The Music Man : Show Development and Promotion

[jo]

He's nearly obssessed with everything TAP-TAP-TAP

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/COsMfKxjmzu

Sooooooo excited!

But such a long wait!!

This is going to beat any other production for its evolving heavily dance-oriented production!

Dance away, Hugh and Sutton


Jo

[jo]

More dancing!

I need to rewatch the movie -- but is this from the SHIPOOPI number


Jo

[jo]

SHIPOOPI!!

[jo]

From a post today --




Old file photo --




Are they changing the marquee for The Music Man?


Or is this the Stage Door side of the theatre on 7th Avenue?


Jo

[jo]

Have you ever wondered why the Opening Number is called the Rock Island Overture/Opening Number.

I did -- because I did not know that the train where the salesmen sang a cappella was named ROCK ISLAND RAILROAD


Jo

[njr]

^ That newer photo is definitely not the front entrance of the theater. It must be the opposite, stage door side.

[JH4HJ]

Here's a "shower thought" for you -

If I were reading this story in a book, a novel, at some point (toward the end) there would be a revelation that Winthrop is really Marian Paroo's *son* - not her little brother. Ron Howard was only 7-8 when the film was made. Shirley Jones was close to 30. The woman playing her mother (Pert Kelton) was 56. I realize these are the *ACTORS* ages I'm using and the *characters'* ages are not mentioned in the script, but there is always a huge age gap between Marian and Winthrop.

[Ron (aka Ronnie) Howard is just too cute for words!]

Are they hiding something? Is there an implication I've been missing all these years? Could Marian's little "brother" actually be the *son* of the man who left her all the library books???

Just a thought.

[jo]

That has always been the speculation? Is Winthrop her son?

If she did not leave the town during her supposed pregnancy, how did Marian hide it?

If she left town...that further adds up to the town whispers?

Or...could Winthrop have been an adopted orphan when Marian and her mom presumably went away somewhere and came back with baby Winthrop?

Why did Meredith Willson put in such a potential gossip subject


Btw, I hope Ron Howard will attend the premiere ( even if he was only Winthrop in the movie version). He was the first to rise for a standing ovation when Hugh delivered his much-admired opening number at the Oscars. Besides, this revival will surely bring back some memories for him ( if he could still remember them ) .

Jo

[jo]

Sutton is around 46-47 years old, isn't she?

If Winthrop is 7-8 years old -- she would have had him when she was close to 40. It would even be more impossible for Winthrop to be her mother's son.

Maybe the revival with Hugh and Sutton will address that issue?

I vote for the "adoption" solution


Jo

[jo]

It looks like both Hugh and Sutton will be busy in the summer and to early fall --

Although I think the filming of The Son may not take too long.

Both Hugh and Sutton must have been aching to do something during the long weary months of the pandemic. Now that opportunities are beginning to open up - they are both on their heels, ready to go.

When it rains, it pours

Jo

[jo]

According to Baz Bamigboye ( most reliable entertainment reporter in the UK) - Sutton will be in the show "Anything Goes" only up to October 10, 2021.

www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9577375/BAZ-BAMIGBOYE-Yes-injury-scuppers-leading-lady-Sutton-Foster-steps-in.html?fbclid=IwAR3kj0QcjfYyocmmaegetfbtvrbXdEPkK6vV8DM_KYrV9fqlsnYH-nNnjXE

Excerpts --

Luckily, though, director Kathleen Marshall has found a life jacket in the form of Foster, 46, who was a sensation when she played Reno in the Broadway production she staged back in 2011. Both won Tony Awards (as did the show, for best musical revival).

A couple of years ago the pair discussed putting on a new version in the West End. But ocean currents were against them at that time, thanks to Foster's other stage commitments, as well as the shooting schedule for her TV series Younger (about a 40-year-old divorcee passing herself off as a 26-year-old to land a job).

When Foster got a call from Marshall saying: 'We're sort of in a bind . . . would you be interested?' she didn't hesitate. 'I'm like 'Whaaaaat?!' ' she joked.


The actress recently completed the seventh and final season of Younger, so 'amazingly' she had a window in her schedule between June 14, when rehearsals begin, through to October 10, when she has to be back in the States to start work with Hugh Jackman on The Music Man on Broadway.

(Producer Howard Panter will have to find someone else to play Reno for the show's final week, before it heads off on tour).



She's clearly over the moon about the unexpected job offer. 'Honestly, I burst into tears at the thought of being on the stage again. It's overwhelming. Our entire industry has been non-existent for the last year.'

She's also 'intrigued' to see what it'll be like, revisiting a role she redefined when she was 36, now that she's 'older and a little more tired'.

Foster said she'd doubled her exercise regimen during the pandemic. Which is good, because Marshall's choreography is daunting.

The musical star agreed. 'Anything Goes! That number especially. Where you have 30 people, all facing the audience, all tap-dancing at the same time!

'I will say that it's the hardest thing I've ever done physically,' Foster said of the show. And that was before she became mother to Emily, aged four, who will accompany her to London.

Jo

[jo]

Excerpts from an interview with Jerry Zaks who will be doing double-duty opening DOUBTFIRE and THE MUSIC MAN.

But I’m confident we’ll get into rehearsal in September, which allows me to get Doubtfire ready before we start rehearsing Music Man in anticipation of its first preview December 20th.

WSR: You’re quite the multitasker. Two big shows to get open…

JZ: As long as I don’t have to be in two places at the same time, it’s eminently doable. I’ve been doing my homework on Music Man for two years now.

WSR: What are you most looking forward to?

JZ: The first company meetings. It’s meet and greet, coffee and bagels with everybody. And then, at a certain point, I get a chance to talk privately with the actors and stage managers. That’s the moment that I’m living for. Because I’m able to say, ‘Look at how lucky we are, look at what we get to do, we’re going to do something that I believe is close to religious.’ You know, I always expected something to happen to me in synagogue when I was a kid that never really happened, but it’s happened to me in the theater.

WSR: You’ve got to be the busiest septuagenarian I’ve ever met. Does retirement even cross your mind?

JZ: No. Never. I’m not even close. I’m so lucky to have found something I love that I get to do…working with the best of the best. Bette Midler, Hugh Jackman, Rob McClure, Nathan Lane — you know what they all have in common? They are the hardest working people. They make it look so incredibly effortless because they work harder than you could ever imagine.

WSR: So inspiring to be around.

JZ: Who would give that up? I’ve had ups and downs in my career, but the ups have been so ecstatic. There’s an indescribable sound at the end of a show that’s really worked. It’s a roar, a roar of appreciation, 1200 people saying: thank you. Whoa! Where else do you get that in life?

Btw --

Doubtfire is opening for previews on October 21, 2021

TMM is likely starting rehearsals sometime in October ( maybe mid October). Isn't the director also busy during previews, overseeing any potential changes, with changes implemented and rehearsed in the mornings and overseeing previews in afternoon and evening performances.

Doubtfire opens on Dec 5, 2021 (so final changes will likely happen before it gets frozen prior to Dec 5) -- presumably, they will also be in the thick of rehearsals for TMM ( opens for previews on Dec 20).

I guess Jerry Zaks is prepared to handle the situation -- presumably because the coincidences were caused by the pandemic postponements -- and he has had time to prepare for it.

Also, since there has been no announcement yet on who is replacing Scott Rudin as lead producer, Jerry Zaks would be leading the production development for The Music Man... until a new producer(s) is announced.


Jo

[jo]

I am sharing this bit of news --

My Telecharge Customer Service source says that --

*as of now, TMM is still set to open on Dec 20, 2021 for previews and officially on Feb 10, 2022

*they will start selling tickets for Mockingbird next week

*no word yet on West Side Story.


Some have expressed apprehensions outside that the shows left by Rudin are still unable to move forward. It seems then that things may be moving along. With resumption of ticket sales for To Kill A Mockingbird, it means a new producer has been secured ( there was speculation that it could be Sonia Friedman because she is producing Mockingbird in London - we'll see). It was also reported outside that Book of Mormon is updating its book to make it "more woke"...so we'll see. West Side Story revival was controversial, so we'll see what happens.

I wonder who will be the new lead producer for The Music Man. Hope Robert Fox and Scott Rudin have mended fences (they used to co-produce before but relations became strained) so he can take over. Or so long as there is someone who can now steer the TMM production...it won't be too hard taking over because many aspects seemed to have already been sorted out by Rudin. Crossing our fingers for TMM!

Jo

[jo]

It looks like TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is now doing a test run, with actual tickets being sold for one day only ( January 21, 2022 - presumably the return of performances ??) --

www.telecharge.com/Broadway/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird/Ticket

So, what Customer Service-Telecharge shared with me -- that tickets for the show will be sold starting this week is going to happen. On the list of shows on the Official Telecharge Page - TKAM already has a FIND TICKETS notation affixed to it.

No similar notation for Book of Mormon and West Side Story (yet).

For THE MUSIC MAN - the notation of FIND TICKETS is also affixed, but the current offer is, as in the past, to handle exchanges for rescheduled tickets.

Jo

[jo]

Waiting for the box office to open for new tickets

[jo]

More "secret" photos --




OMG - some said that they should cast near-operatic stars like Audra for the role of Marian, instead of Sutton.

Ha - can Audra dance like this

It seems Warren Carlyle is going to try to push his stars's dancing skills to the limit


Jo

[jo]

Missed this among the "photo dumps" (whatever that means to someone unversed in the world of the young) --

http://instagram.com/p/CPf33FbDTUP

Keep swiping - there is another hidden photo (7th image) of Hugh and Sutton doing some dance moves ( reminds of me of PT and Charity on their famous rooftop dance)


Jo

[jo]

www.showbiz411.com/2021/06/04/broadways-back-but-the-audience-is-tentative-except-for-music-man-ticket-sales-are-slow-so-far-even-for-hamilton

Home business
Broadway’s Back But the Audience is Tentative: Except for “Music Man” Ticket...
Broadway’s Back But the Audience is Tentative: Except for “Music Man” Ticket Sales Are Slow So Far, Even for “Hamilton”

■business■Theater
by Roger Friedman - June 4, 2021 7:45 am
0 503

It used to be you could not get a ticket to “Hamilton” to save your life.

Then the pandemic hit. And the filmed version of the award winning musical on Disney Plus.

Now, when “Hamilton” returns in the fall, you’ve pretty much got your choice of dates and prices. The first few weeks beginning September 29th are backed up with old orders. But as the calendar pages fly through October, November and hit December 1st, a chance to be “in the room” with Alexander H and all his friends is wide open.

Old shows that are selling tickets are having a tough time. But new shows are finding it even more difficult. So far tickets for “MJ: The Michael Jackson Musical” are stagnant. Even “Company,” the most anticipated holdover from the 2020 season, shows seas of blue — meaning open seats for sale — on telecharge.com. Same for “Diana: The Musical.” And the brilliant “Girl from the North Country.”

The only show with sold out dates? “The Music Man” with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. But you know, of course. “The Music Man” with those stars is beyond reviews, pandemics, tornadoes.

Want to see “The Lion King” on September 30th at 8pm? It’s yours, the whole house. Or how about “Wicked”, same night? Same thing.

So what’s going on? Prices are high, and obviously people are wary about returning to the tight seating of a Broadway theater. But if they’re vaccinated there should be no issue, and you can always wear a mask if you’re concerned.

But Broadway will need momentum and a shot of Adrenalin to get re-started. It will take more than a two hour special on CBS on September 26th. All summer the shows will have to be promoting themselves on TV, radio, and social media, priming interest in a return to the glories of Broadway.

Meantime, this is the moment, that very moment, to take advantage of ticket availability. This temporary lull in buying won’t last. The early bird will get that worm

In fairness to the others - The Music Man started selling tickets since September 2019 and had rescheduled the tickets to new dates ( after 2 pandemic delays), except for those wanting refunds. Maybe most ticketholders hanged on to their tickets. We don't know what Friedman's source is -- if he had access to the TMM or Telecharge people...or if he simply misunderstood the message when one wants to buy tickets ( without using the Exchange Route) which says "No tickets are available"??

The other shows, except for those which had to honor some backdates have to start from scratch again. As Roger Friedman suggests - now is the time to get tickets for shows which were difficult to get once in the past.

Back to The Music Man - I looked at secondary prices in the recent past ( like Stubhub) - the prices are beyond ridiculous, although it bears the common belief that Hugh Jackman is really the topmost draw on Broadway.

Jo

[jo]

One of the former Scott Rudin productions is coming back for a 14-week Broadway run - LEHMAN TRILOGY.

In the story, there is some information that may relate to The Music Man.


www.showbiz411.com/2021/06/04/broadways-new-lehman-trilogy-adds-great-british-actor-adrian-lester-subtracts-ousted-
producer-scott-rudin


Excerpts --

The changing of actors for Emanuel Lehman in the five hour multi-generational play isn’t the only difference in the returning production. Producer Scott Rudin is gone, too, along with partners Barry Diller and David Geffen. “The Lehman Trilogy” now lists no actual New York producer. Like all of Rudin’s shows, including “The Book of Mormon,” “West Side Story,” “The Music Man,” and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” it’s a mystery as to who will actually be the producer. “Lehman” is the first to resume selling tickets.

Does this mean that The Music Man will also lose the 2 angel producers, billionaires Barry Diller & David Geffen? Will the budget to put up the show be affected if they will have to look for new producers?

To Kill A Mockingbird seems to be test-checking ticket sales. They have put up tickets for January 21, 2022 on sale ... but only for that one date so far.

The Music Man has not allowed any new ticket sales.


Jo

[jo]

Actually, more of a rehash article --

variety.com/2021/legit/news/sutton-foster-scott-rudin-music-man-broadway-1234988507/

Sutton Foster Didn’t Feel Comfortable Continuing With ‘The Music Man’ Unless Scott Rudin Left Broadway Musical (EXCLUSIVE)

By Elizabeth Wagmeister


Sutton Foster Scott Rudin Music Man
Andrew H. Walker/Variety/REX/Shutterstock

In a new interview with Variety, Tony-winning star Sutton Foster says she did not feel comfortable continuing with her role in the Broadway musical “The Music Man,” if disgraced producer Scott Rudin was involved with the upcoming Broadway show.

After allegations of abusive workplace behavior that surfaced in April, Rudin announced that he would be stepping back from his Broadway productions, which include “The Music Man.”

Foster is set to co-star alongside Hugh Jackman in the highly-anticipated stage revival, which will open in February 2022.

“Obviously, we were dealing with a situation and navigating a very difficult situation, so there were a lot of conversations that were being had,” Foster tells Variety, when asked to respond to reports that she said she would leave the show, if Rudin did not leave. “All that I can say is that was definitely part of the conversation. I can say that it was definitely part of the conversation, but it was never a threat — it was always just part of discussions of what I felt comfortable with and what I wanted to be involved with.”



Trump Suspended From Facebook, Instagram for Two Years
As accusations of workplace conduct were mounting against Rudin, Foster felt she needed to voice her concerns regarding Rudin’s involvement in “The Music Man” to make a difference in the theater community.

“I am very much excited to be a part of this production and be part of moving Broadway forward and creating a safe and equitable and inclusive environment for everyone involved — not just on our production, but beyond. That is what is important to me, so I needed to have those conversations,” Foster says. “You look at what your values are and what is important to you as you are navigating your career and the choices that you make, and then also, how you put those choices out into the world. So, it was an interesting time because I really had to ask a lot of questions of myself on how I wanted to handle the situation, so there were lots of conversations being had.”

Variety has reached out to Rudin for comment.

After a bombshell report was published by The Hollywood Reporter detailing various accounts of Rudin being a “monster,” including throwing objects at staff members, the producer announced that he would be taking a step back from Broadway, saying in a statement: “Much has been written about my history of troubling interactions with colleagues, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior caused to individuals, directly and indirectly … After a period of reflection, I’ve made the decision to step back from active participation on our Broadway productions, effective immediately.”

Previously, Foster spoke about the Rudin situation, indicating that both she and her “Music Man” co-star Jackman were pleased that the producer would no longer be part of the production. Speaking in an Instagram Live in mid-April, Foster said, “It’s a really unfortunate situation, but the only positive outcome is the one that is happening, and I know Hugh [Jackman] feels exactly the same way.”


Foster — who stars in the critical darling and fan-favorite series “Younger,” which airs its series finale next week — feels compelled to part of productive change in the entertainment industry, especially in theater, which has undergone a tragic year of massive loss, as COVID-19 shut down all live events, putting stage actors and crew members out of work.

New York City theaters have been closed since March 2020, and are finally set to reopen this September.

“It’s been a really interesting year. I never in a million years thought that what I did for a living, especially being on stage, would be gone,” Foster says. “It’s been a really hard thing for our industry. People have been able to work from home, but what we do requires people to gather. It’s been a really challenging time.”

This summer, Foster will head to London and make her West End debut, starring in the “Anything Goes” revival, reprising the same role that earned her a second lead actress Tony Award for the musical in 2011. In London, she replaces Megan Mullally, who had to depart the production, due to an injury.

Foster says that once she returns from London and arrives in New York for “Music Man” rehearsals this October, she can’t wait to get back to The Great White Way — not just to perform on stage, but to sit in the crowd.

“The promise of theater returning is thrilling to me. It’s like New York City doesn’t exist without being able to go and see live theater,” Foster says. “As much as I’m excited to be on the stage again, I think I’m more excited to be an audience member again. I’m going to buy tickets for everything. I just want to be in the audience again.”

Reflecting on the positive change she hopes to help push forward, Foster says, “A lot has happened this year. It’s been a big year. There have been a lot of new conversations.”

“I’m really looking forward to that first rehearsal and being back among this Broadway community and rebuilding it,” she says. “I think it’s an exciting time, and I’m looking forward to being part of the rebuilding of Broadway and theater and what that looks like.”

Nothing new at all! I wonder what Variety meant by saying this is an Exclusive? Variety has been doing article of no significant contributions lately? They have not also been that careful in fact-checking?

Only thing that is notable is the reassurance that she is returning to Broadway in time for the start of rehearsals of The Music Man in October. This has already been mentioned by Sutton in another interview.

Jo

[jo]

Related good news??

www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lehman-trilogy-sets-broadway-reopening-091514637.html

Deadline
‘The Lehman Trilogy’ Sets Broadway Reopening – Without Scott Rudin


Greg Evans
Fri, June 4, 2021, 5:15 PM·3 min read


UPDATE, with information on Diller-Geffen involvement The Lehman Trilogy, Stefano Massini’s acclaimed play adapted by Ben Power, will begin post-shutdown performances at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 25, with an opening night set for Thursday, Oct. 14.

The reopening announcement was made by lead producers National Theatre and Neal Street Productions, a team that no longer includes Scott Rudin (his previously announced partners Barry Diller and David Geffen remain as co-producers). Rudin, Diller and Geffen were not credited in today’s announcement as they had been in previous announcements.



Lehman, following sold-out runs at London’s National Theatre and Off Broadway’s Park Avenue Armory, had just begun a Broadway run when the Covid shutdown hit on March 12, 2020.

Outside of The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman, The Lehman Trilogy is the first of the Broadway productions formerly headed by Rudin to announce its reopening since the producer announced his “step back” in April amid accusations of workplace harassment and bullying. (The Rudin-Diller-Geffen trio are no longer credited as lead producers of Shubert Organization’s The Music Man.)
>
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Other Broadway productions formerly produced or co-produced by Rudin – The Book of Mormon, To Kill A Mockingbird and West Side Story – have not announced return dates.

Diller & Geffen will continue as co-producers for Lehman Trilogy, even if their names are not explicitly mentioned.

Is the same true for The Music Man? Could they also be staying as co-producers to give the show some financial stability as it undergoes development? Not being mentioned as co-producers may not necessarily mean that they are NO longer producers. In interviews, Diller and Geffen issued neutral statements and both hoped that Rudin can address his personal issues. No mention that if Rudin leaves, that they will also leave. As it happened in Lehman Trilogy -- they are actually staying as co-producers even if announcements now do not carry their names.

Jo

[jo]

At the moment --

this is the Covid-19 related health protocols to be enforced by the Winter Garden Theatre. Presumably there can be changes when the show finally opens for previews.

This theatre is committed to providing healthy and safe facilities for audiences, performers, and staff. Based on CDC and state guidelines at the time of performance, protocols may include mask enforcement, increased cleaning and ventilation/filtration enhancements, vaccination or negative test verification, and more. These are subject to change. Ticket holders who do not comply with venue policies will not be admitted.

[jo]

NO Changes in Dates --

www.stageandcinema.com/2021/06/03/story-behind-the-music-man-broadway-hugh-jackman/?ref=upflow.co

Broadway: THE MUSIC MAN (Starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster — New Dates and the Story Behind the Original)
Post image for Broadway: THE MUSIC MAN (Starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster — New Dates and the Story Behind the Original)
by TONY FRANKEL on JUNE 3, 2021

in THEATER-NEW YORK

THE MUSIC MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC MAN
OK, we’ve had Trouble with a capital “T” this past year on Broadway. But fear not, the train will be coming into the Winter Garden Theatre station for one of the most anticipated shows of the upcoming season. New dates have been announced for Meredith Willson’s The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman as Professor Harold Hill, and Sutton Foster as Marian Paroo. PREVIEW PERFORMANCES WILL BEGIN ON DECEMBER 20, 2021. OPENING NIGHT IS SET FOR FEBRUARY 10, 2022 AT THE WINTER GARDEN THEATRE.



For now, tickets are only available for current ticket holders needing to exchange. Previously purchased tickets can be exchanged here.



Director Jerry Zaks and choreographer Warren Carlyle remain with the same company, including Jayne Houdyshell as Mrs. Shinn, Jefferson Mays as Mayor Shinn, Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo, and Shuler Hensley as Marcellus Washburn.



Sure, the Smithsonian Institution ranks The Music Man as one of the “great glories of American popular culture,” but how well do you know the story of the music man behind The Music Man?



Before you head off to see it, a little Broadway lore is in order.

When The Music Man opened on a chilly December night at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre in 1957, nobody suspected that Meredith Willson, a minor composer of the airwaves who had been a flutist for John Philip Sousa in the early 1920s, would present one of the top musicals of all time. Nobody, that is, except the inimitable Frank Loesser, scoremaker for The Most Happy Fella, which uncannily closed just five days before Willson’s valentine to his Iowan boyhood opened.



The idea for the musical was triggered by Willson’s book of youthful remembrances, And There I Stood With My Piccolo (1948). Encouraged by his pal Loesser to musicalize it, Willson had the project optioned by producers Cy Feuer and Ernest H. Martin in 1951, the same year they presented Loesser’s Guys and Dolls. The red-hot team would go on to produce Loesser’s How to Succeed four years after The Music Man, but they lost faith in Willson’s libretto, which at that point had a spastic child (who would eventually be replaced by the lisping character, Winthrop). They dropped their option in ’55, leaving Loesser to urge the erstwhile film composer (Oscar-nominated in 1940 for Best Score of Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator) to continue working on the show. Willson wrote the book, music, and lyrics, and it took seven years to complete.



Under the guise of Frank Productions, Inc., the composer/lyricist of Where’s Charley? (1949, also presented by Feuer & Martin) stayed on board as associate producer, publisher, and licensor of the hugely money-spinning stock and amateur rights. This is why you see “Frank Music Corp.” and “Frank Distributing Corp.” on all the sheet music. An unsubstantiated rumor has it that Frank wrote the gorgeous ballad “My White Knight,” and that Willson based his “Sadder but Wiser Girl” on that — much in the same way that “Goodnight, My Someone” is a slowed-down version of “Seventy-Six Trombones” — but Willson denied it (there’s enough in that story for an entire article!).



Regardless, The Music Man wowed patrons and critics alike, and completely took the wind out of West Side Story, which opened three months earlier at the Winter Garden. It may have been true that WSS was too advanced for a ’57 audience, but TMM became the golden boy of Broadway, beating out the gang tuner for the Best Musical Tony Award, which included librettist and composer (award for Book and Score did not exist that year). That may seem odd to some who see TMM as corn-filled silliness, but rest assured it has elements that, at the time, were just as untried and ingenious as WSS: One opens with a balletic gang fight; the other has 14 salesmen discussing their trade, but with dialogue that is rhythmically reflecting the motion of the train on which they ride — all without a note from the orchestra.

One musical is not better than the other; they are just vastly different in tone. In a way, the two shows were symbols of an emerging era in which social issues collided with old-fashioned values (sound familiar?!). So get ready to ride the rails to Broadway to see a musical the likes of which we haven’t seen since Ike was in office.

The Music Man
Winter Garden Theatre, 1634 Broadway
Previews begin Monday December 20, 2021
Opening Night scheduled for Thursday, February 10, 2022
for more info, visit Music Man on Broadway

Images omitted in reprinted article.


Jo

[jo]

Re the reopening of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, the NYTimes report includes details on what is happening at the producers end. This may be interesting as it may give us an indication on what is being worked out for THE MUSIC MAN. Maybe that is the final decision that needs to be made before The Music Man starts selling new tickets ?

The difference though is that MOCKINGBIRD was already a established show (the best-selling play in Broadway history) and did not need any further tinkering. The Music Man is still in development even if presumably a large part of the preparations and decisions had already been made in the past under Rudin's leadership. Presumably this has also been factored in the pricing policy that was operational for The Music Man. We'll see how any changes may occur when they make the final announcement about the show's leadership.

Jun 10, 2021 7:00:40 GMT -5 jo said:

The New York Times has more details on what is happening at the Producer end --

www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/theater/mockingbird-broadway-reopening.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Theater

Jeff Daniels to Return to Broadway in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’

The production also has a new management team to replace Scott Rudin, who stepped aside after allegations of abusive behavior.

Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch and Celia Keenan-Bolger as Scout in “To Kill a Mockingbird” on Broadway in 2018. The two actors will return to their roles when the production resumes performances this fall.

By Michael Paulson
June 10, 2021, 7:00 a.m. ET
Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which before the pandemic was the rare play to have a long and lucrative Broadway run, will resume performances on Oct. 5.

It will reopen with a pair of familiar faces onstage: Jeff Daniels, who starred as the righteous lawyer Atticus Finch during the show’s first year, will return to lead the cast, and Celia Keenan-Bolger, who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Finch’s daughter, Scout, in the original cast, will return to that role. They are planning to remain in the cast until Jan. 2.

Offstage, there is more change.

This is the first of Scott Rudin’s shows to announce a plan to move on without its lead producer. In April, Rudin said he would step back from producing after facing scrutiny of his bullying behavior.


The production will now be overseen by Orin Wolf, who was the lead producer of the Tony-winning musical “The Band’s Visit,” and who is the president of a touring company, NETworks, that before the pandemic had been engaged by Rudin to supervise a “Mockingbird” tour. Wolf’s title will be executive producer, and he will be responsible for the show’s operations, reporting to Barry Diller, a lead producer who will be the producers’ managing member with ultimate responsibility for its financing.


“The show was positioned in a strong and beautiful way, and I don’t think my job is to come in and fix anything, but to honor what’s there,” Wolf said in an interview. “I’m not coming in to make artistic decisions.”

Wolf said Rudin would not have any role with the production, adding that he has had no recent communication with Rudin. Wolf’s agreement was negotiated with Diller, he said, and a condition of his employment was that Rudin would have no voice in the production.

“The Broadway company will no longer pay any compensation to Scott as a producer, and he’ll no longer have any managerial or decision-making role of any kind,” Wolf said. “He does have a small investment position, which is passive.”

“To Kill a Mockingbird,” adapted from the 1960 Harper Lee novel, opened on Broadway in December 2018. It has consistently played to full houses; over the course of the play’s prepandemic run, it had an audience of 810,000 people and grossed $120 million, according to the Broadway League. The show recouped its $7.5 million capitalization — the amount of money it took to bring it to Broadway — 19 weeks after opening.

Wolf, who has collaborated several times with the director of “Mockingbird,” Bartlett Sher, said he agreed to manage the production in order to try to protect both the show and its 182 employees. “We’re going into uncharted territory,” he said, “but my job is to make sure we’re creating an environment for the artists to do their jobs, to make sure we’re putting the production back up that people loved, and once we’ve done that job, my job is to keep trying to discover what this post-pandemic audience is.”


Wolf will also continue to oversee the national tour of “Mockingbird,” which is scheduled to start performances in Buffalo, N.Y., next March and to open in Boston next April, starring Richard Thomas. The British producer Sonia Friedman will oversee a London production, starring Rafe Spall, that is scheduled to begin performances in March.