NEW YORK -- Kim Cattrall and Elisabeth Shue are in negotiations with Dream Street Theatrical Group to headline a Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' 1947 classic "A Streetcar Named Desire."
Peter Hall is signed to direct, said producer Jerry Greenberg, who has slated the show for fall. Rights have been secured from the Williams estate for the Broadway production.
Cattrall, who plays the sexually ambitious Samantha Jones on HBO's "Sex and the City," would portray the sexually tormented Blanche du Bois, with Shue ("Leaving Las Vegas") as Stella Kowalski. Jessica Tandy and Kim Hunter originated the sister roles in the original Elia Kazan-helmed production that made Marlon Brando a star.
But who to slip into Stanley Kowalski's torn T-shirt? Greenberg mentioned a newcomer, John Dino, who is a Hall protege.
His first B'way show
"Streetcar" would be Greenberg's first Broadway production. "There will probably be a major established theater producer joining me," he said of the revival. "I'm not going this alone."
The producer did not nix an out-of-town tryout, but due to his principals' prior commitments, he said the "Streetcar" engagement would be a limited run and that the production would probably go "straight to Broadway."
Off Broadway, Greenberg produced "The Bermuda Avenue Triangle," starring Joe Bologna and Rene Taylor, in 1998. With Michael Jackson, he produced the musical "Sisterella," which had its world premiere in 1996 at the Pasadena Playhouse. It subsequently toured throughout Europe and Australia, and Greenberg is currently planning a North American tour for later this year.
Not unprecedented
Well known in the music business, Greenberg was president of Atlantic Records in the 1980s. For the past decade, he has been president of Sony/MJJ at Sony Records. He recently left Sony to reactivate his own Mirage Record label and to create legit producer Dream Street Theatrical Group. Both companies will operate under the umbrella of Mirage Music Entertainment.
Greenberg was quick to point to famous precedents for his jump from the recording industry to legit. "My experience at Atlantic was working with David Geffen, watching him going from records to theater," the producer said. "I also watched Robert Stigwood do the same. Music people have the juice to find the property and put it together with the right performer."
At Atlantic Records, Greenberg was responsible for signing Abba. "And now look at 'Mamma Mia!,' " he said.
"A Streetcar Named Desire" was last seen on Broadway in 1992, with Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin in the lead roles. Most recently, the Williams drama was presented Off Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop in a radical revisionist production by director Ivo van Hove. Elizabeth Marvel played Blanche in that fall 1999 staging.
Contact Robert Hofler at
bob.hofler@variety.com