Dodger-Endemol is targeting April 2000 for a musical staging of Hans Christian Andersen, drawing on elements form the Frank Loesser film musical, according a casting notice in the trade publication Back Stage.

Martha Clarke (the former Pilobolus dancer and director of The Garden of Earthly Delights and Vienna: Lusthaus) will direct and choreograph, confirmed a Dodger spokesperson, but no other information (including an opening this season) could be immediately confirmed.

The notice, for workshops planned for Oct. 4-15 and Nov. 1-19, cited Sebastian Barry (The Steward of Christendom) as librettist, the late Loesser as the songwriter (likely pulling from the 1952 Danny Kaye picture, which featured "Thumbelina," "Inchworm," "No Two People," "Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen," and more) and Dick Peaslee as musical director.

Rehearsals begin in January 2000 toward February previews and an April opening on Broadway, according to the notice, but such an opening would depend on theatre availability. Projects such as Time and Again and Jane Eyre are still looking for housing in early 2000. The former, a romantic time-travel tuner based on the Jack Finney novel, is likely to be bumped to the 2000-2001 season.

Dodger-Endemol is the producer behind Titanic and Footloose, the current Broadway hit holdover from last season. -- By Kenneth Jones