NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 When Lear deBessonet, the incoming artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater, was thinking about what should be her first show as its new leader, she landed on something sweeping, very American 鈥 and some unfinished business.
She had just directed an off-Broadway concert version of 鈥 a big, soaring musical celebrating early 20th-century America 鈥 that had wowed critics despite being a bare-boned production with some actors reading from their scripts. Might it fit the bill if she filled it out?
鈥淲hat you鈥檙e hoping is to make work that鈥檚 going to be meaningful in people鈥檚 lives, and I really felt that it was. And that it was in a way that wasn鈥檛 finished,鈥 the Tony Award-nominated director says. 鈥淚t really warranted the full flourishing of the idea.鈥
She gets her wish this fall as 33 actors buoyed by an 28-piece orchestra announce her arrival with a full-throated Broadway revival of the stage version of E.L. Doctorow鈥檚 bestselling novel. Previews begin Friday; opening night is Oct. 16.
鈥淩agtime’’ is the story of three distinct groups of characters navigating their way through the turbulent racial and economic times of 1906 in New York City 鈥 a Jewish immigrant with his young daughter, a well-to-do white family and a Black piano player.
鈥淏ecause 鈥楻agtime鈥 has, in fact, so many stories with multiple protagonists, there is an opportunity for people to connect with it in many different ways that reflect their own history, their own family鈥檚 history, their own experience,鈥 she says.
Tony Award-nominee leads the cast and views it as the perfect musical for this moment. 鈥淗ow we see each other, how we hear each other is right now at the forefront,鈥 he says.
鈥淚 think 鈥楻agtime鈥 puts the spotlight on how we have been successful and not successful doing that in the past, and I feel that鈥檚 going to help us move forward.鈥
Lincoln Center Theater season
The revival is part of a slate of shows that deBessonet is crafting for the multi-Tony Award-winning, three-theater complex on the Lincoln Center campus, one that has built a reputation for new plays and sumptuous revivals of great musicals.
鈥淭he work we make here I want it to be something that anyone of any background 鈥 whether they are visiting New York City or were born here 鈥 could come in and feel restored to humanity, feel connected to other people,鈥 she says. 鈥淧art of why I鈥檓 such a passionate advocate for the theater as an art form is, I really believe, it鈥檚 a place where we can gather across difference.鈥
DeBessonet this season is also bringing over the London hit 鈥淜yoto,鈥 a political thriller about the and a revival of 鈥淭he Whoopi Monologues鈥 with Kerry Washington and There also will be a family holiday opera and a comedy series in its rooftop off-Broadway venue.
鈥淚 feel like always as an artist there鈥檚 a natural humility. I鈥檓 making an offering. I am cooking dinner for somebody. I鈥檓 going to invite them to come and eat dinner at my house and I really hope they enjoy this food. I hope they find it delicious and nourishing,鈥 she said.
Henry has watched deBessonet cook 鈥 both leading an arts organization and directing a massive musical. He’s talked to carpenters and electricians and people in the organization and says the mood is buoyant.
鈥淭here are some people who have been there for decades and are now talking about just the breath of fresh air that her leadership is bringing,鈥 he says. 鈥淚f this is any indication of what she鈥檚 capable of, Lincoln Center is in phenomenal hands for years to come.鈥
鈥極ne of the most magical temples鈥
These are turbulent times for cultural institutions, with President Donald Trump putting pressure on the and to be more in line with his vision. has been defunded, accused of woke programing.
DeBessonet, whose roots are in Louisiana, calls Lincoln Center Theater 鈥渙ne of the most magical temples of the theater鈥 and that her mission is to 鈥渇ind stories that have deep resonance for our time.鈥
鈥淲e are an organization that supports great artists making great, complex, meaningful, thought-provoking works of art,鈥 she says. 鈥淭here will be many different viewpoints that are expressed in the art.鈥
Before coming to her new perch, deBessonet directed productions of 鈥淚nto the Woods鈥 and 鈥淥nce Upon a Mattress鈥 that went on Broadway as artistic director of the Encores! program at New York City Center. Now with 鈥凌补驳迟颈尘别鈥 she’s taking a third musical to Broadway.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a story that really invites us to engage our complex, deep feelings about where we are now and where we have come from,鈥 deBessonet says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exactly the type of work that I think belongs at Lincoln Center Theater.鈥
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