Piazza, Simply Cinderella, Pillowman and More Will Play Leicester's Curve in 2008-09 | Playbill

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News Piazza, Simply Cinderella, Pillowman and More Will Play Leicester's Curve in 2008-09 Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas' 2005 Broadway musical The Light in the Piazza is to receive its British premiere as part of the inaugural season of Curve, a major new regional performing arts centre that opens in Leicester in December.

The venue, which contains a 750-seat and 350-seat theatre behind a glazed, transparent façade, will be launched with the premiere of a new British musical, Simply Cinderella, beginning performances on Dec. 4, prior to an official opening on Dec. 9, for a run to Jan. 24, 2009. That will be followed by in-house productions of Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman (running Feb. 5 to March 7, 2009, with an official opening on Feb. 11), directed by Curve artistic director Paul Kerryson, then Tim Supple directing As You Like It (running Feb. 26 to March 28, 2009, with an official opening on March 3), before The Light in the Piazza, again directed by Kerryson, begins performances on April 30 for a run to May 23, with an official opening on May 5.

In a press statement announcing the new season, Kerryson has said, "Curve's first season of shows plays to the strengths of our unique theatre, with a truly exciting body of work that puts the classical and contemporary side-by-side. We hope to create a destination for everyone, from audience to artist, as we make the first step in our creative journey together."

Adam Cooper, recently seen as a performer in The Wizard of Oz at the Royal Festival Hall and currently working on choreographing a new production of Carousel that is doing a regional tour ahead of a West End opening at the Savoy Theatre in November, will make his full directorial debut, both staging and choreographing the world premiere of Simply Cinderella. The former Royal Ballet principal dancer's other credits as performer include playing the Swan in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake (London and Broadway), and Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls in the West End. As a choreographer, he has previously staged On Your Toes and Singin' in the Rain at Leicester Haymarket (the venue that pre-dated Curve), respectively subsequently re-staged in London at the Royal Festival Hall and Sadler's Wells, Grand Hotel at the Donmar Warehouse, and Promises, Promises at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

Simply Cinderella has music and lyrics by Grant Olding (whose recent credits include writing the musical scores to Nicholas Hytner's productions of The Alchemist and Man of Mode at the National Theatre, and the music for the stage version of Jacqueline Wilson's Tracey Beaker Gets Real), and a book by Toby Davies, known for his work on the BBC2 and Radio 4 series "That Mitchell and Webb Look," who has previously collaborated with Olding on Spittin' Distance and Yeti an Abominamusical.

In a previous statement, Kerryson has also said, "I am really thrilled to be welcoming such an exciting creative collaboration of Grant, Toby and Adam to Curve. Their commitment to this project exemplifies the interest and excitement surrounding Leicester's new theatre." The Pillowman, originally premiered at the National's Cottesloe Theatre in November 2003 (after which it won the 2004 Olivier Award for Best New Play) and subsequently seen on Broadway in 2005, will feature Marc Warren as Katurian, a writer who is interrogated for the similarities between his short stories and a series of murders that take place in his town. Warren, best known for his role as Danny Blue in the TV series "Hustle" and has also appeared in "The Vice" and "Band of Brothers," follows in the footsteps of David Tennant (who originated the role at the National) and Billy Crudup (who played it on Broadway).

Supple, who directed the international multi-lingual Asian production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that was first seen at Stratford-upon-Avon and subsequently came to the Roundhouse, directs As You Like It.

The Light in the Piazza, which won Guettel the 2005 Tony Award for Best Original Score, is set in the hot summer of 1953 Florence and Rome, and revolves around a young American tourist, Clara Johnson, who meets a young Italian and begins a romantic and passionate affair with him.

The opening season will also include In-I, Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan's dance theatre collaboration that premieres at the National Theatre Sept. 18, 2008, and will play its only U.K. dates outside of London in Leicester as part of an international tour from Feb. 5-7; Unlimited Theatre's production of The Moon the Moon, running March 17-21; Rasa Productions' Dancing within Walls, running March 26-April 4, 2009, and Nicholas Wright's adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Part 1, running July 13-18, that will combine a large cast from the community and a professional creative team, led by director Adel-Al-Salloum.

For tickets, contact the box office on 0116 242 3595, or visit www.curveonline.co.uk.

 
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