[2][3][4][5][6][7] By October 2014, plans were underway for a Sondheim and Ives musical based on two Luis Buñuel films, The Exterminating Angel and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, to open in previews at The Public Theater in 2017.

[8] An August 2016 reading for the musical was held at The Public Theater, and it was reported that only the first act was finished, which cast doubt on the speculated 2017 start of previews.

[9] A November 2016 workshop included Matthew Morrison, Shuler Hensley, Heidi Blickenstaff, Sierra Boggess, Gabriel Ebert, Sarah Stiles, Michael Cerveris, and Jennifer Simard.

One Saturday morning, in the fabulous apartment of Leo and Marianne Brink, the couple are surprised by the arrival of their friends, Paul Zimmer and his wife Claudia Bursik-Zimmer.

They are joined by Raffael Santello Di Santicci, the ambassador of (the fictional country) Moranda, and Marianne's younger sister Fritz, an anti-capitalist political hothead.

At the next restaurant, an Italian brasserie ("Osteria Zeno — Toast 3"), their attempt to eat is interrupted by a colonel from Homeland Security and a poetic lieutenant, with whom Fritz instantly falls in love.

On her cellphone, Fritz attempts to call off "the end of the world" only to discover that the embassy butler, Windsor, is in fact Inferno, her PRADA chief.

Late one night, Marianne and the Bishop snack on book pages and have a quiet philosophical exchange ("Interlude 3: Snow") after which they enjoy a light indoor snowfall.

With the group desperate to get out, Raffael is about to sacrifice himself to free them when Marianne realizes they can get out if they just reenact their steps on the evening they decided to stay ("Hesitation — Reprise").

The original group of friends returns to the road and their eternal search for food – but now they find themselves running, amidst what seems to be the end of the world.

The production, directed by Joe Mantello, featured a cast including Francois Battiste, Tracie Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Jin Ha, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O'Hare, Steven Pasquale, David Hyde Pierce, and Jeremy Shamos.

Mantello will direct the production, and the cast will feature O'Hare and Bennett reprising their roles joined by Rory Kinnear, Chumisa Dornford-May, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Richard Fleeshman, Harry Hadden-Paton, Cameron Johnson, Jane Krakowski, Martha Plimpton, and Paulo Szot.