In addition to the previously-reported world premiere, The Winner, about LBJ's early political life, expect a rare revival of Cabin in the Sky, the John Latouche-Vernon Duke show that gave the world "Taking a Chance on Love."
The African-American-populated show, more widely known for its movie version, which has a different score, will play Oct. 6-21. Lynn Root wrote the book, Duke the music and Latouche the lyrics.
According to Lyric Stage, "Cabin in the Sky is a musical fable about the tug of war between good and evil in the rural South. Its song classics include 'Taking a Chance on Love,' introduced in the original production by Ethel Waters, 'In My Old Virginia Home' and the title song."
Cabin in the Sky has not been seen in its original form since its 1940 Broadway debut, according to Lyric Stage founding producer Steven Jones, who is working with Tony Root (Lynn Root's son) and Kay Duke Ingalls (Vernon Duke's widow) to recreate the original book and score. The production is funded in part by a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts.
The season will also include a one-night-only concert presentation of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeny Todd, staged Sept. 12 in Dallas' Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. All other shows are at Lyric Stage's home in Irving, TX. The 2006-07 Lyric Stage season also includes:
The Winner (Feb. 16-March 3, 2007), book and lyrics by Joe Sutton, music by Lewis Flinn. "The Winner is a love story between Lyndon Baines Johnson and his wife Ladybird. It is also, however, a tale of one of the dirtiest, most vicious, most colorful campaigns in the history of our country — LBJ's notorious Senate race of 1948. With his trusted campaign manager John Connally, LBJ re-wrote the rulebook on modern politics. And through it all Johnson's wife Ladybird looked on with worry. And then she intervened. With love, with compassion, but more than anything, with a sense of ethics that her husband often lacked, Ladybird fought for the man she loved — and in doing so, she delivered to her state and her country a man she could be proud of."Dallas Divas!, March 9 & 10, 2007. "The Divas are back! Lyric Stage founding producer Steven Jones will bring together North Texas' finest leading ladies for the 11th edition of this highly anticipated annual concert. Performances are in the Irving Arts Center's Carpenter Performance Hall."Terrence McNally's Master Class, making its Dallas County debut, April 13-28, 2007. "Maria Callas is teaching a master class. She's glamorous, commanding, larger than life—and drop-dead funny. What starts out as a class becomes a platform for Callas. She glories in her own career, dabbles in opera dish and flat-out seduces the audience. " For more information, visit www.lyricstage.org.
