Based on the first 1898 version of Candida, the musical A Minister's Wife debuted at the Writer's Theatre in Glencoe, IL, in May 2009. Writer's Theatre artistic director Michael Halberstam, who conceived the production and staged the premiere, directs the LCT production that began previews April 7 and will run through June 12.
Tony-nominated actor and director Austin Pendleton, who also wrote Orson's Shadow and Uncle Bob, penned the adaptation with a score by Adding Machine composer Joshua Schmidt and lyrics by Jan Tranen.
Steggert (Ragtime, The Grand Manner), Kudisch (9 to 5, The Apple Tree) and Fry (Oh Coward!) make up the love triangle central to Shaw's tale of a wife asked to choose between her tight-laced husband and a handsome young poet. Completing the cast are Liz Baltes and Drew Gehling. Fry and Baltes both appeared in the 2009 premiere of the musical. Read the recent Playbill magazine feature about Steggert.
The musical, according to Lincoln Center Theater, "explores the fires burning beneath the surface of a seemingly ordinary marriage. The Revered James Morell (Kudisch) and his wife, Candida (Fry), are happily married – or at least they think – until a romantic young poet (Steggert) enters their life."
A Minister's Wife has sets by Allen Moyer, costumes by David Zinn, lighting by Keith Parham, sound by Scott Stauffer, orchestrations by Joshua Schmidt, musical direction by Richard Carsey and is conducted by Tim Splain.
Tickets, priced at $75 and $85, are available by visiting LCT.