“Monkey: Journey to the West,” a music and theater mash-up that also includes cartoon segments, martial arts and acrobatics, will open the Lincoln Center Festival this summer and play more performances than any show in the event’s history.
“Monkey,” which had its premiere at the Manchester International Festival in 2007, is conceived and directed by opera and film director Chen Shi-Zheng and features music by Damon Albarn of the band Blur, and design and animation by Jamie Hewlett, who collaborates with Mr. Albarn on the “cartoon band” Gorillaz.
Based on a 16th-century Chinese folk tale, the show is about a monk’s fantastical journey, led by the Monkey King, in search of sacred Buddhist scriptures. The 27 performances at the David H. Koch Theater will mark its New York debut; it played the Spoleto USA Festival in 2008.
While the show has played internationally since, Nigel Redden, the Lincoln Center Festival’s director, said he still expected it to be a big draw in New York. “It sold more tickets than any other single event in the 36-year history of Spoleto,” he said on Wednesday. “But it’s never been in New York and to some extent, many artists feel their work has not premiered in the U.S. until it has premiered in New York.”
Other theatrical productions announced by Lincoln Center on Wednesday include “Shun-Kin,” from the London-based Complicite, which has appeared at the festival several times. Directed by Simon McBurney, the play — about a blind musician and her lover in 19th century Japan — will be performed by members of Tokyo’s Setagaya Public Theater.
Music offerings will include a celebration of John Zorn and the United States premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Michael’s Journey Around the World,” an instrumental work derived from the avant-garde German composer’s seven-opera cycle.
The often unpredictable Sinead O’Connor, who cancelled her 2012 tour, will appear for two nights at Alice Tully Hall, presenting her new project exploring soul gospel music.
The 2013 festival runs July 6-28. Single tickets go on sale on April 8.