Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

Catch Me If You Can and First Wives Club in Tryouts

Two rather high-profile musicals are currently in the middle of their out-of-town tryout runs. First, there's Catch Me If You Can, which is in previews at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theater. (The show's opening was tragically delayed by the murder of Norbert Leo Butz's sister Teresa. I'm sure all of our thoughts are with Norbert during this terrible time.) Quite a bit further south, we have The First Wives Club at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego.

Variety recently ran a piece talking about the pros and cons of billing a tryout production as "Broadway-bound," citing both Catch and First Wives as examples. The producers of First Wives Club are of the opinion that the "Broadway-bound" moniker gives a boost to ticket sales, and in fact the show has extended its San Diego run until the end of August. However, the folks involved with Catch Me If You Can have been very careful to call the Seattle run a "world premier," possibly to hedge their bets in case the show needs work.

Well, according to Michael Riedel of the New York Post, Catch Me If You Can would seem more likely to be bound for Broadway, whereas First Wives Club could well be dead in the water. The critical response to First Wives was, in Riedel's words, "harsh," and even worse was the word of mouth among potential investors. The show is pleasing the California crowds, but the producers are scrambling to fund a move to New York.

Meanwhile, the advance word on Catch is relatively positive, although the show is apparently in need of some polish. Catch is scheduled to open tonight (8/6/09), and I've found no indication that the delayed previews have changed this, so the reviews will likely appear tomorrow.

Here's a promotional clip from the show, featuring Aaron Tveit (in the Leonardo DiCaprio role) performing the number "Live in Living Color." Um...gee, I hope the show is better than that clip. Much better. The song itself is unimpressive, with a decent tune but generic lyrics that tell me nothing about this character. And Jerry Mitchell's choreography here is atrocious, like something from a bad community production. Perhaps it's supposed to be bad, kind of like the garish costumes? Who knows. Yeah, it's not entirely fair to judge the show solely from this clip, but there's not much here that impresses me.

Then again, if I had only seen one number from Hairspray -- say, one of the forgettable numbers, like "It Takes Two" or "Without Love" -- I probably wouldn't have been all that stoked either. But the way "Live in Living Color" was shot would seem to indicate that this clip was meant for press distribution, so this was the number that someone somewhere chose to best represent the show. But there's no questioning the talent of the team behind Catch Me If You Can. (Book: Terrence McNally, Music and lyrics: Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Direction: Jack O'Brien.) Count these gentlemen out at your peril. So I remain hopeful that they'll be able to pull the show into shape before its likely Broadway bow.

Vanities to Play Second Stage

It seems that the musical Vanities will in fact play New York later this year, although not on Broadway, at least not yet. The show was originally supposed to play the Lyceum Theater, but the chancy economic environment forced the producers to reconsider.

Now comes news that the show will find a berth at New York's Second Stage, an Off-Broadway nonprofit theater company. Vanities will close out 2ST's current season, taking the place of  Douglas Carter Beane's recently postponed play, Mr. and Mrs. Fitch.

The show will apparently retain its creative team from its recent run at the Pasadena Playhouse: Judith Ivey will continue as director and Dan Knechtges (Xanadu, Spelling Bee) will provide the musical staging. The cast will likely comprise  Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles, and Anneliese Van Der Pol, as it did in Pasadena. Vanities has a book by Jack Heifner, who wrote the 1976 play upon which the musical is based, and music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum (Summer of '42).

Previews for the show will begin June 30th toward a July 16th opening. The show will have performances through August 9th. If that run is successful, will a Broadway run follow? I would imagine that's what the producers are hoping for, and the 2ST run represents a relatively safe way of testing the New York waters. Heck, it worked for both The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Next to Normal.

Speaking of Next to Normal (er, excuse me, next to normal), the reviews for that show, which came out today, were pretty darned positive. Regular readers will recall that I have a checkered history with this show and its librettist, Brian Yorkey. Well, I'm going to be seeing the show again next week. Never let it be said that I won't give a show a second chance. But if Yorkey's apparent message -- which seemed to be a repudiation of psychiatry -- remains intact, I certainly reserve the right to speak out against it, as I did when I saw the show last year.

Catch Me If You Can Set for Seattle

Ah, stardom is so fleeting. Now that the BGMC concerts are over, I no longer get to feel pretty, at least not in song form. But now I get to catch up on some blogging posts I've been meaning to write.

The long-gestating musical Catch Me If You Can finally seems to be coming to term. The show, based on the 2002 Stephen Spielberg movie of the same name, will have its world premiere in Seattle this coming summer.

The creative staff comprises many of the same people from Hairspray, including director Jack O'Brien (once he's finished with the apparently disastrous Impressionism), and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (back where he belongs after an arguably unfortunate stint as director for Legally Blonde). Also on board are Hairspray composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman and Scot Whitman. One new member of the creative staff is Terrence McNally on book. (Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell were apparently too busy with Cry-Baby. An unfortunate choice, in retrospect.)

The cast boasts some of the best performers that Broadway has to offer, including Norbert Leo Butz in the Tom Hanks role, and Aaron Tveit in the Leonardo diCaprio role. The cast will also feature Kerry Butler, Linda Hart, and Tom Wopat. So, the production has all the feel of a Broadway-bound musical, although no official Broadway opening has been announced.

Memphis Musical Coming to Broadway in Fall

You gotta admire some people's optimism. Despite the fact that the only musicals that are staying open on Broadway right now seem to be the pre-branded hits and long-running blockbusters (and some of them are even struggling along themselves), there are still intrepid souls who dare to risk the move to Broadway.

Witness the long-aborning musical Memphis, which recently announced a planned move to Broadway in the fall of 2009 at a theater TBA. The show has had numerous tryout runs, including a world-premiere engagement at the North Shore Music Theater and most recently a run at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theater. Apparently the latter engagement went so well that the producers feel confident in shepherding the show to New York, despite an admittedly chilly economic climate. (Heck, there are recent weeks when even Wicked and Jersey Boys aren't selling out.)

Memphis sports a book by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, All Shook Up). Thankfully, this is not a jukebox music, but rather one with an original score by Bon Jovi's David Bryan. DiPietro and Bryan share duty on the lyrics. The pair are also collaborating on the new musical version of The Toxic Avenger, which opens Off Broadway next month.

Director Christopher Ashley (Xanadu) and choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys) will repeat their roles for the show's Broadway bow. Casting has yet to be announced, but recent versions of the show have starred Chad Kimball (Into the Woods, Lennon, Good Vibrations) and Montego Glover (The Color Purple). 

Subtitled "The Birth of Rock and Roll," Memphis tells the fictionalized story of a young, white radio disc jockey growing up in Memphis in the '50s. He becomes an on-air champion of African-American music, and falls in love with a black female singer, with "dramatic consequences," according to press material. That certainly sounds a lot more interesting that the show's title, but then the similarly named Chicago certainly seems to have done well for itself.

Addams Family Musical Will Hit Broadway in 2010

We've been hearing a lot lately about the upcoming musical version of The Addams Family, with a score by Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party, john & jen, new songs for the revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (Jersey Boys).

Well, now The Addams Family appears to be on track for a Broadway bow in April 2010, after an out-of-town tryout in Chicago from November to January.

A recent workshop of the show featured Nathan Lane as Gomez, Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia, and Kevin Chamberlin as Uncle Fester, although there's no word yet on whether they'll repeat those roles on Broadway.

The buzz about the workshop was quite positive, particularly for the book and the performances. Apparently the story for the musical is not based on the movies or the TV show, but rather inspired by the original Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons. (And, no, they won't be using the famed da-da-da-dum-snap-snap hook from the TV show theme song.)

Direction and design for the show will come from the eclectic pair Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter), so we're likely in for a show that's, at the very least, interesting to look at.

My take: Well, I try to see everything, so it really doesn't matter if I say that I'm going to see it. But I think audiences will be attracted to the cast, if Lane and Neuwirth do indeed sign on for the Broadway run. The brand-recognition factor should attract a sizable crowd, but I don't get the sense that it will prove to be a critic-proof, guaranteed hit. The show will only have legs if it can generate positive word of mouth, something that, for instance, Shrek has so far been able to do, and The Addams Family as a very similar, pre-packaged, brand-driven feel to it.

Dirty Dancing: Dead on Stage

The Playbill for the national tour of Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage, now playing at Boston's Opera House, has a number of telling omissions. There's no mention anywhere of a librettist, a composer, or a lyricist. And why? Because not a single shred of creativity or original thought went into mounting this lazy, venal, and cynical enterprise. Even the guy who sings "I Had the Time of My Life" sounds exactly like Bill Medley on the original recording.

Say what you want about the stage versions of Footloose and Saturday Night Fever. The creators at least made the effort to integrate the songs into those shows and put them in the mouths of the main characters. But with Dirty Dancing, we have groundskeepers and chambermaids walking through the scenes singing the songs that many of us know, and some of us even love. (Though not I.) Baby and Johnny never sing a note.

Is this even a musical? Well, I happen to be of the opinion that, if the people who created a show call it a musical, then it's a musical. So Contact is a musical. Movin' Out is a musical. But note that the title of the show at hand is Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage, and not Dirty Dancing: The Musical. It's like an admission of guilt on the part of the creators here. "Basically, we didn't even try."

But let's for the moment accede that Dirty Dancing is, indeed, a musical. The question is: is it any good? Is it entertaining? Does it tell a compelling story about characters whom we care about, and engage us with humor and pathos along the way?

No.

There's certainly a lot of action on stage, but there's really no focus. The wall-to-wall dance blends into an undifferentiated morass. For example, in one scene, Johnny and his dance partner demonstrate the mambo to the resort guests. Then, in the next scene, they're supposed to be letting their hair down and performing the titular "dirty dancing" in the staff quarters. But choreographer Kate Champion hasn't managed to find a way to make these two styles look different.

The whole production suffers from the same bland, uniform indifference. It also suffers from an over-reliance on numerous antiquated theatrical techniques: blackouts, crossovers, scenes-in-one, and irrelevant dance to cover set changes.

The regular Johnny Castle was out sick for this performance, so we got standby Easton Smith. To put it bluntly, except for his dancing, which is decent, Smith has no business on a professional stage. His acting is as flat as his hairstyle. He makes Patrick Swayze seem almost lifelike by comparison. Apparently the producers placed dancing first among their criteria for the role, but Smith doesn't have the acting chops to make Johnny sympathetic or credible.

There were a few bright spots in the cast, including Amanda Leigh Cobb (The Coast of Utopia) as Baby. Cobb is simply a terrific actress, very natural and endearing. Not surprising, since she boasts an MFA from Yale Drama, no less. (Oh, the indignity.) The scene in which Baby apologizes to and confronts her father almost made this turkey worth seeing. And then there was the always reliable Kaitlin Hopkins (Bat Boy, The Great American Trailer Park Musical) as the mom, bringing humor and warmth to an admittedly minor role.

Apparently there was an orchestra hiding somewhere backstage, but I can't imagine why they even bothered. Much of the time, they were just playing recordings from the movie soundtrack anyway, for instance during "Hungry Eyes." (Pedantic aside: the lyric "I feel the magic between you and I..." is painfully ungrammatical. "Between" is a preposition, which makes "I" the object of the preposition, making the use of "me" imperative, which I can show you by drawing a very simple chart...)

It's a really a shame that this production is such a dog, because there just might be a decent musical at the heart of Dirty Dancing. Typically, movie adaptations at least add something that you couldn't get from simply renting the movie. This one doesn't. Even so, apparently the producers have every intention of taking this one to Broadway, possibly at the Neil Simon, recently vacated by the long-running Hairspray. 

God help us all.

Next to Normal Will Play Broadway

After what appears to have been a successful run at the Arena Stage, the new musical Next to Normal is now Broadway bound. The entire Arena Stage cast -- including Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer, and Aaron Tveit -- will make the transfer to New York, where the show will play the Longacre Theater, recently vacated by Boeing-Boeing.

The producers have announced an unusual move: they will close off the Longacre balcony, reducing the number of potential audience members from 1,100 to 820. This is apparently to provide more intimacy for the six-character musical.

Regular readers will recall that I had problems with both the message and the execution of Next to Normal when I saw it at the Second Stage. (Read my review.) Librettist Brian Yorkey continues to contact me about my review and my subsequent postings about his show. I have no intention of responding to his mean-spirited emails, nor any interest in getting into a pissing contest. Although you'd think that someone who has a show about to open on Broadway would be a little more careful in his treatment of potential influencers. I'm no Michael Riedel, but I do have a decent number of readers, and many of them are influencers in their own right.

But, believe it or not, I do plan on taking in the show again when it comes to Broadway, and I encourage my readers to see the show as well, to form their own opinions. I hear there have been considerable changes to the show since its Off-Broadway run, and if I can give Billy Elliot and In the Heights a second chance, I can do no less for Next to Normal. But, if I have the same problems with the show that I had before (e.g. an inconstant tone, a preponderance of clichés, and a message that includes an apparent repudiation of psychiatry), I certainly reserve my right to make those opinions known.

In other Next to Normal news, the folks at Ghostlight Records recently recorded the score, which will be released at a future date TBD. 

West Side Story: Almost a Masterpiece

Over the weekend, I flew down to Richmond, VA to spend some time with my old friend and colleague Phaedra Hise and her 13-year-old daughter, Lily, the latter of which is has been bitten pretty badly by the stage bug. In fact, she's so obsessed with musical theater that Phaedra's husband Bill has joked that I must be Lily's real father. (Hey, stranger things have happened, but I think Bill can sleep pretty comfortably with the knowledge that that's about as likely as a revival of Lestat.)

It was a lovely weekend all around, but of course we had to take Lily to see a show. Fortunately, the Pre-Broadway engagement of West Side Story was still playing at the National Theater in Washington, DC, so Phaedra and I ventured north to the capital to take Lily and a friend to see it. A good time was had by all.

There's been a lot of press and blog chatter about this production, particularly about how original librettist and current director Arthur Laurents was hoping to accomplish at least three things with this revival: 

1. To make the gang members credibly gang-like
2. To bring out the raw sexuality of two teenagers in lust
3. To successfully translate significant portions of the show into Spanish, particularly when there are only Latino characters on stage

So, has Laurents achieved these goals? In short:

1. Not at all
2. Sort of
3. Not really

But it's a testament to the quality of the original piece itself, to Leonard Bernstein's outstanding score, and to Jerome Robbins' brilliant choreography, expertly recreated here by Joey McKneely, that the production succeeds despite Laurents' unrealized ambitions.

Laurents starts the show off with a slow and sinister prologue, then seems to forget his directive to make the gang tension and violence believable. But the trouble here really starts with the casting: there's not a single member of the Jets or the Sharks whom I'd be a-scared of in a dark alley. Street hoodlums these are not. That's one of the constant challenges of West Side Story: you gotta have guys who can dance, but often the best dancers aren't exactly the most masculine or intimidating of men. Take for instance Cody Green as Riff, who's a terrific dancer, but hasn't a whit of street toughness, nor any spark on stage at all, for that matter. The only gang member who comes even close to the requisite grit is Curtis Holbrook as Action, although I couldn't help thinking of him in his skimpy tunic as Thalia in Xanadu.

Fortunately, the central pair of lovers are reasonably well cast. Matt Cavenaugh (A Catered Affair, Grey Gardens) is terrific as Tony, bringing vocal restraint and emotional honesty to the most important male role. Josefina Scaglione as Maria, a casting discovery from Argentina, seems a bit green. Her voice is sweet but thin, and her acting is at times quite touching, at other times phony and forced. As for the raw sexuality that Laurents promised, it wasn't in evidence at the performance I saw, although Cavenaugh and Scaglione had a frisky, playful quality, and were genuinely moving during the famous balcony sequence.

The strongest member of the cast was Karen Olivo as Anita. I wasn't a fan of Olivo's performance as Vanessa in In The Heights, but in retrospect it may have been the underwritten nature of the role that irked me. Here, Olivo is the best thing on stage, giving Anita the sass and grit that many of her fellow cast mates were sorely in need of.

And then there's the Spanish. Laurents brought in Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer, lyricist and star of In the Heights, to provide Spanish translations for quite a significant portion of the show. The songs and surrounding scenes for "I Feel Pretty" and "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love" are entirely in Spanish. I've gone back and forth on this, but ultimately I think this was a mistake. The Spanish works OK when it's woven into the dialog before "America," or as part of the big ensemble numbers like the "Tonight" quintet. But I found myself tuning out during the extended Spanish sequences, when, alas, my three years of high school Spanish failed to emerge from the depths of my long-term memory. Plus, Miranda's translated lyrics don't always scan well with the music, which is a huge pet peeve of mine.

But, again, the score and the dancing carry the show, which in its essential form is almost a masterpiece. Why almost? Well, I've never been a fan of the "Somewhere" ballet, which was wisely cut from the movie version of "West Side Story." It's basically a fantasy ballet in which Maria and Tony dream of a place where they can be happy together, and where the Jets and the Sharks and, yes, even Anybodys, can live in peace and harmony. I have always found it unbearably twee, and this production hasn't changed my mind. I must admit that, when the revival's ballet first started, I almost found myself buying into it. But here, Laurents has given the "Somewhere" solo to a young boy, a new character referred to in the Playbill as "Kiddo." I guess he's supposed to represent innocence, a sort of tabula rasa, before society has inflicted its stereotypes upon his psyche. ("You've got to be taught to hate and fear...") Whatever, it doesn't work, and it only made this sappy scene even more syrupy.

So, overall, this is a very professional production of a nearly perfect show. Laurents hasn't quite (yet?) achieved what he had hoped with this revival, but the quality of the piece itself, as well as the talent of the people on stage, make it a must-see event. West Side Story begins performances at the Palace Theater in New York City on February 23rd toward a March opening. I say, get your tickets now.

Shrek: Not Great, But Not Bad

I've had an insanely busy week, so I'm just now sitting down to finish up my review of Shrek the Musical, which I caught an early preview of on my last trip to New York. Right now, I'm down in Provincetown, Mass. to perform in a couple of concerts with the Boston Gay Men's Chorus as part of the town's annual Holly Folly event. (If you happen to be in town, we have two performances on Saturday, December 6th at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House.) Being away from Boston makes me feel a little less guilty about taking the time out to blog.

As I said, I saw an early preview performance of Shrek, and from what I understand, there are changes afoot. In fact, the producers recently canceled the show's December 2nd performance to give the cast and creative team some breathing room to institute some major changes, so I have to couch my views in the fact that I saw the show prior to said changes.

Overall, I liked what I saw. The show was in reasonably good shape in terms of the book, the performances, and the pacing, but its major liability was a score that lacks any boffo numbers. The opening number, "Big, Bright, Beautiful World," certainly serves its purpose, and Fiona's "wanting" song, "I Know It's Today," is not without its charms. Composer Jeanine Tesori serves up numerous serviceable tunes, and many of David Lindsay-Abaire's lyrics are witty, even at times inspired. Each song serves an effective dramatic purpose, but there really isn't any number that sticks in the mind, at least not for long.

After some well publicized casting difficulties, the show has settled in with an appealing and talented crew of principals. There were a few changes after the Seattle tryout, including a new Donkey and changes in the Dragon character. Kecia Lewis-Evans was originally hired to provide the voice of the Dragon, but she was let go, and the Dragon's vocal parts were relegated to the female chorus. The result is vocally indistinct and dramatically ineffective, plus the "costume" looks like something out of "A Bug's Life," with the female chorus donning various leaf-like shells that I guess are supposed to be the Dragon's scales, but the effect is inscrutable. Perhaps this is one of the things they'll be changing. One hopes.

As for the new Donkey, Daniel Breaker is an inspired choice. Breaker, who brought Stew's younger self to electrifying life in the late and lamented Passing Strange, succeeds here in a part that couldn't be more different from his Passing Strange character, and yet he brings a similarly subversive quality to both.

At first, I wasn't sure that Brian d'Arcy James was the right choice for the Shrek role, but James turns in a dynamic and sympathetic performance, despite the bulky costume and green prosthetics. Christopher Sieber is an absolute hoot as Lord Farquad, and gives a suitably camp and larger-than-life performance. Sutton Foster brings her deft gift for comedy to the Princess Fiona role. The only slight disappointment is John Tartaglia as Pinocchio, but only because this super talented guy doesn't have more stage time.

The show works best when it's not trying to ape the success of the the original "Shrek" movie. Quite a few of the lines from the movie are falling flat on stage, including a number of Eddie Murphy's priceless Donkey ad libs. The creators also seem to be relying too much on the "Oh, everyone's seen the movie" factor. There are a few too many times during the show during which, if you hadn't seen the movie, you'd be confused. For example, during a song at end of act 1, Fiona inexplicably shows up in green ogre makeup. Fans of the movie will understand why, but the guy sitting next to me, who had never seen the movie, was lost.

When I saw the show, there were a few stage sequences and transitions that weren't quite working yet. For instance, during the scene in which Farquad charges Shrek and Donkey with rescuing Princess Fiona, rather than tell the characters what they actually need to do, Farquad turns to one of his underlings and says, "Fill them in and show them out," which is a rather lazy dramatic device. And the complex escape from the Dragon's lair included some quizzical elements. At one point, the main characters are being pursued by skeletons, and we never learn why, or where these skeletons came from. Then, for no apparent reason, Shrek and Fiona temporarily turn into skeletons as well. Whah? Also, at the climax of the show, there were two crucial moments that weren't quite soup yet, including Fiona's transformation, and Lord Farquad's...um...just desserts?

Again, hopefully, those are some of the rough spots that the creative team will be trying to smooth out as the show makes its way towards its December 14th opening. There's certainly plenty here to enjoy already, including numerous humorous references to iconic Broadway shows, such as Gypsy, A Chorus Line, and Wicked. And whereas the "Shrek" movies poked fun at Disney films and characters, Shrek the Musical aims a few barbs at Disney stage shows, which is certainly apt. Because, despite its flaws, Shrek has more heart and less pointless spectacle than any of Disney's Broadway fun rides, past or present.

The Story of My Life Headed for Broadway

In the middle of my recent Rocky Horror weekend at the Boston Conservatory, I made an afternoon trip down to Chester, CT to catch one of the final pre-Broadway performances of The Story of My Life at the Goodspeed's Norma Terris Theater. It was a bit of a hike, and I wasn't entirely sure my jalopy of a car would survive the four and a half hours of driving, but she held together, and I was really glad I made the trip.

This was my first exposure to the writing team of Neil Bartram (music and lyrics) and Brian Hill (book), but I'm predicting really great things for them. It's just that I have serious doubts that The Story of My Life will survive on Broadway, although I was greatly impressed by the strength of the score, as well as the two performers, Malcolm Gets and Will Chase.

The show is essentially about the intertwining lives of two childhood friends as they grow and make their way in the world. The story starts with Tom Weaver (Chase), a bestselling author, arriving to speak at the funeral of his friend Alvin Kelby (Gets). Tom's difficulty in writing the eulogy sets the stage for a series of flashbacks illuminating their long and complicated relationship.

The story itself is clichéd beyond belief, focusing on the emptiness of success and the people you leave behind. Brian Hill's book suffers from an over-reliance on a series of banal cultural signposts, including the butterfly effect, the movie "It's a Wonderful Life," the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and making angels in the snow. (See the show's original logo, left) But the score is rich and literate, one of the best I've heard in years, with melodic yet challenging music, and solid, erudite lyrics.

Overall, I was left with the sense that these were two really promising collaborators who were focusing their admittedly strong craft on some highly unoriginal ideas. Yet, somehow, the show transcends the bromides to evince genuine inspiration. No doubt the strength of to the two performers assist in this transformation, not to mention the strong directorial hand of Broadway veteran Richard Maltby, Jr.

According to Playbill.com, the show's producers are still actively planning to bring The Story of My Life to Broadway in the spring. A casting notice recently surfaced seeking understudies for the show's two roles. Although I'm definitely looking forward to the future work of Neil Bartram and Brian Hill, I predict that New York audiences and critics will tear this earnest but sweet show apart. I also can't see it capturing a significant audience in this economic environment. But I do see it catching on with theater queens and community groups much in the same way that The Last Five Years has developed a strong regional following.

Vanities to Play the Lyceum

I'm kind of surprised at this, but the Broadway-bound musical Vanities remains on track for a New York run. The show just booked the gorgeous and historic Lyceum Theater, recently (sniff sniff) vacated by [title of show]. Vanities will begin previews on February 2nd toward a February 26th opening. So I guess if [title of show] does make it make to Broadway later this season (see my post below), it will have to find another theater.

The reason I'm surprised is that Vanities is a small musical (the cast numbers a mere three) at a time when smaller musicals are having a hard time staying afloat. (cf. [title of show], Xanadu, Spring Awakening, Glory Days, A Catered Affair, Passing Strange, and the still-open but struggling 13.) Plus, there's the whole, you know, tanking economy thing. But apparently the producers were pleased enough with the show's recent run at the Pasadena Playhouse that they feel confident bucking those trends.

Vanities will feature the Broadway directorial debut of two-time Tony winner Judith Ivey, a performer whom I simply adore. Now, great actors don't always make great directors, but they don't necessarily make bad ones either. Up-and-coming choreographer Dan Knechtges will provide the musical staging. And the cast comprises the very talented trio of Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles, and Anneliese Van Der Pol. So I'll definitely be getting a ticket to one of the preview performances, and I certainly hope that the show will prove my suspicions unfounded.

Cast and Logo Changes for Shrek Musical

According to the New York Times, the new Broadway-bound musical Shrek has undergone some casting changes. Chester Gregory (Cry-Baby) played the part of Donkey during the show's Seattle tryout, but Daniel Breaker (Passing Strange) will replace him when the show comes to New York.

The producers haven't said anything as to why they're making the change, but such silence usually speaks volumes. It's likely that they simply weren't happy with Gregory's performance, and they're not going to take any chances with such a high-profile production. Breaker is a very dynamic performer, so he should be able to fill Donkey's hooves very nicely.

Kecia Lewis-Evans (The Drowsy Chaperone), who played the Dragon in Seattle, has also left the show, owing to a "redefinition" of the Dragon character. Lewis-Evans had been providing the character's voice while a number of chorus members articulated the large Dragon costume. The creators have decided to spread the character's vocal work among the chorus members, obviating Lewis-Evans' services. Actress and show have parted by "mutual consent."

I've been hearing decent things about the show from folks who've seen the Seattle tryout. Apparently, whereas the original "Shrek" movie poked fun at fairy tales, and Disney in particular, the stage show sends up other Broadway shows, which presumably includes Disney productions. The show is running at about 3 hours, so it definitely needs some pruning, but apparently it's lively, fun, and tuneful.

Among other changes the Shrek staff have made, there's the show's new logo (see above). Perhaps the Shrek folk thought the original logo (see left) was a bit too close to the visual identity of the "Shrek" movies. I'm not entirely sure that I like the new version, but it's definitely bolder, and will be more likely to stand out amid the marketing noise of Times Square. I've already begun to notice it cropping up during my recent trips to NYC.

Shrek: Is There a Doctor in the Swamp?

As a number of media outlets reported earlier this week, Rob Ashford, the Tony-winning choreographer and incipient director, has been called in to Seattle to provide a "fresh pair of eyes" to the very-much-above-the-radar new musical Shrek. Ashford was supposed to be at the helm of the now-postponed Brigadoon revival this fall, but...well...now he isn't. [Sniff]

BroadwayWorld.com referred to Ashford as "joining the creative team" of Shrek, without specifying what his role would be. Well, the show already has a director (Avenue Q's Jason Moore) and a choreographer (Josh Prince), so Ashford must have been called in as a "show doctor."

Does this mean the show is in trouble? Not necessarily. It could just be that first-time producers Dreamworks Theatricals are hedging their bets to make sure that the show isn't an expensive, high-profile embarrassment. Many terrific musicals have had trouble out of town, and have benefited greatly from outside help. Of course, others have failed despite numerous infusions of external creative input.

Shrek began previews in Seattle on August 14th and is scheduled to open there September 10th. Anyone out there seen it yet? Are we looking at another Hairspray or another Young Frankenstein? (Both shows had Seattle tryout runs.) Or will Shrek wind up being something artistically and financially in between?

Turn of the Century at the Goodman

Although Michael Riedel of the New York Post had reported that the new musical Turn of the Century was having trouble raising its capitalization, the show appears to be on track for its September opening at the Goodman Theater in Chicago.

The show will feature a long-overdue return to directing for Tommy Tune (Nine, Grand Hotel). Tune has spent the last decade or so performing in Vegas, in night clubs, and even (Great Honk!) on cruise ships, so the prospect of another Tune-directed book show is welcome, indeed.

But, get this: he won't be doing the choreography for Turn of the Century. Boston Conservatory grad Noah Racey (Curtains) will handle that task. What up with that? Now, Racey's a very talented guy, but c'mon this is Tommy Tune here. Could it be that the 69-year-old Tune is feeling his age? Or does he want to focus exclusively on directing this time, given that he hasn't directed a Broadway show since the 1994 Day-Glo bedecked revival of Grease?

Turn of the Century focuses on a down-and-out singer named Dixie Wilson (Rachel York) and a piano playing Lothario named Billy Clark (Jeff Daniels). The show's plot, according to TheaterMania is as follows: "At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve 1999, the century turns, but in the wrong direction: the duo is catapulted back in time, before the hit songs of the 20th century have been created. Together, Billy and Dixie co-opt the songs that make the whole world sing, becoming the stars they've dreamed of being."

An interesting premise, but also an excuse not to create an original score: the show will feature standards from the creators of the Great American Songbook, including Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, and Rodgers and Hammerstein. Of course, it all depends on how book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (Jersey Boys) execute the story, but the lack of an original score was one of the things that made Bob Fosse's Big Deal a Big Disappointment.

Turn of the Century will run at the Goodman from September 19th to October 26th. No word yet on whether the show will have a Broadway afterlife, but with all that big-name talent, it's hard to imagine that a move to New York isn't somehow in the back of everyone's mind.

Vanities Headed for Broadway in February

As some of the productions originally announced for this season fall through (Godspell, Brigadoon, Nice Work If You Can Get It), other productions have cropped up to take their place.("Recession? What recession?")

The new musical Vanities, currently playing at the Pasadena Playhouse, will transfer to Broadway in February 2009 at a TBD Shubert Theater. The show opens this week in Pasadena, and continues through September 28th. The Pasadena cast features Lauren Kennedy (Spamalot), Sarah Stiles (Avenue Q), and Anneliese van der Pol (Beauty and the Beast) playing three high school friends and cheerleaders who mature and evolve over a 25-year span.

Vanities sports a book by Jack Heifner, who wrote the 1976 play upon which the musical is based, and music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum (Summer of '42). Dan Knechtges (Xanadu) will provide the musical staging. Heifner's play ran for 1,785 performances Off-Broadway and has become a staple in regional theaters, presumably because of its small, all-female cast and sentimental subject matter.

For me, the most interesting person involved in the musical Vanities is the delightful Judith Ivey, who will direct. Ivey has graced the New York stage numerous times as an actress (most recently in the lackluster revival of Follies), but to date has not directed on Broadway. Great actors don't automatically make great directors (see John Gielgud reference below), so it will be interesting to see if Ivey can bring her undeniable spark to a show in which she's not performing.

With a cast of three and a presumably modest budget, will Vanities be the next little musical that could? Or will it be Glory Days with estrogen?

West Side Story Revival Sets Opening Date

First, I want to thank all of you out there who submitted your suggestions for what shows I should see in New York over the weekend. As you may know, I went down to see Hair in Central Park, and had a few extra show slots. On Friday night, I wound up seeing Gypsy again, and then on Saturday afternoon I took in my first professional production of The Fantasticks. I'll be posting my reviews of all three shows over the next few days. (In short: loved it, loved it, loved it. When does that ever happen?)

So, anyway, on with the news. The producers of the upcoming Broadway revival of West Side Story have announced that the show will begin previews at a TBD Nederlander theater (perhaps the Nederlander Theater itself?) on February 23rd towards a March 19th opening date. The show will play an out-of-town tryout at the National Theater in Washington, DC in December and January.

Librettist Arthur Laurents will direct, and has previously made much hay about the fact that he intends to give the show more verisimilitude, including making the kids more realistically bloodthirsty, and the central lovers Maria and Tony more sexually driven. He also plans to weave Spanish throughout more of the dialog and lyrics. (Presumably with lyricist Stephen Sondheim's blessing?)

No word yet on any casting, nor on when the tickets will go on sale. I'll keep you posted. I know I'm ready to see a first-rate revival of this landmark show. And after seeing Laurents' Gypsy again last Friday, I'm confident that, despite his age (he just turned 91), he's certainly up for the job. But theater has a weird, ineffable sort of alchemy, and there are never any guarantees. Let's hope Laurents and his creative staff can work some magic on this highly anticipated production.

Brigadoon Boston Run Canceled

For a while there, it almost seemed as though Boston had regained its former glory as the out-of-town tryout venue of choice for Broadway productions. When I first signed up for the Broadway Across America subscription series, the list of shows included the usual national tours of established properties (Spring Awakening, A Chorus Line, etc.). But there were also two tryout runs for NYC-aimed productions: Nice Work If You Can Get It, a "new" musical based on the Gershwin show Oh, Kay!, and a revival of the Lerner & Loewe classic Brigadoon, with a new book by acclaimed playwright John Guare and direction and choreography by Tony winner Rob Ashford.

Then, last week, we heard that Nice Work If You Can Get It had "postponed" its Boston engagement. And now, I've just received an E-mail from Broadway Across America stating that Brigadoon has canceled its Boston run and postponed its Broadway bow "due to the lack of an appropriate Broadway theater in the spring of 2009." 

Of course, when shows get canceled, or postponed, we don't always hear the real reasons why, but there's certainly cause to take this explanation at face value. There really aren't a lot of vacancies on Broadway right now. The only theater I can think of that isn't currently committed is the Nederlander Theater, soon to be vacated by Rent, and no doubt the Nederlander organization is fielding inquiries. And when theaters do open up, there are plenty of incoming shows looking for homes, including the West Side Story revival. 

As for Boston, well, we're a patient city. We waited twenty years for the Celtics to rebound, and nearly five times that long for the Red Sox to make a comeback. We can certainly bide our time until we once again see the likes of Oklahoma! and Company in their tryout engagements. In the meantime, we'll make do with Legally Blonde and Dirty Dancing.

God help us.

The Story of My Life at Goodspeed

Goodspeed Musicals recently announced that it would host a pre-Broadway tryout run of The Story of My Life at its Norma Terris Theater, recent home to the similarly Broadway-bound musical 13.

The show features music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and a book by Brian Hill. The pair have worked together previously on The Nightingale and the Rose and Somewhere in the World. The current production will feature direction by Tony Award winner Richard Maltby, Jr. 

The Story of My Life premiered at CanStage in Toronto in the fall of 2006 with Brent Carver and Jeffrey Kuhn. The two-person cast at the Goodspeed will comprise Malcolm Gets and Will Chase, and the pair will presumably man the Broadway run as well.

It would be great if the very talented Chase finally got to appear in a decent, long-running musical after his abbreviated Lennon and High Fidelity gigs. Chase is certainly a busy actor, having played replacement and/or standby roles in The Full Monty, Aida, and currently Rent, in which he will be the final Roger when the show closes next month. But he's yet to create a role in a show that lasted more than 50 performances. The equally talented Gets has had even less luck with Broadway tuners (the lovely and underrated Amour lasted just 17 performances), although he's seen plenty of musical work Off-Broadway, including Hello Again, A New Brain, and the 1994 revival of a thoroughly revised Merrily We Roll Along.

The Story of My Life will run at the Goodspeed from October 10th to November 2nd, and is aiming toward a January opening on Broadway at a theater TBD. I'll certainly be taking in one of the Goodspeed performances, in the hope of spreading the good news about the show and its cast.

Nice Work Postpones Boston Run

I just got my Broadway Across America season-ticket confirmation, and it lists my date to see the "new" musical Nice Work If You Can Get It as TBD. Then today's Boston Globe reports that the Boston bow for Nice Work has been "officially postponed," with no new dates currently scheduled.

This is certainly no surprise, given the recent shakeup in the production staff for the supposedly Broadway-bound musical. Original director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall left the show when star Harry Connick, Jr. fired his agent Scott Landis from working on the show. Marshall happens to be in a relationship with Landis, so she left as well. Apparently the producers haven't had an easy time replacing Marshall, at least in time to get the show into rehearsal for the Boston tryout.

The show appears to be a reworking of the Gershwin musical Oh, Kay!, and features a book by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and All Shook Up). The score will comprise standards from the Gershwin songbook. Are we really at such a great loss if we miss out on yet another Gershwin jukebox musical? I mean, it would be nice to see Connick on the boards again, but unless they're able to attract some world-class talent to direct and choreograph this baby, we'll probably end up with another The Boy From Oz: a show that attracts audiences, but adds little or nothing to the artistic development of the musical-theater canon.

Upcoming Musicals - Further Out

Following up on yesterday's list of immediately impending Broadway musicals, here are some shows that are a bit further out on the horizon:

EVER AFTER:
Source: Based on Drew Barrymore movie "Ever After," itself based loosely on the Cinderella story.
Cast: None yet announced.
Creators: Music by Zina Goldrich, lyrics by Marcy Heisler (Junie B. Jones, numerous Disney projects). Mauritius playwright Theresa Rebeck will co-write the book with Heisler.
Staff: Doug Hughes (Doubt, Mauritius) will direct, Rob Ashford will choreograph.
Status: The show will have a pre-Broadway tryout at San Francisco's Curran Theater in April 2009.
My Take: Goldrich and Heisler are unknown to me. Rebeck and Hughes are pros, but new to musical theater. Ashford's the only true musical veteran on board. I should probably see the movie before I make any grand proclamations about the quality of the source material, but I hear good things.

TURN OF THE CENTURY:
Source: None! (An original idea? What a concept.) The musical centers on a female singer who can't catch a break, and a male piano player. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve 1999, they both receive a fantastical power and set out together to "discover" America's most popular songs.
Cast: Jeff Daniels and the always delightful Rachel York.
Creators: Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, of Jersey Boys fame. The score will comprise various standards "from the American songbook."
Staff: Tommy Tune will direct and choreograph.
Status: September 19th to 26th at the Goodman Theater in Chicago. Will the show head to Broadway after that?
My Take: That's a pretty dull, generic title, but any show that creates the possibility of Tommy Tune returning to New York is reason to celebrate. Compilations scores are never a good idea (Big Deal, anyone?), but this one seems to fit in with the theme of the show, so we'll have to see how they pull it off.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY:
Source: Duh.
Cast: No roles have yet been cast for the Broadway production, but Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth will be part of reading in August. Lane was supposed to appear in the upcoming Catch Me If You Can, but according to Michael Riedel, "may find the role of Gomez Addams too good to pass up."
Creators: The very busy Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice are writing the book. The score will be by Andrew Lippa of The Wild Party fame.
Staff: Improbable Theater founders Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter) will direct and design.
Status: Scheduled for the 2009-2010 Broadway season following an out-of-town tryout.
My Take: I'm not personally thrilled at the prospect of Morticia and Gomez bursting into song, but it could be fun if the creators find the right story to tell and the right way to tell it.

That's all for now. I'm off to New York City to see [title of show], Bash'd, and Damn Yankees. I'll also be revisiting a few shows, including Adding Machine, A Catered Affair, and Passing Strange. Look for my reviews next week.