Simon puts 'Dinner' on in London
Scribe could join Miller, Mamet, Albee with foreign bow
Following a reading Jan. 27 of the six-character play at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, "The Dinner Party" will have a followup reading Feb. 10 in London. If that goes well, a West End bow should soon follow, marking the first time Simon has opened a show outside the United States.
That would place Simon in a lineup that includes David Mamet ("The Cryptogram"), Arthur Miller ("The Ride Down Mt. Morgan") and Edward Albee ("The Play About the Baby"), all of whom have premiered plays in London this decade.
"I love London. I lived in London for a while with my first wife. I love the theater in London," Simon said by telephone Jan. 20 from Los Angeles, of a decision that may come as a surprise from one of the most quintessentially New York Jewish of American writers.
Explained Simon: "London is just as important as a place to open (a play). The theater has changed so much in New York, anyway. There are so few plays on Broadway, which is moving mostly towards musicals."
