A musical piece called "Narnia Suite" has been adapted from a full-length musical Narnia, which was created by composer Thomas Tierney, lyricist Ted Drachman and librettist Jules Tasca. That show was based on C.S. Lewis' classic novel, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. The original musical was a hit in London and played in NY in 1986. The Dino Anagnos will conduct The Little Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center in a staged concert version of the condensed musical, with two performances at 11 AM & 1 PM, March 8. Performing in the concert, in costume, will be Craig Rubano, Kate Jetmore, Peter Herber and Kathleen Rowe McAllen. McAllen, here playing the White Witch, received a Tony nomination for her work in Aspects Of Love. She also appeared Off Broadway in a scaled-down, revised version of Chess in 1992.
Narnia tells of an enchanted world with spirits of myth and fable, both good and evil. Sometimes, King Aslan lets humans enter...
Composer Tierney wrote music for the solo show Ichabod and for The Dream Team at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut. Drachman was a member of the Boston sketch comedy troupe, The Proposition. Tasca is the author of 84 plays, among them Old Goat Song and The Spelling Of Coynes.
Narnia Suite is part of a full Saturday program entitled "Symphonic Stories." Also on the bill will be Robert Xavier Rodriguez's "A Colorful Symphony," and Joseph Turin's "When Tony Played The Sax," featuring jazz singer Susannah McCorkle. For tickets ($15-$32) and information on Narnia Suite, call (212) 704-2100.
--By David Lefkowitz