Brent Carver Returns in New Musical at Playwrights Horizons

Brent Carver, the eccentric but extraordinarily talented actor-singer who won a Tony Award for his performance in Kiss of the Spider Woman and who was most recently seen on stage in NYC as Leo Frank in Parade at Lincoln Center, will be one of the stars of Playwrights Horizons’ upcoming production of the musical My Life With Albertine.

With music and lyrics by Ricky Ian Gordon and a book by Richard Nelson, the show will begin previews on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 and will open officially on Thursday, March 13; the limited run is scheduled to end on Sunday, March 30. Also featured in the cast, under Nelson’s direction, will be Emily Skinner, Amy Spanger, Chad Kimball, Kelli O’Hara, Ken Barnett, Nicholas Belton, Angela Gaylor, Caroline McMahon, Paul Anthony McGrane, and Paul A. Schaefer.

Based on sections of Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past, the new musical tells the story of an obsessive relationship between Marcel, a young man of social position (played by Chad Kimball), and Albertine, a fiery, middle-class girl (Kelli O’Hara), as narrated by the older Marcel (Brent Carver). My Life With Albertine will have scenic design by Thomas Lynch, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by James Ingalls, and sound design by Scott Lehrer, with orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin and musical direction by Charles Prince.

This will be the third production of Playwrights Horizons’ 2002-2003 and the first in the company’s new home, a $27 million complex built on the site of its longtime location, 416 West 42nd Street. The new facility includes two state-of-the-art theaters along with rehearsal spaces, offices, and a large lobby.

The performance schedule for My Life With Albertine is Tuesdays through Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3 and 8pm, and Sundays at 3 and 7:30pm. Tickets are $60, with student rush tickets available for $15 (cash only) on the day of performance. In addition, the show’s “Pay What You Can Night” — a Playwrights Horizons initiative made possible by the Ford Motor Company — is set for the first preview on February 18; a limited number of tickets will be offered on a walk-up, cash-only basis on that date, beginning one hour before showtime. For further information, phone Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or visit the website www.playwrightshorizons.org