Arts News
Is He Dead? to open on Broadway
By Amy Somensky Aug 1, 2007, 14:50 GMT
New York: The recently discovered Mark Twain play, Is He Dead?, has found a place on Broadway for the upcoming season. The play will begin previews at the Lyceum Theater on November 8th and officially open on November 29th. Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz will headline the production starring as Jean-Francois Millet. More casting will be announced soon.
Michael Blakemore, Tony winner for Copenhagen and Kiss Me Kate, will direct. The creative team will include set design by Peter J. Davison, costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, and lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski.
Is He Dead? was written 110 years ago by Twain but was only just discovered in 2002 by Shelley Fisher Fiskin, a Twain scholar. David Ives has adapted the writing for Broadway.
Inspired by the posthumous bidding war that broke out between the United States and France over Jean-Francois Millet's painting 'The Angelus,' Is He Dead? is a fast-paced comedy about a group of poor artists who stage the death of their mentor to drive up the price of his paintings. In order for the scheme to succeed, the artists hatch various hilarious plots involving cross-dressing, a full-scale fake funeral, lovers' deceptions, and much more.
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