"We are proud to give the authors the opportunity to bring the play one step closer to a New York production," stated Magic managing director David Gluck in a released statement. The new material will be introduced in the show for performances beginning Oct. 23.
The new musical adaptation based on the 1998 film starring Christina Ricci and Lisa Kudrow began previews Sept. 25 at the California venue and opened Oct. 2 to positive critical and audience response. The work, which is expected to head to New York, was originally slated to run through Oct. 24.
"The Opposite of Sex" followed the conniving 16-year-old Dedee Truitt (Ricci) as she moves in with her now-wealthy, gay half-brother Bill and ends up pregnant by his new boyfriend Matt. Bill's best friend and sister of his rich late lover, Lucia (Kudrow), is the only one who sees through Dedee's scheme.
Butler (Little Shop of Horrors) stars in the Ricci role with David Burtka (Gypsy) opposite Ziemba (Never Gonna Dance), Jeff McCarthy (Urinetown) and a cast that features John Bolton (Titanic), Donna Vivino (Hairspray tour) and local actors Joe Mandragona and Ian Scott McGregor.
Douglas J. Cohen (No Way to Treat a Lady) provides music and lyrics for The Opposite of Sex with a book — based on Don Roos' screenplay — by Cohen (Glimmerglass,The Gig) and Robert Jess Roth (director of Beauty and the Beast). Roth is also slated to direct the show billed as an "explosive, quirky, fun and politically-incorrect musical romp." Michael Starobin — the 2004 Tony Award winner for Assassins — will provide orchestrations for the new musical. Musical direction is handled by Brad Haak.
The design team features Derek McLane (set), Norm Schwab (lighting), and Daryl Frame (sound). Patricia Field ("Sex and the City") serves as costume consultant while Leslie Bernstein is costume coordinator. Rick Sordelet handles fight coordination.
The Magic is also presenting the world premieres of Charles Grodin's The Right Kind of People and three other works in repertory as well as the American premiere of Rebecca Gilman's The Sweetest Swing in Baseball and Wesley Moore's A Reckoning.
Tickets for The Opposite of Sex at the Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center (Building D) in San Francisco, CA are available by calling (415) 441-8822. For more information, visit the Magic Theatre website at www.magictheatre.org.
