By Adam Hetrick
02 Jul 2008

Alice Ripley

Tony Award winner Mark Rylance will host the benefit concert Variations on Shakespeare: An Evening of Songs Inspired by the Bard at New World Stages Aug. 4.

Joining Rylance for the evening of Shakespeare-inspired songs will be Alice Ripley (Side Show, Next to Normal), Tony winner Christian Hoff (Jersey Boys), Anthony Rapp (Rent), Michael Arden (The Times They Are A-Changin') and Tom Cavanagh (Urinetown, "Ed"). Additional names are expected to be added in the coming weeks.

Igor Goldin will direct the 8 PM concert, which features musical direction by David Andrews Rogers. Musical selections will include songs from West Side Story, The Boys from Syracuse and Kiss Me, Kate.

The evening will benefit the campaign to transform the Castle Williams fortification in New York Harbor into a contemporary Globe Theater for New York audiences. Host Rylance, a Tony winner for his work in Boeing-Boeing, formerly served as artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe in London.

The mission of a New Globe has yet to be authorized or endorsed by the National Parks Service, though ongoing support from the public and elected officials is gaining momentum in the hopes of swaying the NPS's position.

The planned theatre – a contemporary take on Shakespeare's Globe – would seat 1,200 and offer 400 "groundling tickets" for people standing on the ground below the stage. The New Globe also intends to create a resident acting company for the cultural center that would offer views of Manhattan and New York Harbor.

Tickets, ranging $50-$150, are available by visiting newglobe.org.

New World Stages is located in Manhattan at 340 West 50th Street.