri. at 8 PM, Sat. at 2 and 8 PM and Sun at 7 PM through April 12 at The Public Theatre's LuEsther Hall.

-- By Rebecca Paller and David Lefkowitz