Presented by The Alloy Theatre Company, the solo-actress musical about the adventures of a yearning British hat designer — Emma, new to America — plays the intimate West 42nd Street venue March 30 and April 6, 13, 20 and 27, and May 4, 11 and 18. Show time each Sunday is 7 PM.
Jeff Talbott directs. Chris Tilley is the musical director.
Tell Me On a Sunday features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black. Richard Maltby, Jr. worked with Black to revise the lyrics for the show's Broadway debut; the Beechman run utilizes the Maltby revision.
Originally produced as a record album starring English musical theatre star Marti Webb, "Tell Me On a Sunday" was combined with Lloyd Webber's "Variations" to form Song and Dance, a two-act concert for the London theatre. Marti Webb and Wayne Sleep starred in the initial London mounting. The show, in a revised form, opened on Broadway in 1985 starring Bernadette Peters, who won a Tony Award for her performance. Betty Buckley succeeded Peters in the role on Broadway. Others who have sung the score, which includes such tunes as "Tell Me On a Sunday," "Unexpected Song," "Take That Look Off Your Face" and "Come Back with the Same Look in Your Eyes," include Lulu, Sarah Brightman, Liz Robertson, Gemma Craven and Alice Ripley, the latter at the Kennedy Center.
Irish-born actress Maxine Linehan, a MAC nominee who studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, previously presented her cabaret act, So Far, at Helen's in Manhattan. Her regional and international stage credits include Fates and Furies, Nunsense, The Sound of Music, Oliver!, Crazy for You, Nunsense II, A Kind of Loving, Lovers, The Children of Lir and The Man of La Mancha. Linehan's screen credits include "Eastenders," "Out of Ireland" and "Into the West." In the days leading up to the first performance, Linehan told Playbill.com, "This project has been a labor of love for me and it's been in the making for awhile. Emma is a challenging character to play, not just vocally, she can be seen as pathetic to some but she's really just trying her hand at everything, trying to see which hat fits. She's dying for success and desperate for love, I mean how many of us can relate to that?
"I have a lot of parallels to Emma, having moved to the Big Apple from Ireland six years with a head full of dreams. And then there's the love life — well I am adept at choosing the wrong men! But New York can be an overwhelming place for even the most ambitious dreamer, finding yourself — and your place here — is the ultimate goal, I think."
Chris Tilley is on piano, Sharon Fischman is on drums, Summer Boggess plays cello and Jeremy Clayton is on flute, saxophone and clarinet.
The exclusive line of hats on stage has been designed for this production by New York milliner Ellen Christine.
The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located within the West Bank Café at 407 West 42nd Street. Tickets are $30. There is a $15 food/beverage minimum. For reservations call (212) 695-6909.
