NEW YORK—The great thing about a classic is how, in the right hands, it can be transformed into something fresh while keeping those elements which made it a classic in the first place.
Richard Wagner’s four-part operatic work, commonly known as the “Ring Cycle,” was condensed and refashioned in 1991 as the musical comedy ”Das Barbecü,” with the story moved to present day Texas—a place where “long-necked beer is the national brew.”
