With Terrence McNally's Corpus Christi still causing waves at the Manhattan Theatre Club, downtown's New York Theatre Workshop has its own gay revisionist version of a Biblical tale in Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, beginning previews Nov. 14 for a Dec. 10 opening.
The show was supposed to start previews Nov. 13, but performances were delayed a day because the director and performers needed another day of tech rehearsals, thus pushing up the final dress rehearsal from the 12th to the 13th, and the first preview from the 13th to the 14th. Production spokesperson Richard Kornberg told Playbill On-Line (Nov. 13), "It's a very complicated set, and since it's a fast-moving comedy, it has to be timed just right."
The Most Fabulous Story is Rudnick's retelling of the Judeo Christian creation myth, pondering what it would be like had God started out by making Adam and Steve, rather than Adam and Eve. Adam and Steve (along with Jane and Mabel) take us on a journey from Mesopotamia to a K Mart on Christmas Eve as they struggle for faith and search for God.
Rudnick's comedy made its debut this summer at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. As he did at Williamstown, frequent Rudnick collaborator Christopher Ashley will direct. Rudnick's comedies include Jeffrey, The Naked Eye, Mr. Charles and I Hate Hamlet, as well as scripts for the films In & Out and Addams Family Values.
The NYTW cast features Obie Award winner Joanna Adler (Benita Canova), Jenny Bacon, Becky Ann Baker, Peter Bartlett, Juan Hernandez, Lisa Kron (101 Humiliating Stories), Orlando Pabotoy, Amy Sedaris, and Alan Tudyk (Bunny Bunny). The set design for Fabulous is by Michael Brown, costumes are by Susan Hilferty, lighting design is by Donald Holder with sound by Darron L. West. The New York premiere of Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told begins previews at New York Theatre Workshop Nov. 13, for a Dec. 10 opening. For tickets ($45) or more information call (212) 460-5475. NYTW will continue its CheapTix program - holding a limited number (usually 10-16) of tickets and put them on sale two hours before each performance for $10 each.
-- By Sean McGrath and David Lefkowitz
