The Boss At Bay Street
The Bay Street Theatre has brewed up a potful of red-hot surprises for its seventh season, including a fund-raising appearance by the pop megastar Bruce Springsteen, a new play from Jon Robin Baitz and Terrence McNally, a musical starring Twiggy about Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence, a new play from Horton Foote, and a premiere of Bob Kingdom's "Elsa/Edgar," about Elsa Maxwell and J. Edgar Hoover.
In addition to the Boss, those who will appear at an All-Star Tribute evening for Bay Street on April 4 include Edward Albee, Charles Busch, Betty Comden, E.L. Doctorow, Frank Galati, Adolph Green, Mr. McNally, Gary Sinise, and Elaine Stritch.
The occasion of the benefit is the dedication of the theater's stage to Elaine Steinbeck, a tireless supporter and trustee of the theater.
Steinbeck Tribute
The tribute will begin with a champagne reception and end with dinner at the American Hotel. Tickets for the evening are $500, or $150 for the reception and salute alone.
Proceeds from the event will inaugurate Bay Street's "Fund for the Future."
Mrs. Steinbeck and her late husband, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist John Steinbeck, moved to Sag Harbor in 1950, shortly after they were married.
She had been one of the first female stage managers on Broadway, counting among her credits the original production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" and a production of "Othello" that starred Paul Robeson, Uta Hagen, and Jose Ferrer.
Elsa And Edgar
"Elsa/Edgar," which opens on May 20, will be the first of the season's four main events to appear on the new Elaine Steinbeck stage. The double act pits two notorious 20th-century bullies against one another: the tenacious social arbiter Elsa Maxwell and the baleful, sometimes paranoid head of the F.B.I., J. Edgar Hoover.
Horton Foote's play "A Coffin in Egypt," which will also be a world premiere when it opens on June 17, is a tale of passion, infidelity, and murder set in the deep South. "Noel and Gertie," with Twiggy playing Mrs. Lawrence, is a musical celebration of two British theatrical legends. It will run from July 15 through Aug. 2.
The season's closing play is "House," a collaboration between Mr. Baitz and Mr. McNally, which will open on Aug. 12.
Pre-Season Season
The season that launches the season - Bay Street's spring series - will begin next month, on April 18, with a concert by a leading klezmer band, Kapelye.
The Moscow Conservatory Trio will play on April 25 and the cabaret legend Julie Wilson will be on stage on May 2.
Theater fans may also want to note that Bay Street will feature fall appearances by the flamenco dancer Pilar Rioja and the comedienne Marcia Lewis, song from David Campbell and Karen Mason, music from the Eroica Trio and the Manhattan Rhythm Kings, and a series of play-readings.
The box office is open daily except Tuesdays to take reservations.