THOMAS HARDY CLASSIC THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE
**** OFF BROADWAY **** Michael Henchard And Ayanna Williams NEW YORK – "Casterbridge," based on Thomas Hardy's classic Victorian novel, "The Mayor of Casterbridge," is a new musical theater work with book and lyrics by David Willinger and music by Christopher Beste. The 20-character, two-act musical is fairly faithful to Hardy's parable of the spiritual ups and downs of man and features a score inspired by English country music of the period. Theater for the New City will present the piece's world premiere run June 4 to 19, directed by Willinger. In Hardy's famous Victorian novel, ne'er-do-well Michael Henchard, when drunk, organizes an auction to sell off his wife. After taking a vow never to drink again, he pulls himself up by his bootstraps to be a pillar of society -- Mayor of the town and a business owner. He reunites with his wife and starts over, only to get pulled back down by his own nature. It is a work ful...