Tony Award nominee Diane Paulus, who first staged her Tony-winning revival of Hair as a concert presentation at the Delacorte prior to its Broadway return, will helm the musical that will be presented Aug. 14-16. Performances will be at 8 PM.
Sergio Trujillo (Memphis, The Addams Family) will choreograph the concerts that will feature Grammy winner Oscar Hernandez leading a 12-piece orchestra. Hernandez also served as musical director for the Broadway run of Capeman.
"I think the Delacorte is the ideal place to hear the music from The Capeman," Simon said in a statement. "It's going to be a great musical night."
"The story of The Capeman is compelling and powerful, and Paul Simon’s score is brilliant, memorable and gorgeous,” said Public artistic director Oskar Eustis in a statement. "We are delighted to offer New Yorkers the chance to experience this wonderful concert in the most beautiful theater in the city, the Delacorte."
The Capeman was most recently seen in the New York area when the Brooklyn Academy of Music reunited Simon, Hernandez and members of the original Broadway cast for a 2008 concert engagement during Simon's residency at the Brooklyn arts venue. Simon wrote the score for the doo-wop, gospel and Latin-flaired musical. With a libretto by Nobel laureate Derek Walcott, The Capeman tells the true life story of Salvador Agron, a Puerto Rican gang member who murdered two teen-agers in the late 1950s, then underwent a conversion as a poet while in prison.
Opening to mostly negative reviews, The Capeman ran only 68 performances on Broadway, earning Tony Award nominations for Best Original Score, Best Orchestrations and Best Scenic Design.
A complete cast album was recorded but never released; however, it is currently available for download on iTunes. Simon did release the album "Songs from The Capeman" featuring the Grammy winner performing songs from his musical.
Free tickets for The Capeman will be distributed in the same manner as all Shakespeare in the Park productions. The Public is also making reserved seats available for patrons wishing to donate $175 per ticket. Limited priority seating, ranging $250-$500, is also available for the Aug. 16 performance and post-performance reception. Paid tickets are limited as a majority of seats are made available to the general public at no cost.
To reserve phone (212) 967-7555. For further details visit PublicTheater.
