It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Matt Cavenaugh as Superman this Summer in Dallas

Matt Cavenaugh will play the Man of Steel when It’s a Bird... It’s a Plane... It’s Superman, a reboot of the 1966 Broadway musical, hits the stage of the Dallas Theater Center this summer.

Cavenaugh will take on the iconic role of Clark Kent, the nerdy Daily Planet reporter who fights crime on the side as the dashing Superman. He was most recently seen on Broadway as Tony in West Side Story and has also appeared in Urban Cowboy, Grey Gardens and A Catered Affair.

Based on the DC Comics characters, It’s a Bird... It’s a Plane... It’s Superman originally featured a score by composer Charles Strouse and lyricist Lee Adams (who also collaborated on shows like Bye Bye Birdie, Golden Boy and Applause) and book by David Newman and Robert Benton. The story revolved around familiar characters like Superman (played by Bob Holiday) and Lois Lane (Patricia Marand) and less known characters including a villain named Dr. Abner Sedgwick (Michael O’Sullivan) and newspaper workers Max Mencken (Jack Cassidy) and Sydney Carlton (Linda Lavin). Opening at the Alvin Theatre on March 29, 1966 under the direction of Hal Prince, the show received generally good reviews, but only ran for 129 performances. Stars Cassidy, O’Sullivan and Marand were nominated for Tony Awards. A shortened version of the musical was filmed for TV in 1975, featuring in its cast Lesley Ann Warren and Loretta Swit.

Playwright and comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Based on a Totally True Story) has rewritten the book for the new production, moving the action from the 1960s to the 1930s and replacing the little-known villain with chief Superman rival Lex Luthor. The Strouse-Adams score remains, with songs moved around to accommodate the new characters and plot. Several private readings of the show have taken place in the past year. The most recent featured in its cast Cavenaugh, Christopher Sieber, Orfeh, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Leslie Kritzer.

It’s a Bird... It’s a Plane... It’s Superman will run at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, TX from June 18 through July 25, 2010. Dallas Theater Center artistic director Kevin Moriarty will direct.