Unproduced Wasserstein-Coleman Show PAMELA'S FIRST MUSICAL to Premiere at New Jersey's Two River Theater in 2016?

Could Wendy Wasserstein and Cy Coleman's long-unproduced show PAMELA'S FIRST MUSICAL still have some life in it yet?

According to The New York Times, the one-act musical based on Wasserstein's 1996 children's book, which had a single benefit performance in 2008 starring Donna Murphy, could be produced by New Jersey's Two River theater as early as 2016, with renewed interest in the material from artistic director John Dias.

PAMELA'S FIRST MUSICAL tells the story of a young girl from the suburbs who spends an unforgettable birthday with her eccentric, sophisticated Aunt Louise attending a lavish Broadway production and meeting all the glamorous, creative people who made it possible.

An executor of Wasserstein's literature, Christopher Durang, and Graciela Daniele, the show's attached director and choreographer, have expressed interest in mounting a workshop to fine-tune the musical prior to its potential premiere. Scheduling conflicts have prevented them from doing so.

"Shows that have gone unproduced need engines to push them," said André Bishop, producing artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater, and another of Wasserstein's literary executors told The Times. "Whether it is the author, the author's agents, a director or an actor, there has always got to be a heavy somewhere in the room. With the death of Wendy and Cy, that's been harder."

Dias expressed interest in the production over 10 years ago and again in 2011, saying: "If we can show that it can work, I think it can be done in theaters across the country."

PAMELA'S FIRST MUSICAL, which held initial workshops at Lincoln Center in 2002 and 2003, was slated to premiere in 2005 as part of Goodspeed Musicals' season. Coleman's death halted the mounting. Various other premieres were scheduled, though eventually called off following Wasserstein's illness and eventual death in 2006.

"I don't know if it will ever have a life," Ms. Daniele said. "To me, it has had a life already. It was great working with those people. But it's about something more than me. It's about dreams of the theater. I love the piece. We just want to do it once."

Click here for The New York Times' initial report.