LaChanze Will Direct Alice Childress’ WINE IN THE WILDERNESS at Classic Stage Company
One of Broadway’s brightest stars is going to make their New York directorial debut next year. Tony winner LaChanze, last seen in Alice Childress’ Trouble in Mind, will tackle another project by the playwright when she directs the Classic Stage Company production of Wine in the Wilderness. Set to premiere in spring 2024, the 1964-set play is a celebratory look at the complexities of Black womanhood.
Prior to that, the CSC season will begin this fall with I Can Get It For You Wholesale, the first NYC revival of the musical in 30 years. Featuring a book by Jerome Weidman, based on his novel, and music and lyrics by Harold Rome, this production will feature a revised book by Weidman’s son, John Weidman. Trip Cullman will direct a cast that features Tony winner Santino Fontana and four-time Tony nominee Judy Kuhn, last seen at CSC in Assassins. The musical, set in NYC’s Garment District during the late 1930’s, follows a shipping clerk who will do whatever it takes to get ahead. It was last seen on Broadway in 1962.
“I’m thrilled to be sharing the exact blend of shows I had hoped to bring to CSC’s beautiful and unique space,” said new CSC Producing Artistic Director Jill Rafson. “My vision for CSC is to share fresh looks at the theatrical canon we know and love, while also introducing plays and musicals that reflect what the canon could be. Giving these works a chance to be in conversation with one another should add up to a season that is vital, engaging, and full of new discoveries.”
In addition, the season will include Fiasco Theater’s staging of Pericles, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Ben Steinfeld. The company returns to CSC after its 2017 production of Twelfth Night in winter 2024.
Additional casting, performance schedules, and full creative teams for the 2023-2024 season at CSC will be announced later. For more details about the Off-Broadway theatre, visit ClassicStage.org.
