Post by jo on Nov 2, 2012 0:31:06 GMT -5
Michael Riedel writes about the forthcoming show, PRINCE OF BROADWAY, due in the fall of 2013.
www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/prince_gets_his_way_crown_miOymSBzZtupvQ08guv49O
If HOUDINI lands on Broadway the following spring, will this be the competition at the box office? Not likely at the TONYs, as it is basically a revue staged more elaborately?
Jo
www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/prince_gets_his_way_crown_miOymSBzZtupvQ08guv49O
Prince gets his B’way crown
Buzz for a producer’s tale
By MICHAEL RIEDEL
Last Updated: 12:47 AM, November 2, 2012
Posted: 12:39 AM, November 2, 2012
After a couple of false starts — and a dilettante producer who couldn’t get his act together — it looks as if “Prince of Broadway” is, happily, on its way.
A retrospective of the career of the legendary director and producer Hal Prince, the show was given an elaborate backers’ audition the other week — and the response was enthusiastic.
This isn’t one of those “and then I did this, and then I did that” revues in which the actors wear black tie and cocktail dresses and sing the big tunes from the Great Man’s hit shows.
Instead, the actors will portray the characters from the musicals in full costume with sets, and choreography by Susan Stroman, who’s also co-directing with Prince.
And what a wealth of characters to draw on. Prince has either produced or directed some 65 musicals, including “West Side Story,” “Fiorello!” “Cabaret,” “The Pajama Game,” “Company,” “Follies,” “A Little Night Music” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”
As one backer mused the other night, “If you take out the shows Hal did, would the musical theater be as important to American culture as it is?”
I hear Shuler Hensley was mesmerizing as Sweeney Todd, singing “These Are My Friends.” David Pittu was a creepy emcee singing and dancing his way through “Willkommen” from “Cabaret.” And the lovely Sierra Boggess gave a snappy rendition of “Buenos Aires” from “Evita.”
“You could understand the lyrics,” one of my spies says. “And it was nice to hear it in the right melody.”
Snicker, snicker. That was a swipe at Elena Roger, Broadway’s pint-sized Evita, who’s still struggling to be seen — and heard — over that big balcony. (These theater types are so bitchy!)
LaChanze, Caroline O’Connor and Amanda Kloots-Larsen were also in the cast.
Linda Lavin, who sang “Possibilities” in the original Prince production of “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane,” couldn’t attend the presentations but will be in the Broadway production.
Prince himself appears in the show as a giant, talking, animated Hirschfeld caricature. He even sings an old song from his childhood, “Are You Havin’ Any Fun?” from “George White’s Scandals of 1939.”
Now I ask you: How many theater people today can remember “George White’s Scandals of 1939”?
“Remember it? I was in it!” says Elaine Stritch. (Just kidding, Elaine!)
Prince has tied the numbers together with a script that emphasizes the importance of luck in your life and career. How lucky, he says, that he had, from his childhood, a passion for the theater — and that he was able to make a rather nice living in it.
Can you imagine what his royalties from “The Phantom” alone must be?
“Prince of Broadway” was nearly derailed early this year when its original producer, Aubrey Dan, abruptly dropped it. The budget was out of control, and Dan got scared, even though his daddy’s a billionaire.
The show’s been picked up by Tom Viertel and Richard Frankel, who’ve dusted themselves off from last season’s flop, “Leap of Faith.”
Look for “Prince of Broadway” to be the King of New York next fall...
Buzz for a producer’s tale
By MICHAEL RIEDEL
Last Updated: 12:47 AM, November 2, 2012
Posted: 12:39 AM, November 2, 2012
After a couple of false starts — and a dilettante producer who couldn’t get his act together — it looks as if “Prince of Broadway” is, happily, on its way.
A retrospective of the career of the legendary director and producer Hal Prince, the show was given an elaborate backers’ audition the other week — and the response was enthusiastic.
This isn’t one of those “and then I did this, and then I did that” revues in which the actors wear black tie and cocktail dresses and sing the big tunes from the Great Man’s hit shows.
Instead, the actors will portray the characters from the musicals in full costume with sets, and choreography by Susan Stroman, who’s also co-directing with Prince.
And what a wealth of characters to draw on. Prince has either produced or directed some 65 musicals, including “West Side Story,” “Fiorello!” “Cabaret,” “The Pajama Game,” “Company,” “Follies,” “A Little Night Music” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”
As one backer mused the other night, “If you take out the shows Hal did, would the musical theater be as important to American culture as it is?”
I hear Shuler Hensley was mesmerizing as Sweeney Todd, singing “These Are My Friends.” David Pittu was a creepy emcee singing and dancing his way through “Willkommen” from “Cabaret.” And the lovely Sierra Boggess gave a snappy rendition of “Buenos Aires” from “Evita.”
“You could understand the lyrics,” one of my spies says. “And it was nice to hear it in the right melody.”
Snicker, snicker. That was a swipe at Elena Roger, Broadway’s pint-sized Evita, who’s still struggling to be seen — and heard — over that big balcony. (These theater types are so bitchy!)
LaChanze, Caroline O’Connor and Amanda Kloots-Larsen were also in the cast.
Linda Lavin, who sang “Possibilities” in the original Prince production of “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane,” couldn’t attend the presentations but will be in the Broadway production.
Prince himself appears in the show as a giant, talking, animated Hirschfeld caricature. He even sings an old song from his childhood, “Are You Havin’ Any Fun?” from “George White’s Scandals of 1939.”
Now I ask you: How many theater people today can remember “George White’s Scandals of 1939”?
“Remember it? I was in it!” says Elaine Stritch. (Just kidding, Elaine!)
Prince has tied the numbers together with a script that emphasizes the importance of luck in your life and career. How lucky, he says, that he had, from his childhood, a passion for the theater — and that he was able to make a rather nice living in it.
Can you imagine what his royalties from “The Phantom” alone must be?
“Prince of Broadway” was nearly derailed early this year when its original producer, Aubrey Dan, abruptly dropped it. The budget was out of control, and Dan got scared, even though his daddy’s a billionaire.
The show’s been picked up by Tom Viertel and Richard Frankel, who’ve dusted themselves off from last season’s flop, “Leap of Faith.”
Look for “Prince of Broadway” to be the King of New York next fall...
If HOUDINI lands on Broadway the following spring, will this be the competition at the box office? Not likely at the TONYs, as it is basically a revue staged more elaborately?
Jo