Musical ‘Titanic’ to Dock at Ahmanson Next Year

The other “Titanic”--the Tony-winning musical--will begin its national tour at the Ahmanson Theatre in January.

The 1998-99 Ahmanson season also will include a new musical tribute to Bob Fosse, the only U.S. engagement of the ballet “Cinderella” as choreographed by Matthew Bourne (who created the Ahmanson’s recent “Swan Lake”) and a home-grown staging of a Shakespeare play by legendary British director Peter Hall.

Before the official season begins, Christopher Plummer will bring his Tony-winning solo performance as “Barrymore” to the Ahmanson for a three-week run, Sept. 9-27, for which Ahmanson subscribers will have the first opportunity to buy tickets.

In announcing the programming, Ahmanson artistic director/producer Gordon Davidson called it “a wonderful combination of art and artists representing all stages of the creative process.”

William Luce’s “Barrymore,” staged by Gene Saks, will be the first solo show to play the Ahmanson since it was reconfigured in an attempt to accommodate more intimate spoken drama as well as big musicals. It’s set in 1942, the final year of John Barrymore’s life, as he rehearses the role of Richard III.

Both “Barrymore” and the subsequent “Fosse: A Celebration in Song and Dance” are productions of Livent, the Toronto-based company that produced the current “Ragtime” at the Shubert as well as two recent Ahmanson presentations, “Show Boat” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”

“Fosse” will trace the career of the Broadway and film choreographer, using a cast of 34 dancers and singers, directed by Richard Maltby Jr. and Fosse protege Chet Walker. It will include some of Fosse’s film choreography that has never been presented in a theater. Scheduled to open in Toronto in July, its Ahmanson dates are Oct. 14-Dec. 6.

“Titanic: The Musical,” slated for Jan. 10-Feb. 28, overcame a lukewarm critical reception last year to win the Tony Award for best musical. Other than sharing the subject of the 1912 maritime disaster, it is not related to the Oscar-winning movie. It features a score by Maury Yeston (“Phantom,” “Nine”) and a story and book by Peter Stone (“1776”), with Richard Jones directing.

“Cinderella,” scheduled for April 2-May 23, 1999, is iconoclastic choreographer Bourne’s interpretation of the Prokofiev ballet, set in London during World War II. “Swan Lake” star Adam Cooper returns to the Ahmanson as the Royal Air Force pilot who wins a young woman’s love. Lynn Seymour, who also was in “Swan Lake,” will dance the role of his love’s stepmother. Although no one has been signed for the title role, the Royal Ballet’s Sarah Wildor danced it in London, the only previous city where it has been seen. “Cinderella” is a production of Bourne’s Adventures in Motion Pictures.

Taking the final slot in the season will be the first Ahmanson show to be produced solely by the venue’s resident company, Center Theatre Group, since “Candide” in 1995. It will be a Shakespeare play--either “Measure for Measure” or “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” American actors will star, but British director Peter Hall--most famous for founding the Royal Shakespeare Company and later for directing the Royal National Theatre for 15 years--will be in charge.

The play selection is subject to actor availability and scheduling. “I want the best actors and if they happen to be stars, so much the better, because I have a lot of seats to sell,” Davidson said.