Funny Girl With Lauren Ambrose & Bobby Cannavale to Open in April

On Wednesday, it was announced that the revival of Funny Girl would open in April at the Imperial Theatre. Starring will be Lauren Ambrose as Fanny Brice and Bobby Cannavale as Nick Arnstein with direction by Bartlett Sher. The show will play a pre-Broadway engagement from January 15 to February 26 at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

Funny Girl features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Isobel Lennart, and will be directed by Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher. 

“It’s been 47 years since Funny Girl has been on Broadway, but I’m sure that everyone is as thrilled as I am to have it back in New York this spring, following our Los Angeles engagement,” commented producer Bob Boyett.  “Fanny Brice was the greatest star of the early 20th century and we cannot wait to examine this fascinating woman’s life and career, with our great stars Lauren Ambrose and Bobby Cannavale and the incredibly talented Bart Sher at the helm with his extraordinary creative team.” 

Funny Girl is the road-to-stardom story of legendary entertainer Fanny Brice (Lauren Ambrose), from her start in a Brooklyn music hall to her meteoric rise as a headliner in the Ziegfeld Follies.   While her career soars, she falls in love with charming gambler Nick Arnstein (Bobby Cannavale), just as his own lucky streak is running out.  Funny Girl is an irresistible backstage drama, a heartbreaking romance and a classic musical comedy filled with unforgettable songs by the team of Jule Styne and Bob Merrill including Don’t Rain on My Parade, I’m the Greatest Star, The Music That Makes Me Dance, and the iconic hit People.

Funny Girl originally opened on Broadway on March 26, 1964 at the Winter Garden Theatre and played for 1,348 performances.  Funny Girl was a hit on national tour and in London and was adapted to the screen for the popular 1968 movie version, but has not played Broadway since the original production closed in 1967. 

Scenic design is by Michael Yeargan, costume design by Catherine Zuber, lighting design by Donald Holder and sound design by Scott Lehrer.  Music director is Kimberly Grigsby.  Choreographer is Christopher Gattelli.

Funny Girl will be produced in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre by Center Theatre Group, with special permission from Bob Boyett, Sonia Friedman Productions, Jean Doumanian, Stacey Mindich and Tim Levy. Funny Girl will be produced on Broadway by Bob Boyett, Sonia Friedman Productions, Jean Doumanian, Stacey Mindich, Tim Levy and Center Theatre Group.


Biographies are after the cut.

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One Night Benefit Performance of She Loves Me to Be Put On by the Roundabout

The Roundabout Theatre Company has announced a one night benefit performance of the musical comedy She Loves Me for Monday, December 5 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

The cast for the show:

• Cheyenne Jackson (Steven Kodaly)
• Jane Krakowski (Ilona Ritter)
• Kelli O'Hara (Amelia Balas)
• Josh Radnor (Georg)
• Michael McGrath (Ladislav Sipos)
• Rory O'Malley (Arped Laszlo)
• Victor Garber (Mr. Maraczek)

Director Scott Ellis (She Loves Me, 1776, Curtains) will direct the evening as a celebration of Roundabout’s 20th anniversary of producing on Broadway which began in 1991 at the Criterion Center in Times Square. Roundabout’s 1993 Broadway revival of She Loves Me, also directed by Ellis, began life at the Criterion Center and launched Roundabout’s Musical Theatre program. It was nominated for nine Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Director and Best Choreography (Rob Marshall) and the four major acting awards. It also won the 1994 Drama Desk award for Outstanding Musical Revival. With She Loves Me, Roundabout began the process of becoming one of the largest and most celebrated producers of musicals on Broadway with highlights including Cabaret, 1776, Nine, Assassins, The Pajama Game, Sunday in the Park with George and the current 2011 Tony Award winning production of Anything Goes.

She Loves Me will feature musical staging by JoAnn M. Hunter and musical director Paul Gemignani will lead a 15-member orchestra with orchestrations by Don Walker.

This classic musical follows Amalia (O’Hara) and Georg (Radnor), two feuding clerks in a European parfumerie during the 1930’s who secretly find solace in their anonymous romantic pen pals, little knowing their respective correspondents are actually each other. Bock & Harnick’s gorgeous score includes Tonight at Eight, Will He Like Me?, Vanilla Ice Cream and She Loves Me.

The design team includes Derek McLane (Sets), Jeff Mahshie (Costumes), Peter Kaczorowski (Lights), Brian Ronan (Sound).

VIP, Premium and Reception tickets include admission to an exclusive cast party following the performance with all proceeds to benefit not-for-profit Roundabout Theatre Company and all its programs and activities.

The co-chairs for the evening are Roundabout board member Michael T. Cohen and Amanda and Gary Wolf.

Tax-deductible benefit tickets are now available by calling Roundabout's Development Office at (212)719-9393. Production Underwriter packages available upon inquiry.

VIP Tickets at $5,000: The VIP experience will include a “meet-and-greet” with the cast, a VIP cocktail reception at One Bryant Park catered by Aureole, the best seats for the performance,

complimentary cocktail at intermission, post-show cast party, plus two seats to the opening night of an upcoming Roundabout production.

Premium Tickets at $2,500: Include pre-show reception, premium center orchestra seating, complimentary cocktail at intermission, and post-show cast party.

Reception Tickets at $1,000: Include premium orchestra seats and post-show cast party.

Beginning October 24, 2011, select orchestra and mezzanine tickets ($150-$500) will be available to the general public by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212)719-1300, visiting any Roundabout box office (Stephen Sondheim Theatre, American Airlines Theatre or the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre) or online: www.roundabouttheatre.org.

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Jesus Christ Superstar Returning to Broadway

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar is set to return to Broadway next year.

The production, which has been a big hit at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, will begin previews at the Neil Simon Theatre on March 1 with an opening date of March 22. Webber's The Useful Group is producing with Des McAnuff, who also helmed Jersey Boys, set to direct. The cast is still under consideration.

It's currently a time for revivals of musicals about the life of Jesus originally written in the early-70's as Godspell is set to begin previews on October 13 looking forward to a November 7 opening.

The Webber/Rice rock opera, which depicts the last seven days in the life of Christ, was originally released as a two-LP set in late-1970 and reached number 1 in the U.S. the next year and 23 in the U.K. in 1973. Ian Gillian of Deep Purple sang the part of Jesus, actor Murray Head was Judas and newcomer Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene. Also singing on the record were the likes of blues singer Victor Brox (Caiaphas), bassist John Gustafson from the Mersybeats (Simon Zealots) and Mike d'Abo of Manfred Mann (King Herrod). Those in the chorus included Madeline Bell, Lesley Duncan and Tony Ashton (Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, Family). Music was provided by Neil Hubbard, Chris Spedding, Alan Spanner and Bruce Rowland among others.

In July of 1971, a concert production began touring the U.S. with Jeff Fenholt (who eventually became a controversial member of Black Sabbath) as Jesus, Carl Anderson as Judas and Elliman as Mary Magdalene. That led to the original Broadway production which opened on October 12, 1971 at the Mark Hellinger Theater with Fenholt and Elliman reprising their roles and Ben Vareen as Judas.  The understudies for the two main male parts were also part of the show's history with Ted Neely under Fenholt and Anderson from the touring production filling in for Vareen.

On August 7, 1973, the film version of the musical opened. Directed by Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night, Fiddler on the Roof), the film received some scathing reviews for it's odd take on the setting, mixing modern day items (scaffolding, tanks) with the biblical story. The cast was straight from the Broadway show with understudies Neely and Anderson as Jesus and Judas and Elliman continuing as Mary.

Since that time, there have been stage and touring companies of the show around the world. A 1992 tour included Neely and Anderson along with Dennis DeYoung from Styx as Pontious Pilate and Syreeta and Irene Cara as Mary Magdalene. The tour was expected to go for a couple of months but continued for four years. A 2002 tour included, once again, Anderson and Sebastian Bach from Skid Row as Jesus.

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London Beat: Long Day's Journey Into Night, Kiss Me Kate, Sweeny Todd, West Side Story, South Pacific

Laurie Metcalf will play Mary Tyrone in the West End production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night. The show will be directed by Anthony Page and open on April 2, 2012 at the Apollo Theatre. So far, no other members of the cast have been announced.

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The Mail has reported that Trevor Nunn will be directing a revival of Kiss Me Kate for the Chichester Festival Theatre next year which will most likely transfer to the West End.

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Speaking of moving to the West End, it is looking like the Chichester Festivals 2011 production, Sweeny Todd, may be doing just that. It will all be up to Stephen Sondheim, who has yet to see the production.

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The film version of West Side Story has been remastered in hi def for its 50th anniversary and will be playing at London's Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Jayce Ogren providing the music. The screenings will be next June 22 to 24.

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The London production of South Pacific at the Barbican Theatre ended its run on Saturday night and will now tour the U.K. starting on October 12 in Milton Keynes.

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