Tony-winning “Younger” star Sutton Foster will star in a new Off Broadway revival of the classic 1966 musical “Sweet Charity” this fall, The New Group announced Wednesday.
In addition, the company said “Girls” star Zosia Mamet and “The Affair” star Maura Tierney will lead a world premiere production of the drama “The Whirligig” by actor-turned-playwright Hamish Linklater.
The two productions are among four projects announced for the company’s 2016-17 season.
The season will begin in November with a revival of the Cy Coleman-Dorothy Fields musical “Sweet Charity” on its 50th anniversary. Foster will star as Charity Hope Valentine, the sassy, diehard romantic dancehall hostess whose naivety and overeager embrace of every man she meets keep getting her in hot water.
Presented in association with producer Kevin McCollum, director Leigh Silverman’s revival will be performed in an intimate setting with original choreography by Joshua Bergasse (“On the Town”).
In January, the New Group will mount the U.S. premiere of Wallace Shawn’s “Evening at the Talk House,” under the direction of Scott Elliott.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of a flop play, the playwright joins the old gang to reminisce at their former haunt, The Talk House. Most haven’t been there, or even seen each other, in years, and the gossip and nostalgia are mixed with questions and accusations: Why does a washed-up old actor keep getting beaten up by his friends? Where does a failed actress-turned-waitress disappear to for months at a time?
In February, the company will begin performances of “All the Fine Boys,” a drama written and directed by Erica Schmidt, set in suburban South Carolina in the late ’80s.
In the play, 14-year-old best friends Jenny and Emily are ready to make their first serious attempts with boys. Emily chooses her senior crush from the high school play, and Jenny a man she’s seen at her family’s church. With parallel stories that take tricky and terrifying turns, “All the Fine Boys” dives deep into the fascinations and fears of sexual awakening — and the first painful gasps of maturity.
Linklater’s “The Whirligig” will receive its world premiere in May 2017 under the direction of Scott Elliott.
The play finds Kristina (Tierney) returning after a long absence to Berkshire County, where word spreads fast that she and her ex-husband are caring for their estranged, ailing daughter Julie.
Surprising visitors from Julie’s complicated past, including her childhood best friend Trish (Zosia Mamet) and her former drug dealer, practically trip over each other to reach the young woman they thought they’d lost years before, but still feel deeply connected to.