Alabama Shakespeare Festival Cancels Les Miserables; Postpones Fall of the House

The Alabama Shakespeare Festival has canceled its scheduled production of the Boublil-Schonberg musical Les Misérables, which was to run in the summer of 2009. The theater cites the recession as the primary reason for the cancellation — the production was estimated to cost $1.3 million for the festival to produce — and states that it “is currently looking for a new summer musical which will cost less to produce.”

In related news, ASF’s planned world premiere of Robert Ford’s The Fall of the House, previously scheduled for this season, has been postponed until the following season. A representative from the theater confirms that this delay was also made in response to current economic conditions.

As previously announced, ASF’s season also includes A Christmas Carol: The Musical (through December 28), featuring music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; the world premiere of Michael Vigilant’s Bear Country (January 11-February 15), about legendary University of Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant; the world premiere of Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s The Furniture of Home (March 8-April 5), telling the story of four people struggling to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; The Three Musketeers (April 26-June 14); Othello (May 3-June 14); and The Comedy of Errors (May 10-June 14).

For more information, visit www.asf.net.