Theater News

Fiona Shaw to Play Hans Christian Andersen

Fiona Shaw
Fiona Shaw

Actress Fiona Shaw will play Danish-born children’s author Hans Christian Andersen in the world premiere of the musical My Life as a Fairytale, which will be presented as part of Lincoln Center Festival 2005 this summer. The show will feature an all-female cast including Tony Award winner Blair Brown, Alias star Mia Maestro, and Broadway veteran Mary Lou Rosato; it will be performed on July 27, 29, and 30 at John Jay College’s Gerald Lynch Theater.

This production coincides with Andersen’s bicentennial. My Life as a Fairytale was conceived and directed by Chen Shi-Zeng, whose controversial play The Peony Pavilion was seen at the Lincoln Center Festival. Music is by Stephen Merritt, lead singer and composer for the rock group The Magnetic Fields, and the libretto is by playwright Erik Ehn. Sets are by Walt Spangler, costumes by Caitlin Ward, and lighting by Christopher Akerlind.

The Irish-born Shaw was last seen in New York during the 2002-2003 season in the title role of Deborah Warner’s production of Medea, which first played at BAM and then moved to Broadway. She earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play and an OBIE Award for her performance, having previously won the Evening Standard Award for her work in the London production. Shaw also won a Drama Desk Award for her 1997 solo show The Waste Land, and she has received two Olivier Awards and two London Critics Circle Awards during her career. Moviegoers know her as “Aunt Petunia” in the popular Harry Potter series.

The Lincoln Center Festival 2005 will run July 12-31 and will feature 57 performances of over a dozen various works. For tickets and further information, go to www.lincolncenter.org.

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