Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals

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.

Upcoming Musicals - Coming Soon

There's certainly no shortage of musicals, both new and classic, settling into Broadway berths for the next season. Some have already found a home and are even selling tickets (Shrek, Billy Elliot, A Tale of Two Cities, [title of show]). Other have been announced, but are either waiting for a suitable theater to open up, or just haven't started to sell tickets yet (The Story of My Life, Pure Country, 13). Then there are the shows that are a little bit further on the horizon, but remain distinct possibilities for the coming season:

GODSPELL:
Cast: Gavin Creel
Staff: The upcoming Broadway production will reunite the creative team from the recent Paper Mill Playhouse production: Daniel Goldstein (All Shook Up) will direct, and Christopher Gattelli (South Pacific, 13) will choreograph.
Status: Details have been scant, but according to Broadway.com, Godspell will begin previews at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in September and open in October.
My Take: "I know I've seen this show before, in some old high school gym, on someone's basement floor..."

VANITIES:
Cast: Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles, and Anneliese van der Pol
Creators: Book by Jack Heifner, who wrote the play Vanities, upon which the musical is based. Music and lyrics David Kirshenbaum (Summer of '42)
Staff: Judith Ivey will direct, Dan Knechtges will choreograph.
Status: The show will play the Pasadena Playhouse from August 22 to September 28, before bowing on Broadway, reportedly in the fall 2008.
My Take: I saw the play many years ago, and recall it being fun but slight. A group of high school friends meet in the bleachers to talk about their lives: Will this wind up being Glory Days with girls?

9 TO 5:
Cast: Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, Megan Hilty, and Marc Kudisch
Creators: Score by Dolly Parton, book by Patricia Resnick, based on her original screenplay.
Staff: Directed by Joe Mantello, choreographed by recent Tony winner Andy Blankenbueler.
Status: Will play the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles from September 3rd to October 19th. Possible Broadway bow shortly thereafter?
My Take: Great source material, fantastic cast, and Dolly Parton's first Broadway score. The show has so much going for it, but then so did Cry-Baby.

Tomorrow: Upcoming Musicals - Further Out

Dirty Dancing Headed to Broadway?

The producers of the upcoming national tour of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage are billing it as the "pre-Broadway American premiere."

Thanks for the warning.

I'll be catching the show during the Boston leg of its tour in February. Never let it be said that I'm unwilling to give even the most cynical, venal, and misconceived shows the opportunity to prove me wrong.

After all, I saw Happy Days. And after an extended period of intensive therapy, I may yet be able to mitigate the damage to my psyche. Just in time for Dirty Dancing.

13 Headed to Broadway

Add yet another small-but-ambitious musical to the 2008-2009 season. According to Playbill.com, the musical 13 will be the next tenant at the Jacobs Theater, after The Country Girl ends its limited engagement. The Jason Robert Brown tuner will transfer to Broadway after its one-month run at the Goodspeed Opera House.

Apparently the creators are confident enough in the show that they don't feel the need to wait to see what happens at the Goodspeed. Producer Bob Boyett told Playbill that 13 will begin New York performances in September with pretty much the same cast and crew as the Goodspeed production.

(An interesting footnote: Boyett is also one of the producers of The Country Girl, as well as the following current or recent Broadway shows: South Pacific, Passing Strange, Sunday in the Park With George, Boeing-Boeing, The Drowsy Chaperone, The 39 Steps, The Seafarer, Rock 'n' Roll, Is He Dead?, The History Boys, and The Coast of Utopia. Busy guy, huh?)

So the current list of musicals for the next Broadway season is as follows: [title of show], Shrek, Billy Elliot, A Tale of Two Cities, The Story of My Life, Pure Country, and now 13. That's quite an eclectic mix, including everything from overblown spectacle to plucky little shows that could. Of course, it's great that there are so many shows taking a chance on Broadway. But as this season clearly shows, there is such a thing as too many musicals, especially in the current economy. None of the current crop of tuners has broken out to become a bona fide hit. (Yet?)

I'll be seeing 13 at the Goodspeed next month. Look for my review here shortly thereafter.

Brigadoon to Reappear in 2009

We can add another musical revival to the 2008-2009 Broadway season. The very busy Rob Ashford will direct and choreograph the upcoming revival of Lerner and Loewe's Brigadoon. The show will open in the spring of 2009 after a Boston tryout.

Ashford is a masterful choreographer, as he's demonstrated in such recent shows as Curtains, The Wedding Singer, Thoroughly Modern Millie (for which he won the Tony Award), and the recent London revival of Evita. But he's relatively untried as a director, although he did take the helm of the recent London production of Jason Robert Brown's Parade.

Brigadoon is certainly not an unknown commodity: there have already been four Broadway revivals of the show in 1950, 1957, 1963, and 1980. However, the longest run of these four was only 133 performances. Reviews for the 1980 production were kind, but whereas in 1947 the show had seemed charming, some thirty years later it was downright precious. Vincent Minnelli's dull movie version of "Brigadoon" takes out some of the best songs, and spends too much time giving Gene Kelly something to dance about.

To give the old show a new face, playwright John Guare (Six Degrees of Separation, The House of Blue Leaves) will revise Alan Jay Lerner's original book. This is a pretty standard practice for revivals of older shows, but it usually occurs for shows that were written before 1940.

The book could certainly use some revising. [SPOILER ALERT: If you've never seen the show, skip the next two paragraphs.] There's a terrific sense of time and place in the show, but there's also an awful lot that's hard to swallow. For instance, Tommy Albright takes an awfully long time catching on to the central conceit. And when one character threatens to destroy the central miracle of the show by leaving the town, he meets with a very convenient "accidental" death. "We were chasing him and he fell and hit his head on a rock. Honest."

And then there's the ending, which is just plain ridiculous, a deus ex machina if ever there was one: the strength of Tommy's love wills the bridge to Brigadoon to come back into existence. The sage Mr. Lundie explains: "You shouldna be too surprised, lad. I told ye when ye love someone deeply, anythin' is possible. Even miracles." Horse hockey.

So, overall, the horse race for best revival next season is looking pretty strong: Pal Joey, Dancin', Godspell, West Side Story and Brigadoon. Anything I'm missing, dear reader?

Shrek on Broadway in 2008

The Broadway-aimed musical version of Shrek, based on the Dreamworks movie, will bow in New York in November 2008 after a tryout run in Seattle. The show will have music by Jeanine Tesori (Caroline or Change, Thoroughly Modern Millie) and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, High Fidelity). Jason Moore of Avenue Q will direct. The cast will likely include Christopher Sieber, but it's not clear which role he'll play. The green one himself, perhaps? The princely guy from the second movie? Or maybe Lord Farquaad, the John Lithgow role?

Overall, that's some pretty high-caliber talent, but as we know all too well that is certainly no guarantee of success. Just ask David Henry Hwang about Tarzan. But you really can't blame big companies like Disney for snatching up award-winning writers: the company did the same thing when it hired Doug Wright to pen the book to The Little Mermaid. And it's unlikely to be the fault of these talented scribes, at least not totally, when the shows don't work out. It's far more likely to be the result of the inevitable writing-by-committee and art-by-consensus processes that no doubt plague the shows as they develop.

On a side note, it's interesting to note how lately Seattle and San Diego have become the tryout cities of choice. Seattle has played host to tryouts of Young Frankenstein, Hairspray, The Wedding Singer, and the abortive Lone Star Love. San Diego saw pre-Broadway productions of Cry-Baby, A Catered Affair, The Times They Are A-Changin', Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty, and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Why have Seattle and San Diego replaced Boston and New Haven? It's not as though advanced word about the shows doesn't get around anyway, thanks to the Internet and bloggers like me. Possibly it's because the real taste-makers -- the "mavens," as it were -- are less likely to schlep 3,000 miles  to see a show in tryouts.

Another possible explanation: enhancement deals. The two key venues in San Diego are the Old Globe Theater and the La Jolla Playhouse, both of which are non-profit organizations. Enhancement deals, in a nutshell, occur when for-profit companies help fund a non-profit run for a show in development in return for a share of the take should the show move on to a commercial run. Shows that have benefited from enhancement deals include Spring Awakening, The Drowsy Chaperone, Avenue Q, and Rent. Shrek, however, is unlikely to involve an enhancement deal, mostly because it's already occurring under the auspices of a deep-pocketed for-profit venture: Dreamworks Animation.

Care to speculate, dear reader, as to the tryout popularity of these fair cities?