Cynthia Nixon To Direct Landmark Lesbian Play ‘Last Summer At Bluefish Cove’ For Broadway

Cynthia Nixon will direct a 40th anniversary Broadway production of Jane Chambers’ landmark lesbian stage drama Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, to be produced by Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Lily Tomlin, Jane Wagner and Harriet Newman Leve.

The producers have not yet announced casting, venue or timeline.

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Set in 1980 at the lesbian beach haven called Bluefish Cove, the play follows 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.

The play was first staged Off Broadway in 1980 at the Actors’ Playhouse, starring Jean Smart as Lil. Playwright Chambers was diagnosed with cancer in 1981, and died in 1983.

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