At a New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) meeting held Feb. 9, Dirty Blonde insiders were told that there is no definitive word on a theatre for the proposed transfer of the show. Production sources said that no developments should be expected until next week, when a subsequent meeting is planned.
As reported earlier, speculation about the chances for a transfer for the NYTW hit Dirty Blonde has been intense. Producers are discussing such possibilities as the reopening of Criterion Center's Stage Right, or finding either an unnamed Off-Broadway house or a suitable Broadway house, such as the Helen Hayes or the Golden.
Delays notwithstanding, production sources have confirmed that talks or negotiations are in progress.
Originally scheduled to close Feb. 6, the show extended to Feb. 13; this extension marks the definite end of the show's run at NYTW.
"It's extended, but the 13th is a final date," a production source told Playbill On-Line. Dirty Blonde must make way for the next production at NYTW, the Christopher Ashley-directed production of playwright Jean-Marie Besset's What You Get and What You Expect. Dirty Blonde was conceived by playwright Shear together with director James Lapine. The story involves two single New Yorkers who meet at Mae West's grave site. The play then goes on to trace the couple's changing relationship while simultaneously tracking West's career.
Dirty Blonde's cast includes Kevin Chamberlin, playwright Claudia Shear and Bob Stillman.
The play marks Shear's return to NYTW, where she triumphed in 1993 with her one-woman "tour de résumé" Blown Sideways , a 64-job search for employment. That earned her an Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award nomination. Shear has numerous film, television and theatre credits and is widely published.
The show is helmed by James Lapine, who collaborated with Stephen Sondheim as both librettist and director on the Broadway productions of Passion, Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George. With William Finn, he collaborated on Off-Broadway's March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, which were later produced together on Broadway as Falsettos, and on A New Brain.
Set designs are by Doug Stein, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by David Lander and sound design is by Daniel Moses Schreier.
Tickets -- if available -- run $12 for students with full time ID, $28 for seniors and $55 for all others. Dirty Blonde plays at NYTW at 79 E. 4th St., between Bowery and Second Avenue. For more information, call (212) 460-5475.
