Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's musical exploration of celebrity and personal tragedy, Floyd Collins, makes its Washington DC-area premiere Jan. 4 at Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA.

Gordon Greenberg directs the musical retelling of the real-life tale of Collins, who became trapped in a Kentucky cave in 1925, sparking an international media event. Ken Roberson provides the musical staging and Jon Kalbfleisch and Kim Grigsby are music directors. Official opening at the intimate, 138-seat playhouse is Jan. 10. Performances continue to Feb. 13.

The cast includes Rich Affannato (Les Miserables on Broadway) as Floyd, and Will Gartshore (Broadway's Parade) as his brother, Homer. Also in the company are Patricia Pearce Gentry, Jason Gilbert, David T. Grimes, Ty Hreben, John J. Kaczynski, Garrett Long, Dwayne Nitz, Michael Sharp, Tom Simpson, Scott Sedar and Jim Zidar.

The 1996 musical played Off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons, under Landau's direction (she also penned additional lyrics). A cast album and resident stagings around the U.S. helped earn the show a cult status. Guettel is the grandson of musical theatre legend Richard Rodgers.

Tickets to the Signature staging are $30. There is no performance Jan. 11. Signature is at 3806 Four Mile Run Drive in Arlington, VA, off I-395 in Shirlington. Call (703) 218-6500 for tickets.

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Signature artistic director Eric D. Schaeffer (who helmed Putting It Together) is AWOL for a while: He's putting together the new musical, The Witches of Eastwick, in London, for Cameron Mackintosh.

-- By Kenneth Jones