Jack Maple Productions will stage the first London revival in 20 years of The Rink by the Tony and Olivier Award-winning John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics) and a book by Tony Award-winning Terence McNally. The new production of The Rink will play at Southwark Playhouse for a limited season from 25 May to 23 June 2018. This new production will be directed by Adam Lenson and choreographed by Fabian Aloise.
Anna, an Italian housewife who runs a roller-skating rink on the Eastern seaboard, is about to sell it to developers until her estranged daughter, Angel, returns after a long absence, hoping to save the rink and patch things up with her mother.
The Rink originally premiered on Broadway on 9 February 1984, starring Chita Rivera as Anna and Liza Minelli as Angel. Rivera won the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her performance. The show premiered in London at the Cambridge Theatre on 17 February 1988, starring Josephine Blake and Diane Langton as Anna and Angel respectively.
Adam Lenson most recently directed 35mm: A Musical Exhibition at The Other Palace, Adam said of directing The Rink, “I have long admired the ingenious work of Kander and Ebb and to get to direct this rarely seen masterpiece is a true privilege. Most people are only familiar with their most popular hits Chicago and Cabaret, but The Rink is as innovative as it is underrated and truly pushes the form of musical theatre. I cannot wait for audiences to see this beautiful and complex story.”
