Theater mainstay Cynthia Nixon is returning to Broadway — but this time as a director. The “Sex and the City” alumna is set to helm a 40th anniversary production of Jane Chambers’ groundbreaking lesbian play “Last Summer at Bluefish Cove” on the Great White Way. Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, and Lily Tomlin are among the producers, Deadline reports.
Set in 1980, the play takes place at the titular lesbian haven and centers on protagonist “Lil Zalinski and her close-knit group of friends who summer at the colony each year. The arrival of a newcomer (and, possibly, a heterosexual to boot) shakes up the group, as does Lil’s cancer diagnosis.”
“Last Summer at Bluefish Cove” was first staged Off Broadway, at the Actors’ Playhouse, in 1980. Jean Smart (“Watchmen”) originated the role of Lil.
No word on the anniversary production’s casting or premiere date yet.
Chambers is considered a pioneer in queer theater. Her other plays include “A Late Snow” and “My Blue Heaven,” and she also penned novels and poetry. She was diagnosed with cancer in 1981 and passed away in 1983. In 1984, an annual prize was established in her name, the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award.
“Last Summer at Bluefish Cove” isn’t Nixon’s first time directing a play. She previously helmed Off Broadway productions “MotherStruck” and “Steve.” She won Tony Awards for her on-stage work in “The Little Foxes” and “Rabbit Hole.” Among her many other stage credits are “The Heidi Chronicles,” “Angels in America,” and “The Vagina Monologues.”
Nixon won an Emmy for playing “Sex and the City’s” sarcastic, witty attorney Miranda Hobbes. Her more recent screen work includes “Hannibal,” “A Quiet Passion,” and “The Affair.”
