Jack Maple Productions will present the first London revival in 20 years of John Kander and Fred Ebb's The Rink May 25–June 23, 2018, at the Southwark Playhouse. Opening night is set for May 29.
Adam Lenson will direct with choreography by Fabian Aloise. Casting will be announced at a later date.
The Rink features music by Kander, lyrics by Ebb, and a book by Terence McNally. The musical concerns Italian housewife Anna, who runs a roller-skating rink on the Eastern seaboard. She is about to sell it to developers until her estranged daughter, Angel, returns after a long absence, hoping to save the rink and patch things up with her mother.
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The musical premiered on Broadway in February 1984 starring Chita Rivera as Anna and Liza Minnelli as Angel. Rivera won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her performance. The show premiered in London at the Cambridge Theatre in February 1988 starring Josephine Blake and Diane Langton.
In a statement, Lenson, who most recently directed 35mm: A Musical Exhibition (The Other Palace) and Superhero said, “I have long admired the ingenious work of Kander and Ebb and to get to direct this rarely seen masterpiece is a true privilege. Most people are only familiar with their most popular hits Chicago and Cabaret, but The Rink is as innovative as it is underrated and truly pushes the form of musical theatre. I cannot wait for audiences to see this beautiful and complex story.”
For more information, visit SouthwarkPlayhouse.co.uk.
