Friday 5: 5 Shows For Encores!

5 Shows For Encores!

With Lear DeBessonet moving on to head Lincoln Center Theater, we thought we'd offer her successor some suggestions for future seasons! Here is the Friday 5, in alphabetical order:

Aspects of Love 

Operatic and lush enough to make great use of a stellar cast and the fantastic City Center Orchestra, this little seen romantic gem from Andrew Lloyd Webber would be perfect for the series. We're thinking maybe Aaron Tveit, Laura Benanti, Amber Iman and David Patrick Kelley?

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

With a peppy, sometimes lush score, this very funny David Yazbek-Jeffrey Lane tuner would be a bright spot in any season, with plenty of opportunities for some stellar casting. How about Santino Fontana, John Cardoza and Joy Woods?

Grind

I make no secret of my love for this 1985 flop, but what a perfect piece for Encores! - never again produced, modern themes and a chance to get it out from under too much spectacle. I'd love to see Joshua Henry in the Ben Vereen role, Ramin Karimloo as the tortured Irishman, and Jordan Tyson as Satin, the stripper with big dreams and even bigger problems. And there are several high impact featured roles and a need for a fair sized ensemble that dances.

The Goodbye Girl

A mid-90s flop by Neil Simon (book), Marvin Hamlisch (music) and David Zippel (lyrics), this is a fun show with a lot of potential. It's a show that underwent some major reworking when it went to London. Maybe a good director could really do something great with it. Perhaps Rob McClure and Kara Young (does she sing?) could really get things going, with a high-impact cameo by Sheryl Lee Ralph as the feisty landlady?

The Scarlet Pimpernel

I get chills just thinking of that orchestra bringing Frank Wildhorn's lovely score to life! It's funny, romantic and exciting. And it's been almost 25 years since it was last seen. With three versions to choose from (or maybe a mix of the three?), and Wildhorn due for a renaissance, why not? Maybe Claybourne Elder as Percy/The Pimpernel, Will Swensen as the evil Chauvelin, and Philippa Soo as Marguerite? It could work...