Edward Albee's complex Tiny Alice, which has stumped many a director, critic, and theatregoer since its unveiling in 1965, apparently did so well in its recent revival at CT's Hartford Stage, director Mark Lamos will bring the show -- and star Richard Thomas -- to Broadway. As reported by Variety, Elizabeth McCann and Daryl Roth, who teamed up on Off-Broadway's Albee hit Three Tall Women, are producing the Broadway mounting of Alice, which is targeting a February 1999 opening.

McCann told Variety theatres being considered include the John Golden, the Helen Hayes and the Walter Kerr. Roth told Playbill On-Line (Aug. 6) that nothing's officially set yet on the show, and that casting hasn't been announced, since not all the Hartford Stage performers will move with the production.

Tiny Alice ended its run at Hartford Stage June 21. The production, directed by the company's former artistic director Lamos, opened May 23.

Hartford Stage's obsession with the play is not new. The theatre staged the work in 1972. Indeed, after Shakespeare, Albee is the most produced playwright in Hartford Stage's 34-year history. Lamos collected a seasoned cast for the production, headed by Thomas, who played the lead role of Brother Julian, a man of the church seduced by Alice's sexuality and wealth. Also in the cast were Gerry Bamman (Off-Broadway's Nixon's Nixon and Bedfellows), John Michael Higgins (Broadway's La Bete), Tom Lacy (the Drama Dept.'s production of Kingdom of Earth), and Sharon Scruggs (Floyd Collins). No word on whether any of the other cast-members will come to Broadway.

The original production of Tiny Alice was presented on Broadway in December 1965, with John Gielgud and Irene Worth under the direction of Alan Schneider. In June, actor Thomas won Boston's Elliot Norton Lifetime Achievement Award. He's a Hartford Stage veteran and had previously played Hamlet and Peer Gynt there. Broadway credits include The Fifth of July and Strange Interlude, though Thomas remains best known for playing John-Boy on TV's "The Waltons."

Albee has been enjoying a renaissance since 1994 when his Three Tall Woman won him his third Pulitzer Prize. His Delicate Balance got a Tony-winning revival on Broadway; his Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf had an award-winning London remounting in 1996.

-- By Robert Simonson
and David Lefkowitz