The Nance Still Nathan Lane - H 2013
Joan MarcusNEW YORK – Nathan Lane might have taken his final bow in the Douglas Carter Beane play The Nance when its extended engagement closed last Sunday, but his Tony-nominated performance will be seen again when the production airs on PBS next year as part of the Live From Lincoln Center series.
Three special performances of the play were filmed for broadcast purposes this week. While no air date has been set, a Lincoln Center rep confirmed that The Nance will be seen during the series’ 40th season.
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Lincoln Center Theater productions that have aired in the past have included the musicals South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza and Contact. However, the PBS series in recent years has mainly been given over to concerts and special events. Plays have rarely been featured.
In The Nance, Lane stars as Chauncey Miles, a burlesque headliner in late-1930s New York, whose brazenly effeminate onstage comedy act hides the tortured homosexuality of his private life. The fearful separation of those two worlds is threatened when a relationship develops with an emotionally unguarded young pickup.
Directed by Jack O’Brien, the production also features Jonny Orsini, Lewis J. Stadlen, Cady Huffman, Jenni Barber and Andrea Burns.
The failure of Beane’s comedy-drama to secure a nomination for best play in this year’s Tony Awards was widely viewed as a major oversight. Including the nod for Lane among lead actors, the production received five nominations, winning for scenic design, costumes and sound.
