It's been a year since the tragic events of Sept. 11 violently shook the country, the world, and the Broadway theatre. It was feared that the industry might never recover from tumbling box offices and a lessening tourist market. Though there was a scary period and we still haven't seen the end of it, there is reason for hope. Income has picked up recently, despite a lack of advance sales, and a quartet of shows has already opened, making this one of Broadway's busiest summers. The revival of I'm Not Rappaport was unable to find an audience, closing Sept. 8 after only 53 regular performances and 15 previews, but the other three seem to have a more promising future. Hairspray is a solid hit, with critics racking their brain for appropriate coiffure-related metaphors for excellence. Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is in healthy shape for its limited run, and while the revised The Boys from Syracuse got some mixed notices, the Roundabout subscription audience should provide the necessary support during its limited engagement.
The season ahead looks promising, full of large productions and job opportunities for Back Stage readers. The biggest trend is musicals made from films or the song catalogues of pop and rock stars. We've included information on casting when available, plus audition tips from a prominent casting director (see sidebar, page TO COME). The casting director for Hairspray is Bernard Telsey (See the related notice for the tour in this week's issue). Off-Broadway will be covered in the Oct. 4 issue.
Note: Casting directors are listed for all shows when the information is available. Unless otherwise noted, the production has already held its Equity auditions. Watch Back Stage for casting announcements for possible replacements or understudies.
Perhaps to avoid conflicts with the Sept. 11 anniversary, there are no Broadway openings scheduled for this month. The first new production of the fall will not open until October. That's Say Goodnight, Gracie, a one-man show by Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) starring Frank Gorshin (best known to fans of TV reruns as the maniacal Riddler on the 1960s Batman series) as the legendary George Burns. John Tillinger directs this tribute to the comedian, which will include reminiscences of his decades-long career and his onstage and offstage partnership with his wife, Gracie Allen. Previews begin Sept. 17 at the Helen Hayes with an opening scheduled for Oct. 10.
Another visit with old friends follows a week later. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song has not been revived on Broadway since its original production in 1958. This musical version of C.Y. Lee's novel about Chinese immigrants in San Francisco featured a cast of varying ethnicities, including African-American Juanita Hall and Caucasian Larry Blyden in Asian roles. This new production will feature an all-Asian cast led by Tony winner Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon), Randall Duk Kim (The King and I, Cymbeline), José Llana (On the Town), Jodi Long (Golden Child, Margaret Cho's mom on All-American Girl), Sandra Allen, Alvin Ing (Pacific Overtures), Allen Liu, and Hoon Lee.
The original book by Oscar Hammerstein and Joseph Fields has been substantially rewritten by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly). The 1958 version was a rather innocuous tale of mail-order brides and true love triumphing over tradition. The new libretto depicts a broader struggle between assimilation and maintaining ethnic identity. Robert Longbottom (Side Show) directs and choreographs. Tara Rubin handles the casting. This new version opened at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in October of last year. Previews start Sept. 23; opens Oct. 17 at the Virginia.
Quick! How many hit Broadway musicals have started life in Paris? If you couldn't think of any besides Les Miz, don't feel bad. Only two other tuners originated in the City of Light: Irma La Douce and La Plume de Ma Tante. But the Shubert Organization, Jean Doumanian, and USA Ostar Theatricals want to add one more statistic to that trivia question with Amour, the winner of the 1997 Molière Award (the French equivalent of the Tony) for Best Musical. Featuring music by the legendary Michel Legrand ("The Windmills of Your Mind," "The Shadow of Your Smile," etc., etc.), the show tells the story of a minor Paris civil servant who can suddenly walk through walls. The book and lyrics are by Didier van Cauiwelaert, with English adaptation by Jeremy Sams. James Lapine, who just put a fresh fairytale spin on Into the Woods, will work some magic on the staging here. Bernard Telsey is the casting director.
The cast is headed by Malcolm Gets (Caroline in the City, A New Brain, Merrily We Roll Along) and Melissa Errico (High Society, My Fair Lady). Also featured are Lewis Cleale (Swinging on a Star, Once Upon a Mattress), John Cunningham (The Sisters Rosenzweig), Christopher Fitzgerald (Check), Norm Lewis (Side Show), Sarah Litzsinger, Nora Mae Lyng (various editions of Forbidden Broadway), and Bill Nolte. Previews start Sept. 20; opens Oct. 20 at the Music Box.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that besides movies being turned into musicals, Broadway's biggest trend is pop-rock stars recycling their Top 40 faves into shows. Billy Joel joins the hit parade with Movin' Out. Twyla Tharp conceives, choreographs, and directs this tuner employing 24 of Joel's songs and a cast of 27 to follow six friends through two turbulent decades. The critical reception for a Chicago tryout was mixed, but Tharp is sharpening her staging and anything can happen when Movin' Out moves in for previews at the Richard Rodgers starting Sept. 30. Opening is Oct. 24. Jay Binder of Binder Casting does the hiring. John Selyz, Elizabeth Parkinson, Keith Roberts, Ashley Tuttle, Tony winner Scott Wise, Benjamin G. Bowman, and Michael Cavanaugh star.
Another one-man show follows, as the ever-controversial Jackie Mason asks us to try some of his Prune Danish, a mix of social commentary and stand-up shtick playing the Royale with previews beginning Oct. 8 and opening for a limited run on Oct. 22.
We end the month with Hollywood Arms, a new play by Carol Burnett and her late daughter, Carrie Hamilton, based on Burnett's autobiographical memoir, One More Time. This nostalgic comedy-drama focuses on three generations of women living in a rundown apartment building in the city of movie dreams. Linda Lavin (Tony for Broadway Bound), Michele Pawk (Cabaret, Crazy for You), Frank Wood (Tony for Side Man), Donna Lynne Champlin (By Jeeves), and Sara Niemetz head the cast. Harold Prince directs. He also returns to his long-abandoned role of theatrical producer for this show, joined by co-producer Arielle Tepper. Casting is by Mark Simon. Previews start at the Cort on Oct. 7; opens Oct. 31.
In November, we only have two openings and they couldn't be more non-mainstream Broadway. Dance of the Vampires flaps into the Minskoff for previews starting Oct. 14 and a Nov. 21 opening. Like Amour, Vampires has a European pedigree, having started out in Vienna. This American adaptation features songs by Jim Steinman (including a few recycled hits, like "Total Eclipse of the Heart") and a book by David Ives, Michael Kunze, and Steinman based on the original German libretto by Kunze.
The show has several elements in common with many recent Broadway hits. Like Hairspray and The Producers, it's a campy stage retelling of a cult film, in this case Roman Polanski's 1967 The Fearless Vampire Killers. Like Urinetown, it has a satiric edge and is directed and choreographed by the same team (John Rando and John Carrafa). Set in Lower Belabartokovitch, Transylvania, the story stars the original Phantom of the Opera, Michael Crawford, playing yet another ghoulish outsider--Count Von Krolock, a 19th-century vampire who must possess a beautiful young virgin. Rene Auberjonois (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Big River), Manny Gonzalez, Max Von Essen, Liz McCarthy, Leah Hocking, Ron Orbach (Laughter on the 23rd Floor), Mark Price, and Asa Somers co-star. Casting is by Bernard Telsey.
Hip-hop is one genre Broadway has not embraced. But rap/hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons is planning to change that. Simmons' Def Poetry Jam, a specialty show starring a cast of poet-performers, will begin a limited six-week Broadway run in mid-October with an official opening night in November to be announced. The theatre is also to be announced. Def Poetry Jam is based on the HBO series and will feature Black Ice, Staceyann Chin, Steve Colman, Mayda Del Valle, Georgia Me, Suheir Hammad, Lemon, Poetri, and Beau Sia. Music will be provided by DJ Tendaji. Stan Lanthan directs.
The Paul Newman Our Town, originally presented at the Westport Country Playhouse, is scheduled to transfer to the Main Stem at a theatre to be announced, possibly the Booth Theatre, now that I'm Not Rappaport has shuttered. Start date of previews has yet to be determined, but the latest news has it to begin previews sometime in mid-to-late November.
December ushers in more traditional Broadway fare with a revival of the "Impossible Dream" musical, Man of La Mancha. After a sojourn into August Wilson territory with a leading role in King Hedley II, Brian Stokes Mitchell (Tony and Drama Desk winner for Kiss Me, Kate, nominee for Ragtime) returns to the tuner format to take on Don Quixote. Oscar nominee Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is his Aldonza and Ernie Sabella (Guys and Dolls, the Nathan Lane Forum) provides comic support as Sancho Panza. Mark Jacoby (Show Boat) and Stephen Bogardus (Love! Valour! Compassion!, High Society) also star. Jonathan Kent stages this Dale Wasserman-Mitch Leigh-Joe Darion classic, which won the Tony for Best Musical in 1966 and was revived in 1992 starring Raul Julia and Sheena Easton under original director Albert Marre's guidance. Bernard Telsey handles casting. A Washington, D.C. tryout starts Oct. 8. Previews begin at the Martin Beck on Nov. 19, with an opening set for Dec. 5.
From a Broadway standard we go to a Broadway rarity—a full-scale opera staging by one of filmdom's hottest directors. Baz Luhrmann has revitalized the movie musical with Moulin Rouge; now he tackles the Main Stem with Puccini's La Bohème, set in the 1950s and sung in the original Italian with English super-titles. There was an Off-Broadway production of La Bohème at the New York Shakespeare Festival during the 1983-84 season—starring Linda Ronstadt and sung in an English adaptation by David Spencer.
This production was a hit at the Sydney Opera House in Luhrmann's native Australia in 1990. The period sets will be Luhrmann's wife, Catherine Martin, who won Oscars for her Moulin Rouge art direction and costume design. She'll be collaborating on the clothes with Angus Strathie. After an exhaustive worldwide search, Luhrmann has triple-cast the production with an international group of young opera signers. American Lisa Hopkins, Chinese Wei Huang, and Russian Ekaterina Solovyeva alternate as Mimi. Rodolfo will be played by Englishman Alfred Boe and Americans Jesus Garcia and David Miller. Bernard Telsey is the casting director. (Note: Any future possible replacements would have to be opera trained.) San Francisco's Curran Theatre will host a pre-Broadway engagement from Oct. 1-Nov. 10. It begins previews at the Broadway Theatre on Nov. 26 and opens Dec. 8.
At first glance, Hairspray and Imaginary Friends don't appear to have much in common. One is a campy hoot based on a John Waters film about dancing and big hair in 1960s Baltimore. The other is a "play with music" about the feud between literary giants Lillian Hellman and Mary McCarthy. But look again. They both have the same director (Jack O'Brien) and choreographer (Jerry Mitchell) and both feature strong female leading roles. (Okay, the mother in Hairspray is played by a man in drag, but it's still a strong female role.)
The play by Nora Ephron (the popular screenwriter of such cinema fare as When Harry Met Sally is making her stage debut) will feature songs by the Sweet Smell of Success team of Marvin Hamlisch (music) and Craig Carnelia (lyrics). Casting is by Tara Rubin. Tony winners Swoosie Kurtz (Hellman) and Cherry Jones (McCarthy) head the cast, which will also include Harry Groener (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Crazy for You), Anne Pitoniak ('Night, Mother, Amy's View), Peter Marx (Annie Get Your Gun), and Perry Laylon Ojeda (On the Town). A pre-Broadway engagement is set for San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, Sept. 21-Nov. 3. The writerly catfighting will begin in New York at the Ethel Barrymore with previews on Nov. 25 and an official opening for Dec. 12.
Let's try a little six degrees of separation, shall we? Lillian Hellman is the subject of Imaginary Friends. Hellman once stayed at the country house of George S. Kaufman, who co-wrote Dinner at Eight with Edna Ferber, which is the next Broadway opening. This 1932 large-cast play will be the first production of Lincoln Center Theater's 2002-03 season. You probably know it as a 1933 MGM extravaganza starring Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Marie Dressler, Billie Burke, and Lionel and John Barrymore. It has only had one major theatrical revival since then and that was in 1966. The multiple plots follow the romances, tragedies, and triumphs of a group of New Yorkers attending a high-class dinner party. Director Gerald Gutierrez, who won Tonys for his revivals of The Heiress and A Delicate Balance, will again attempt to breathe new life into an under-appreciated work. Tony winners Dorothy Loudon (Annie) and Christine Ebersole (42nd Street) head a cast that will also include Joe Grifasi, Ann McDonough, and James Rebhorn. Daniel Swee is the casting director for LCT productions. Previews begin at the Vivian Beaumont Nov. 21; opens Dec. 19 for a limited run.
Following The Boys from Syracuse into the American Airlines Theatre is Tartuffe, Molière's classic comedy of greed and hypocrisy (which should be extremely relevant in the Age of Enron). This Roundabout production will be directed by Joe Dowling and stars Henry Goodman as the titular swindler and Brian Bedford as his dupe, Orgon. Goodman briefly played another famous con man—producer Max Bialystock in The Producers—on Broadway before unceremoniously and publicly receiving the axe. This production should give theatregoers more of a chance to savor his talents. Jim Carnahan is the casting director. Target opening date: sometime in December.
Tentative Plans for the New Year
Once the new year dawns, firm commitments for opening dates and theatres begin to fade. The following shows have announced solid intentions to open, but further information has not been forthcoming.
Ben Stiller may have dropped out of the revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, but a start date for previews has been announced (Jan. 7), Danny DeVito of Taxi fame is still attached as an above-the-title attraction, and Tony-winning director Daniel Sullivan (Proof) is still promised to helm the project. A theatre for Mamet's foul-talking real estate salesmen has not yet been found. Bernard Telsey is the casting director. (See the related casting notice in this week's issue.)
The Roundabout continues its season with a revival of Nine set to begin previews Feb. 25 at the Eugene O'Neill. This 1982 Tony-winning tuner is based on Fellini's classic autobiographical film, 8 fi, and ran for 732 performances at the 46th Street Theatre (now the Richard Rodgers). David Leveaux will direct Antonio Banderas as the Fellini-esque director searching for the meaning of his life and an ending for his movie. Laura Benanti (Into the Woods), Nell Campbell (You Should Be So Lucky), Jane Krakowksi (Ally McBeal, Grand Hotel), Saundra Santiago (Miami Vice), and Kennedy Center honoree Chita Rivera have been mentioned as prime candidates to play the ladies in his life. Benanti and Krakowski have confirmed their participation, while the others have still not officially announced their casting. Jim Carnahan is the casting director for Roundabout productions. Other Roundabout Broadway shows this season include The Look of Love, a revue of Burt Bacharach-Hal David songs, and Strindberg's Miss Julie with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Rachel Weisz, the latter replacing Natasha Richardson, who bowed out due to a filming conflict.
The Play What I Wrote, by British comedy duo Hamish McColl and Sean Foley, will make the leap across the pond from a London hit run to a Broadway berth at a Shubert theatre sometime in March. McColl and Foley may be remembered by American theatregoers for their recent (1999) stint Off-Off-Broadway at P.S. 122 in their show, Do You Come Here Often? The play stars the duo and actor Toby Jones. One of its gimmicks is to feature a different "mystery guest" at every performance.
Never Gonna Dance, based on the 1936 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film, Swing Time, had a successful workshop last November and its producers are planning to open it before this season ends. Director Michael Grief moves from the grungy tenements of Rent to the ballrooms of the 1930s. Jeffrey Hatcher wrote the book, while the songs are such evergreens from the film as "The Way You Look Tonight," "A Fine Romance," and "Never Gonna Dance," supplemented by Jerome Kern-Dorothy Fields ditties from some of their other projects. The workshop featured Nancy Lemenager, Noah Racey, Peter Bartlett, and David Pittu. Bernard Telsey is the casting director.
Frank Wildhorn once had three shows running on Broadway at the same time (The Scarlet Pimpernel, Jekyll & Hyde, and The Civil War). He may not pull off the same hat trick again, but he's got a quite a few projects going. The most promising one for this season is Camille Claudel, derived from the 1990 French film about the titular sculptress best known for being Rodin's mistress, but longing to carve out a name of her own. Wildhorn's wife, Linda Eder, is set to star, singing her husband's songs and speaking book writer Nan Knighton's words. Gabriel Barre (MTC's The Wild Party) is the director. Other Wildhorn projects: Dracula (which may postpone opening to avoid competition from the similarly themed Dance of the Vampires), Havana, and musical versions of Blade Runner and Alice in Wonderland.
Fran and Barry Weissler are planning a revival of Sweet Charity to star Jenna Elfman of Dharma and Greg fame, as well as a new mounting of The Miracle Worker for Oscar winner Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry) directed by Marianne Elliott (the Donmar Warehouse's The Little Foxes). Both are scheduled to open sometime in the spring.
Paper Doll, Barbara Zitwer and Mark Hampton's bio of trash novelist Jacqueline Susann, was to open last season with Marlo Thomas and F. Murray Abraham, but no theatres were available. Thomas has since dropped out, but Fran Drescher (The Nanny) has taken over the lead and plans are to unwrap this Doll in the spring, under the direction of Leonard Foglia (Master Class, Dead Man Walking at City Opera).
The only definite opening date for 2003 so far is April 24, when the latest revival of Gypsy will bow, featuring the unusual casting of perennially pixie-ish Bernadette Peters as the ultimate stage mother Mama Rose. Sam Mendes (Cabaret, American Beauty, Road to Perdition) will try his hand at finding yet another variation on this American classic that galvanized the careers of Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, and Tyne Daly. Super-hot Jerry Mitchell handles the choreography and Jim Carnahan is the casting director. Previews start March 24, reportedly at the Shubert Theatre (where the long running revival of Chicago is currently ensconced). (See the related casting notice in this week's issue for an open call for kids.)
2003-04 and Beyond
As anyone involved in theatre can tell you, nothing is for certain. Here's a rundown of all the shows in various stages of preparation that may or may not make it to the Great White Way in the seasons ahead.
Abbey Victoria: A musical spoof by Donald Loftus (book and lyrics) and Andrew Sussman (music) about a girl just off the bus wanting to become a Broadway star has gone the reading and workshop route with hopes of following in the footsteps of its heroine.
After the Fall: Hilary Swank participated in a reading of this Arthur Miller drama for Roundabout, directed by Michael Mayer. That might mean we could see the show on the theatre's schedule at a future date after she finishes her run in The Miracle Worker or with a different star.
Almost Heaven: Songs and Stories of John Denver: An invitation-only performance of this revue of the late singer-songwriter's countrified canon at a rehearsal room in the John Houseman Theatre was met with enthusiasm by an audience of bookers and producers. The show has been a hit at the Denver Theatre Center (how appropriate) and producer Harold Thau would like to take it on tour, possibly in Europe, before bringing it to New York.
An American in Paris: Wendy Wasserstein is adapting the 1951 Oscar-winning movie musical, which featured a score full of Gershwin favorites. The new story is reportedly totally different from Alan Jay Lerner's Oscar-winning original screenplay. Jerry Zaks directed a workshop at Lincoln Center last year that featured Howard McGillin, Vanessa Williams, Peter Jacobson, Jan Maxwell, Tovah Feldshuh, and Charlotte Moore. A second workshop featured Michael Park, Bebe Neuwirth, Marian Seldes, Adam Arkin, Edward Hibbert, and Peter Bartlett. The reaction to both was positive and the show is getting more work and attention. The New York Post recently reported Zaks has left the project and Daniel Sullivan might take over as director.
Assassins: Some shows just can't catch a break. When this edgy Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman meditation on people who killed or tried to kill American presidents initially opened at Playwrights Horizons in 1991, it was deemed too dark for Broadway. A Roundabout revival reading sparked interest and the show was all set to go for last season. The tragic events of Sept. 11 forced the company to postpone on the grounds that the subject was inappropriate to the moment. Now director Joe Mantello says Assassins is a go for 2003-04 at Roundabout.
Barbarella: Rockers Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox of The Eurythmics are banging out the score for a stage musical based on this 1968 Jane Fonda sci-fi starrer. It's set to open in Vienna in 2004 and Broadway may be in its future.
Ball of Fire: Fran and Barry Weissler have hired screenwriter Richard LaGravenese to adapt this 1941 screwball comedy about a streetwise dancer and a stuffy linguist to the musical stage.
Batman: The Caped Crusader has been a star in comic books, in the movies, and on TV. So why not Broadway? This stage version of his adventures, staffed with plenty of the Dance of the Vampires crew (librettist David Ives, songwriter Jim Steinman) is still in a holding pattern. But it has just been announced that Tim Burton, the director of the first two Batman movies, will be staging the musical exploits of the Dark Knight. An out-of-town tryout is anticipated for 2004, with a Broadway opening in 2005.
Bombay Dreams: Miramax's Harvey Weinstein is interested in bringing this London show inspired by Indian movie musicals to Broadway. The fact that Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the producers can't hurt matters. The London critics were divided when the show opened this June, but Bombay is big, splashy, and exotic, and has reportedly already returned 20% of its investment. Chances are strong for a 2003-04 New York opening.
The Boy from Oz: This musical bio of the late Peter Allen was to have opened this season, but star Hugh Jackman's film schedule has pushed it back to the fall of 2003-04. Martin Sherman (Bent, Rose) wrote the book, which employs Allen's songs to chart his rise from Australian club entertainer to Liza Minnelli's husband to international superstar. Philip Wm. McKinley directs and Joey McKneely choreographs. Michael Mulheren, Ruthie Henshall, Patti Allison, and Isabel Keating did a workshop of the show in April. Joseph McConnell is the casting director.
The Breath of Life: There is nothing like a dame—except a pair of dames. Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Judi Dench will co-star in this new play by David Hare in London this fall. They play two actresses once involved with the same man. There are tentative plans to bring the two dames to Broadway in the fall of 2004.
A Bronx Tale: Chazz Palminteri's story of wise guys and growing up gets the musical treatment from songwriter Jimmy Webb.
Bullets Over Broadway: Now that Woody Allen's legal battle with his former producer Jean Doumanian has been resolved, this stage version of his 1994 comedy can move forward. Douglas McGrath is at work on the book, based on the screenplay that he co-wrote with Allen, who may be involved in some capacity. The Sweet Smell of Success and Imaginary Friends team of Marvin Hamlisch and Craig Carnelia are slated for the songs.
Buzz (Nothing Succeeds Like Excess): No, this is not a musical based on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Buzz of the title is Busby Berkeley, the legendary director and choreographer of such elaborate Hollywood musicals as 42nd Street and the Golddigger films. Composer Alan Menken, lyricist David Zippel, and writer Larry Gelbart plan to bring his life story to the stage and open it in the razzle-dazzle capital of the world, Las Vegas. Can New York be more than a chorus girl's kick away?
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The rumor mill has it that this London stage version of the 1967 Dick Van Dyke kiddie movie may transfer to the Ford Center once 42nd Street packs up its tap shoes.
The Color Purple: Actress-playwright Regina Taylor and songwriters Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray are among those at work on theatricalizing Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Director Matthew Warchus (True West, Follies) and Creative Battery, a production company, are also attached to the project.
Curtains: This original backstage whodunit from Peter Stone, John Kander, and Fred Ebb, which they've been incubating for nearly 15 years, had a successful reading last year and a workshop is in the works. And Kander and Ebb's musical version of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, sporting a book by Joseph Stein and the new title of Over and Over, is also in redevelopment after a regional production some seasons back.
Dirty Dancing: Stage version of the 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey about romance at a Catskills summer resort. A workshop is currently in progress. Eleanor Bergstein is the author of the book and Diane Paulus and Randy Weiner (The Donkey Show) are the directors.
Disney Projects: Among the percolating projects under the roof of the Big Mouse are: The Little Mermaid, to be staged by Matthew Bourne (Swan Lake); a stage edition of Mary Poppins, produced through an alliance between Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, first in London, then New York; Tarzan, done in a Central Park tent to be designed by Bob Crowley (Aida) with the ape man swinging through real trees; Hoopz, a musical based on the Harlem Globetrotters with a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks and direction by Marion McClinton (Jitney, King Hedley II), possibly to open at Trinity Rep in Providence, R.I. before Broadway; a Pinocchio from Julie Taymor; and musicals based on such non-animated Disney film fare as the Robin Williams drama Dead Poets Society and the Julia Roberts comedy Pretty Woman.
Enchanted April: This one has been in the "maybe" column for quite some time. A stage version of the 1992 film comedy about a group of Englishwomen vacationing in sunny Italy, adapted by Matthew Barber from Elizabeth Von Arnim's novel, had a world premiere at the Hartford Stage in March 2000. Several theatre columns have mentioned it as a possibility for Broadway.
Fanny Hill: Robert Johanson directed Kristin Chenoweth, Ed Dixon, Mary Stout, Julia Murney, Glory Crampton, Paul Schoeffler, and James Hindman in a reading last year of Dixon's musical adaptation of the racy 18th-century classic, which had a developmental production at Goodspeed-at-Chester in 1999 starring Nancy Anderson. But Chenoweth has opted to do Stephen Schwartz's Wicked instead (see below), so Fanny's road may be a bit uphill for now.
Gem of the Ocean: August Wilson's next-to-last installment in his decade-by-decade exploration of the African-American experience in the 20th century is planned for Chicago's Goodman Theatre in April 2003. All of the plays except one (Jitney) have played Broadway, so expect Gem to sparkle on the Main Stem.
Ginger and Fred: Tommy Tune is reportedly toying with the idea of a stage version of the 1986 Fellini film about a pair of retired Italian dancers (played in the film by Marcello Mastroianni and Fellini's wife, the luminous Giulietta Masina) who made their name by imitating Astaire and Rogers.
Gold!: Originally titled Wise Guys, this Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical about the real-life Mizner Brothers starts performances at Chicago's Goodman Theatre on June 20, 2003 under the direction of Harold Prince (reuniting Sondheim and Prince artistically after a 20-year hiatus). A recent report says that there may be yet another change of title for this show, this time to Get Rich Quick.
Grace, the Musical: This bio of the film star who gave it all up to become the Princess of Monaco is a hit in Amsterdam and features music by Broadway legend Cy Coleman. Army Archerd reported in Variety that its Dutch producers are looking for a possible Broadway transfer.
I Dream of Jeannie: Batman is not the only TV fantasy character being prepped for a Broadway run. This 1965-70 NBC sitcom, which starred Barbara Eden as a magical genie and Larry Hagman as her hapless astronaut master, is in development for both a movie and stage musical version. Scott Steindorff and Stone Village Productions have acquired the rights to the series from creator Sidney Sheldon. In addition, there are musicals derived from Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Happy Days, and Fame in various stages of development floating about in the TV-to-stage stream.
Is That All There Is?: Dick Foster Productions has signed up Larry Hart (Sisterella) to create a musical based on the life of Peggy Lee. The show is scheduled for Australia and London before a U.S. tour with a possible New York stopover.
Jailhouse Rock: Yes, a Broadway version of the 1957 Elvis romp is in the works. It's also like a follow-up to Smokey Joe's Café. The score combines Leiber-Stoller rock classics and new songs by an as-yet-unnamed Grammy-winning composer. Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (screenplay for The Commitments) are the authors of the book. Not to be confused with Can't Help Falling in Love, a show built around songs made famous by the King.
Joan Rivers: The comedienne and fashion critic is reportedly at work on a new comedy concert for Broadway, as is Jerry Lewis.
LaBute/Costello Project: Talk about odd couples, Neil Labute (The Shape of Things, bash) is collaborating with Elvis Costello on a musical projected for Broadway. Both are keeping mum on the subject matter.
Light in the Piazza: Adam Guettel has been working for some time now on the music and lyrics for an adaptation of this novella by Elizabeth Spencer, which also served as the basis of the hit 1962 film starring Olivia de Havilland, Rossano Brazzi, Yvette Mimieux, and George Hamilton. The story takes place in Florence, Italy and concerns the budding romance between a young and charmingly "simple" American girl and a handsome Italian boy, and the reactions her overprotective mother and his suave father have to the love affair. Guettel is clearly on his grandfather Richard Rodgers' and godfather Arthur Laurents' Do I Hear a Waltz? territory here. Playwright Craig Lucas provides the book (replacing previously announced Alfred Uhry) and the show will debut in 2003 at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle, where Lucas is associate artistic director.
Little Mary Sunshine: This 1959 spoof of operettas was a long running hit Off-Broadway and made a star of Eileen Brennan (later to co-star with Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly! and receive an Oscar nomination for Private Benjamin). There was a recent reading in Manhattan with Sarah Rice (Sweeney Todd), Chuck Wagner, and Marni Nixon, to attract backers for a possible Broadway revival in 2003-04.
Little Shop of Horrors: Like Little Mary Sunshine, this intimate show about a killer plant was a spoof of a popular genre (grade-B horror films) and was a major Off-Broadway hit that never played the Main Stem. Producers Richard Frankel, Marc Routh, Thomas Viertel, and Steven Baruch hope to correct that by planting it on Broadway. Connie Grappo (Tabletop), who assisted author-director Howard Ashman on the original production, is staging the revival of the 1982 tuner. A tryout at the Miracle Theatre of Coral Gables, Fla. is planned for May of 2003, with a Broadway seeding of previews set for July, followed by the flowering of an August opening. Bernard Telsey is the casting director.
Little Shows: Two musical one-acts by Deborah Grace Winer, one starring Polly Bergen and the other Karen Ziemba, are currently in development.
Lone Star Love: Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor set in Texas with Falstaff and company crooning country-western songs, conceived and adapted by John L. Haber, with a score by John Herrick and additional material by Michael Bogdanov, Bland Simpson, and Tommy Thompson. This project was announced for Broadway, but nothing ever came of it. A production at the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio starring Jay O. Sanders received decent reviews last fall, so it still may be in play for a future opening.
Marty: A musical version of this 1955 Oscar-winning drama of a lonely butcher has been in the planning stages for many seasons now. Though initially intended as vehicle for Jason Alexander, John C. Reilly (True West, Magnolia) will now play the Ernest Borgnine role in a pre-Broadway engagement at Boston's Huntington Theatre, Oct. 18-Nov. 24. The creative team consists of Rupert Holmes (book), Charles Strouse (music), Lee Adams (lyrics), and Mark Brokaw (direction).
Miss Spectacular: This Jerry Herman musical was commissioned in the 1990s to play Vegas, but was scotched when the hotel it was intended for was bought by the MGM Grand. The composer recently put out a concept album of the score in hopes of attracting a producer. Robert L. Freedman's (TV's Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows and the Brandy version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella) original book has apparently been scrapped, but the story still concerns a naïve Kansas girl who travels to Sin City to compete in the title showgirl pageant.
The Money Man: Jason Robert Brown (Parade) is developing a dance musical based on the life of Michael Milken and the 1980s Wall Street insider-trading scandal.
Moonstruck: "Snap out of it!" John Patrick Shanley is adapting his Oscar-winning screenplay for the Broadway stage with music by Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls, Side Show) and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam). Still in the early planning stages.
The Opposite of Sex: Here's a slight variation on the movies-into-musical trend. A musical based on a film that's only a few years old. The 1998 comedy about a scheming young woman (Christina Ricci in the movie) bent on seducing a gay man is undergoing the musicalization process. Douglas J. Cohen (No Way to Treat a Lady) has already reportedly written 12 songs and Robert Jess Roth (Beauty and the Beast) is slated to direct.
Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple: Neil Simon revisits the world's most famous slob and neatnik. A reading of the new, updated version of the story of two divorced men rooming together was recently held in Los Angeles' Geffen Theatre with TV favorites John Larroquette (Night Court) and Joe Regalbuto (Murphy Brown) in the title roles. No plans for New York as of yet, but every Neil Simon play winds up here sooner or later.
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever: Michael Mayer (Thoroughly Modern Millie) directed a reading of a revised version of this 1965 Alan Jay Lerner-Burton Lane tuner about the then-hot topics of ESP and reincarnation last April at the New York Theatre Workshop. Playwright Paul Selig, who tackled paranormal subject matter in his solo play, Mystery School, reworked Lerner's original book. No word on what happened to the previously announced gender-bending reworking by Paula Vogel.
The Pink Panther: Hey, I'm not making this up. Blake Edwards is really preparing a musical based on his slapstick series of films that starred Peter Sellers as the sublimely clumsy Inspector Clouseau. Edwards has completed the book and Leslie Bricusse has written 13 songs to go with the famous "Pink Panther" theme by Henry Mancini.
Rose and Walsh: The title may possibly change, but in addition to his new version of The Odd Couple, Neil Simon is working on a play based on the legendary romance of Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett. A recent reading in L.A. starred Lee Grant and John Larroquette as the literary lovers, with Dinah Manoff (Grant's daughter) and Brendan Fraser reading the only other two roles.
Rosie O'Donnell Project: The former talk-show diva and perennial Broadway booster is collaborating with her TV musical director, John McDaniel, on a play derived from her memoir Find Me. This piece will be a two-hander, with Rosie as herself and an as-yet-uncast actress in all the other parts.
The Royal Family: The William Finn musical version of this Kaufman and Ferber comedy of a clan not unlike the Barrymores has stalled, but the original play is a dream project that Kate Burton would like to do with Marian Seldes as her mother and Nicholas Martin (her Hedda Gabbler helmer) directing.
Sleuth: Who will produce a revival of Anthony Shaffer's thriller that won the Tony for Best Play in 1971 is its own mystery. Ben Sprecher, Julian Schlossberg, and Roy Furman want it for their Fortune's Fool director Arthur Penn to stage, while Elizabeth McCann has her eye on it as well. Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine headlined the 1972 film version, and rumors abound that Caine is being courted to play the Olivier role, with Jude Law playing the younger part. Michael Reidel of the Post conjectures a possible pairing of Frank Langella and Hugh Grant. Prospects: Too early too tell.
Soapdish: Screenwriter Robert Harling is reportedly speaking to directors and songwriters about adapting his 1991 screen comedy about the daytime drama industry into a musical.
Strictly Ballroom: Rumor has it that once Baz Luhrmann gets La Bohème up and running, he wants to bring his 1992 film to the stage. Can Moulin Rouge be far behind?
Taboo: Boy George joins the legion of pop and rock stars opening up their song trunks on Broadway. This London show combines real and imaginary characters (including Boy George himself) in a love story set against the London club scene of the 1980s. Boy George has written a brace of new songs to go with three old favorites from his Culture Club days. Rosie O'Donnell has stated she wants turn producer and bring the production to New York.
Take Flight: The Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart, and Charles Lindbergh are the airborne subjects of this musical from Marsha Norman (book), David Shire (music), and Richard Maltby, Jr. (lyrics). Jerry Mitchell will come off of his Hairspray high to direct and choreograph. The show took a flyer last summer with a reading at the O'Neill Musical Theatre Conference.
2 Lives: This autobiographical play by Arthur Laurents (Gypsy, West Side Story, The Way We Were, The Radical Mystique, etc. etc.), centering on the lives of a 72-year-old playwright and his long-time younger husband, will receive a co-production by the Lyric Stage Company and the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. Huntington Artistic Director Nicholas Martin, who was responsible for Lincoln Center's excellent recent revival of Laurents' The Time of the Cuckoo starring Debra Monk, mentioned it as a possible Broadway transfer in an interview with the Boston edition of Playbill.
Urban Cowboy: Lonny Price (A Class Act) has taken over the direction of this musical based on the John Travolta film following the death of the original helmer, Philip Oesterman. Cowboy was workshopped at the Westbeth Theatre Center with Raul Esparza, Sandy Duncan, and B.J. Crosby last December and was announced for Broadway. Current plans are to play the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Florida, Nov. 5-Dec. 1, before coming to New York. Matt Cavanaugh, Caroline McMahon, Sally Mayes, and Leo Burmester will star. A recent casting notice in Back Stage called for identical twin female dancers. Jay Binder Casting is the casting director.
The Visit: The long-delayed John Kander-Fred Ebb-Terrence McNally tuner based on Duerenmatt's sinister tale of a mysterious millionaires wrecking vengeance on the man who wrong her as a girl is finally coming to the Main Stem in 2003-04. The lead was originally slated for Angela Lansbury who bowed out because of her husband's health. No word on who will be cast in her place.
We Will Rock You: Wayne and Garth's favorite band, Queen, provides the source material for this science-fiction tale with book by Ben Elton (The Beautiful Game) of a futuristic world where live music is forbidden. The show has met with mixed reviews and sellout crowds in London, but with the current pop-to-Broadway trend, anything is possible. Following in this vein, there are also musicals in the works based on the music of The Beach Boys and The Doors. A previously announced tuner derived from tunes of Bruce Springsteen called Drive All Night has been put in permanent neutral by the Boss himself.
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?: "But Ya Are in That Chair, Blanche!" Camp is all the rage this season with Hairspray a hit and Dance of the Vampires flapping in the wings. So why not a tuner version of the classic 1962 battle between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as bizzarro showbiz sisters? Lee Pockriss (music), Hal Hackady (lyrics), and Henry Farrell (book, based on his original novel that was the source of the film) bring this bitchfest to the stage. A production is set for Houston starting Oct. 15 to be directed by David Taylor and choreographed by Dan Siretta. Millicent Martin (Side by Side by Sondheim) will play Davis' role of Jane, the wacko former child star with a taste for tormenting her crippled sibling, who will be played by Leslie Denniston, and Broadway is a goal for that runaway wheelchair.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: With the recent shelfful of awards for The Goat and a well-received revival of All Over, Edward Albee's stock continues to soar. Numerous parties are reportedly clamoring to mount his most famous play. Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, and director Sir Peter Hall are planning to meet with the playwright to plan a production for London and then Broadway. Another possible pairing would be Christine Lahti and Alan Rickman, who will play George and Martha in a reading at the HB Studios this fall. Other stars who have expressed interest in engaging in this iconic marital battle are Mercedes Ruehl (just finished a run in The Goat), Judith Ivey, Bette Midler, Patti LuPone, and Stockard Channing.
Wicked: Think of it as the flip side of Oz. Kristin Chenoweth will return to Broadway as Glinda the Good Witch and Idina Menzel will play opposite her as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, with the story told from the latter's point of view. The book by Winnie Holzman is based on Gregory Maguire's novel. Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin) composed the music and wrote the lyrics. The ever-busy Joe Mantello is on tap to direct a production slated for a Halloween 2003 opening.
—Additional Reporting by Erik Haagensen and Leonard Jacobs