It will be Alan Ayckbourn times three on Broadway this spring.
"The Norman Conquests," a trilogy by the prolific British playwright, will open April 23 at Circle in the Square featuring the cast from the acclaimed Old Vic production in London.
The trilogy, directed by Matthew Warchus, consists of "Table Manners," "Living Together" and "Round and Round the Garden." Previews begin April 7 for a four-month engagement.
The action in the three plays _ set in a dining room, a living room and a garden _ takes place simultaneously, and the works can be viewed in any order. They look at the romantic misadventures of an assistant librarian named Norman, played by Stephen Mangan, and five others during a long weekend.
The plays will run in rep, meaning a complex performance schedule, lead producer Sonia Friedman said Monday in a telephone interview from London.
"You don't have to see all three to have a full experience," she said. "They are plays you can see individually. But when you see one, you'll be just full of curiosity and excitement about seeing the other two."
The plays are told from three different perspectives, all set at the same moment, according to Friedman.
"They are very, very, very funny but like all great plays, the comedy is tinged with tragedy because the plays deal ... with loneliness, thwarted lust, frustration and familial disasters. Everybody will connect with somebody in the play _ unless they've been a hermit," she said.
"The Norman Conquests" was seen on Broadway during the 1975-76 season with a cast that included Richard Benjamin (as Norman) as well as Ken Howard, Barry Nelson, Estelle Parsons, Paula Prentiss and Carole Shelley.
Every Saturday and certain Sundays you can see all three plays in one day _ 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
"On some weekends, the actors will do six shows in two days, a real marathon," the producer said. "Seeing them like that is like having the best feast in the world, one course after another _ unbelievably satisfying."
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