CONFIRMED! Kander & Ebb's THE VISIT Starring Chita Rivera Set For Williamstown Theatre Festival Summer 2014; Runs 7/31-8/17

The long-gestating late-career musical drama from John Kander and the late Fred Ebb based on Friedrich Durrenmatt's dark 20th century play THE VISIT is set for a new production at the Williamstown Theatre Festival this summer, starring the iconic Broadway legend who has taken on the major central role of the piece a few times prior, the one and only Chita Rivera.

According to a new report, the respected theatre festival will showcase the musical as part of its 60th anniversary season this summer.

UPDATE: The Williamstown Theatre Festival exclusively confirms to BroadwayWorld that the production will star Chita Rivera in a production directed by John Doyle and choreographed by Graciela Daniele, set for July 31 through August 17.

The official description of the upcoming production is as follows: "Broadway legend Chita Rivera portrays Claire Zachanassian, an often-widowed millionairess who pays a visit to her hardship-stricken birthplace. The locals hope she'll bring them a new lease on life, but little do they know her offer to revitalize the town comes at a dreadful price. Tony Award-winning director John Doyle helms this sardonic, morally-complex musical--one of the last collaborations between the incomparable John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago, The Scottsboro Boys). With a book by Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally and choreography by Graciela Daniele, The Visit asks: What can your heart afford?"

More information on the Williamstown Theatre Festival is available at the official site here.

Check out the original article on the matter here.

THE VISIT, with a book by Terrence McNally, was originally scheduled to open on Broadway as far back as 2001, with Angela Lansbury in the title role, as well as in 2003 at The Public Theater, though neither production came to fruition, and has since been performed in regional mountings and a concert version, including its premiere production in 2001 at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago with Rivera in the lead, as well as subsequent stagings at the Signature Theatre in 2008, again with Rivera, and, also, in a special Actor's Fund concert version with Rivera headlining once again in 2011.

So, could Broadway finally be next for one of the most compelling musical projects from some of Broadway's best some season soon if THE VISIT is a hit at Williamstown this summer?

Photo Credit: Walter McBride