Until recently, Taylor Mac was known for making epic avant-garde theater that crossed easy categorization. His groundbreaking art concert, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, was Macs subjective history of the United States told through 246 songs everything from World War I ditties to The Mikado to a mash-up of the Bee Gees Stayin Alive and Led Zeppelins Kashmir told with the help of radical drag queens and other special guests. Since then, the genre-busting artist was recognized as a Pulitzer Prize finalist and MacArthur fellow. Now hes taking on Broadway with Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, starring Nathan Lane, Kristine Nielsen and Julie White and directed by George C. Wolfe. Today producer Scott Rudin announced that iconic composer (and former Oingo Boingo frontman) Danny Elfman is contributing music to the world premiere production, which begins previews on Monday and officially opens April 11th.
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Ive been missing the fun and excitement of live interaction with theater, where I had my first music experiences many, many years ago, and where I wrote my very first compositions, Elfman says. When Scott Rudin called with the idea of bringing me in on Gary, I thought it would be an incredible opportunity to be able to work with such an amazing, talented group. I just had to jump in.