Musical Theatre

The world premiere of The Great Gatsby musical with book by Kait Kerrigan (The Mad Ones), and songs by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen (Paradise Square) will star Jeremy Jordan as Jay Gatsby and Eva Noblezada as Daisy Buchanan. Further casting has yet to be announced.

The season will run at the Papermill Playhouse in New Jersey from 12 October to 12 November 2023 (with opening night set for 22 October). Tickets go on general sale on 14 August.

Based on the novel by F Scott Fitzgerald, this is one of at least three adaptations that have been announced since the novel fell out of copyright. A second musical version is currently being developed by Florence Welch, Thomas Bartlett, and Martyna Majok and is scheduled to premiere in 2024.

An immersive (non-musical) version is currently playing off-Broadway, and some years ago Elevator Repair Service produced another six-hour (non-musical) adaptation (which was pretty amazing).

Interestingly, the lead producer for this version of Great Gatsby appears to be Chunsoo Shin of OD Company, a Korean musical theatre producer. OD Company have produced a number of shows in Korea. On Broadway Shin's credits include Once Upon A One More Time, Doctor Zhivago, Rocky, the 2013 revival of Jekyll & Hyde, Chaplin, the 2012 production of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Story of My Life.

Jujamcyn Theaters has sold a 93 percent stake in five Broadway theatres, finalizing a previously announced deal with UK theatre company Ambassador Theatre Group. As part of the deal ATG have acquired five more Broadway theatres, including the August Wilson, Walter Kerr, Al Hirschfeld, Eugene O'Neill, and St. James.

Ambassador Theatre Group operate over 50 venues worldwide, including the UK, US, Germany and Australia. ATG also has a ticketing arm and a producing arm.

Sound Advice Recap is weekly listing of new/upcoming recordings and books of interest to musical theatre lovers.

The West End premiere of Ain’t Too Proud, the musical of Motown group The Temptations, will end its run at the Prince Edward Theatre on Sunday, 17 September 2023. It was previously scheduled to close on 7 January 2024.

Queensland Performing Arts Centre will present the world premiere of BANANALAND, a new Australian musical by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall (who wrote the songs for the musical of Muriel's Wedding - Nuttall is also writing the book for this new show).

Described as "a celebration of the glorious absurdity of following an impossible dream" BANANALAND is directed by Simon Phillips (best known to international audiences as the director of the filmed Australian production of Love Never Dies and, more recently, the spectacular Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour).

Cast includes Max McKenna (who was in the US tour of Dear Evan Hansen and the original Muriel in Muriel's Wedding, then billed as Maggie McKenna), Georgina Hopson (who starred as Christine Daae in the Phantom on the Harbour), Maxwell Simon, Joe Kalou, Dave Eastgate, Amber McMahon and Chris Ryan.

The season runs from 16 September to 1 October 2023.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK will play its final performance Sunday, July 30 at 3pm, having played 33 preview and 110 regular performances.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK featured music and lyrics by John Kander & Fred Ebb, a book written by David Thompson, co-written by Sharon Washington, with additional lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.

Reports that the show has been struggling financially have been floating around for a little while, and unfortunately the show has now signalled its death knell.

New York New York had a reported $27 million capitalisation and a weekly nut (ie operating expenses) of $1.2 million, so it was always going to be an enormous challenge to recoup. Alas that is the nature of producing on Broadway today.

The upcoming ninth episode of season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be a musical themed episode, the first ever in the Star Trek franchise's history. 'Subspace Rhapsody' will be available to stream on Thursday, 3 August and features 10 original songs, with music and lyrics by Kay Hanley (Letters to Cleo) and Tom Polce (Letters to Cleo, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend).

An episode trailer (which I have not watched) is here.

There have been rumours of a Star Trek musical in the past. In the 1990s the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine writers room talked about making a musical episode (they had a lot of cast members with musical theatre/singing experience - eg Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, James Darren, Rene Auberjonois) but it never happened. Although a number of episodes did feature the cast singing, eg Brooks and Darren singing "The Best is Yet to Come" and Visitor singing "Fever".

Around the same time, maybe even earlier, I even vaguely recall whispers of a Star Trek (TOS) opera... though I can't remember if it was supposed to be a film or an actual staged work... moot point, as neither happened.

In 2015 the Pacific Opera Project set a production of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail in the world of Trek, with a new book and lyrics by Josh and Kelsey Shaw, but that's different. That opera was successful enough to be brought back in 2016.

I'll be watching this episode - which (mind) melds two of my great passions - with great interest. Musical episodes of TV shows can range from the brilliant (Buffy's "Once More With Feeling" being the standout) to the... not. But it's usually clear that cast members have had a lot of fun. I have not watched the trailer, but am hoping for a premise that's plausible, songs that are well written, numbers that are well performed, and that (like the Buffy episode) the musical also contributes integrally into the wider season character arcs, and isn't just a standalone lark.

Here Lies Love, the new musical from David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, officially opens tonight at the Broadway Theatre. Read the reviews!

Average rating: 79.5%

Seven autistic actors will make their Broadway debuts in How to Dance in Ohio, the neurodiverse musical by Jacob Yandura and Rebekah Greer Melocik. Performances start on 15 November 2023 at the Belasco Theatre ahead of a 10 December opening night. Sammi Cannold will make her Broadway directorial debut helming the production.

Also making their Broadway debuts will be the show's writers, composer Jacob Yandura and book writer and lyricist Rebekah Greer Melocik. They've adapted the work from Alexandra Shiva's 2015 HBO documentary, which follows the challenges faced by a group of autistic young adults at a counselling center in Ohio.

Deaf Broadway will present a free performance of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company on 2 August at Damrosch Park. Part of Lincoln Center's Summer for the City series, the show will be performed entirely by Deaf actors in American Sign Language.

The live performance will be accompanied by a simultaneous projection of the 2011 Lincoln Center concert version of Company, starring Tony winners Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone, and will serve as the auditory soundtrack. The performance will also be accessible via English captions and audio description.

The cast will feature Deaf Broadway Artistic Director Garrett Zuercher as Bobby, Heba Toulan as Sarah/Marta, Jules Dameron as Harry, Jackie Roth as Joanne, Hector Reynoso as Larry, Zavier Sabio as Peter, Raquel McPeek Rodriguez as Susan/Soloist, Neil Sprouse as David, Dickie Hearts as Lenny/Andy, Christopher Tester as Jamie/Theo, and Andrew Morrill as Paul.

Joining Tony Winner Matt Doyle as Sinatra in the jukebox show Sinatra the Musical at Birmingham Rep in September 2023 are Ana Villafañe as Ava Gardner and Phoebe Panaretos as Frank’s first wife, Nancy Sinatra. Also in the cast are Dawn Buckland as Dolly Sinatra, Vincent Riotta as Marty Sinatra, and Carl Patrick as George Evans. Little Nancy will be played by Amelia Connor, Effie Gell and Isla Granville. Completing the company are Maddy Ambus (as Marlene Dietrich), Lindsay Atherton (as Swing), Tyler Orphé Baker (as Nat King Cole), Greg Bernstein (as Gene Kelly), Samara Casteallo (as Ensemble), Helen Colby (as Hedda Hopper) Alastair Crosswell (as Ensemble), Frances Dee (as Judy Garland), Alex Gibson-Giorgio (as Nelson Riddle), Ryesha Higgs (as Billie Holiday), Stevie Hutchinson (as Lee Mortimer), Lottie Power (as Lana Turner), Spin (as Sammy Davis, Jr) and John Stacey (as Mitch Miller).

The full cast of Rebecca, the English language production of the German Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay musical, at London's Charing Cross Theatre has been announced: Richard Carson, Lauren Jones and Kara Lane star as Maxim de Winter, the Second Mrs De Winter (one of the weirder character names) and Mrs Danvers. The rest of the cast are: Alex James-Ward, Piers Bate, Sarah Harlington, David Breeds, Amanda Minihan, Neil Moors, Nicholas Lumley, Nigel-Joseph Francis, Elliot Swann, Scott McClure, Emily Apps, Melanie Bright, Gail MacKinnon, Tarisha Rommick, James Mateo-Salt and Rosie Glossop. Season plays from 4 September 2023.

Jenna Russell has been announced as the eponymous Mrs Harris in [Flowers for Mrs Harris](https://riversidestudios.co.uk/see-and-do✿ s-for-mrs-harris-76122/), the Richard Taylor and Rachel Wagstaff musical based on the Paul Gallico novel. Season plays from end of September 2023 at London's Riverside Studios.

A revival reimagines the polarizing musical for the 21st century while a new show offers a bawdy riposte.

The musical based on Tim Burton's 1988 movie was called "exhausting," "gross" and "ill-conceived" by critics. And yet younger theatergoers love it.

The eighth annual fan event will host a variety of discussions about how to diversify stages, songs and scripts.

While this NY Times article focuses on the diversity panels, the full BroadwayCon program schedule is available here: https://sites.grenadine.co/sites/mischief/en/broadwaycon-2023/schedule-embed

Solea Pfeiffer, who can currently be seen in the Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Hamlet, will succeed Tony nominee Eva Noblezada as Eurydice beginning August 15 at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

Tony winner Lillias White has extended her run as Hermes through February 4, 2024.

Says Pfeiffer:

I am so beyond thrilled to be back on Broadway joining this beautiful show and incredible company. I fell in love with Hadestown and Eva’s Eurydice years ago, and it is a great honor to follow my friend who I have such immense love and respect for. I have truly loved this score and the magical world Anaïs Mitchell and Rachel Chavkin created from the first time I saw the show, and I cannot wait to go to Hadestown every night. What an absolute gift.

The backstage union has reached a tentative agreement on its Pink Contract with The Broadway League and Disney Theatrical, which will now be voted on by union membership. The 11th-hour deal will prevent a Broadway and national tour strike that could have begun July 21..

If IATSE members vote to reject the new contract, a strike could become possible again. Dates for the vote have not been announced.

The Original Broadway Cast of Legally Blonde the Musical are hoping to reunite for a benefit concert.

Says Laura Bell Bundy (Elle Woods):

Yes. I would love to see it happen. We had it on the books last year for our 15th anniversary, but the creative team felt like they needed a bit more time. I think it’s still in the works, and I would love to do it. And our entire cast is on board!

Chimes in Orfeh (Paulette):

My dear Jerry Mitchell can attest and confirm that I have been jumping up and down and bugging him to do this since Pretty Woman, it almost happened not that long ago, but there just wasn’t enough pre-planning time straight out of the pandemic.

Jason Arrow will play Alexander Hamilton in the international tour of the obscure and under-appreciated musical Hamilton. He will be joined by DeAundre’ Woods as Aaron Burr, Rachelle Ann Go as Eliza, Akina Edmonds as Angelica Schuyler, Darnell Abraham as George Washington, David Park as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, Shaka Bagadu Cook as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison, Jacob Guzman as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton, Elandrah Eramiha as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds, and Brent Hill as King George.

The production revealed the cast in a video a few days ago, similar to the way the original Australian cast was announced.

In fact, many cast members - including Arrow, Edmonds and Brent Hill among othres - are drawn from the Australian company which concluded its Australian/New Zealand tour recently.

Rachelle Ann Go (who played Eliza in London) returning to her home country of the Philippines mirrors a similar move when she played Fantine in the Manila stop of the Les Miserables tour in 2016. (She was playing Fantine in London at the time and swapped places with Patrice Tipoki who played Fantine for the rest of the tour.)

Claire Abaijah-Griffin, Kirrah Amosa, Curtis Angus, Kyla Bartholomeusz, Taylor Broadard, Trey Curtis, Aniya Danée, Lachlan Dearing, Winston Hillyer, Indigo Hunt, Marcus John, Julian Kuo, Iosefa Laga’aia, Ashton Lash, HaNy Lee, Terrance Martin, Trevor Miles, Eliza Ohman, Callan Purcell, Joshua Rivera, Wesley Ryan, Emmy Saheki, Terrance Spencer, and Dayton Tavares are the show’s ensemble cast members.

Hamilton opens at the Theatre Solaire in Manila on 17 September before relocating to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) on 17 January 2024 for a short, two-week season. More tour stops have yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, Lin Manel Miranda has announced that a Spanish language translation of Hamilton is in the works. Hamilton has already been translated into German for the production in Hamburg.

Jeremy Jordan returns to the off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors for 8 weeks from 25 July to 17 September 2023, because he "ain't got nothing else to do"

Australian pop star Betty Who will join the Broadway cast of Hadestown as Persephone on 5 September. Also joining the cast on this date is Tony nominee Phillip Boykin as Hades. In a totally understated statement to Rolling Stone magazine, Who says

“Hadestown is such a special show for so many reasons, but a huge draw for me personally was the incredible music written by Anais Mitchell. I have loved Anais Mitchell songs since I was softly sobbing at boarding school to ‘Orion’ on my iPod. YEAH, YOU READ THAT RIGHT IPODS BABY, BEEN A FAN SINCE 2001! I’m so inspired by her songwriting and storytelling in this show, and I literally cannot wait to sing it eight times a week. The opportunity to play Persephone in Hadestown is a dream come true. I’ll never forget the first time I saw Wicked, the trap door, the way I sobbed. The BELTING! Musical theatre was one of my first loves — one of the main reasons I wanted to sing in the first place. So to have arrived at this place in my life, making my Broadway debut (!!!!!!!!!!!). I am just completely overwhelmed and excited. See you in Hadestown!

Tony winner Gabriel Ebert will play the title role in the new Joe Iconis musical, The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical, having its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse August 29-October 1. Joining Ebert is George Abud, Jeanette Bayardelle, Giovanny Diaz de Leon, Marcy Harriell, Lorinda Lisitza, Lauren Marcus, George Salazar, Ryan Vona and Jason SweetTooth Williams. Understudies are Summer Broyhill, Josiah Cajudo, and Kürt Norby.

Priscilla Lopez, Andréa Burns, Eden Espinosa, Mary Testa, Kalyn West, Enrique Acevedo and Tally Sessions will star in Michael John LaChiusa's The Gardens of Anuncia at Lincoln Center Theater

Austin Scott will join the Broadway production of & Juliet as Shakespeare on 8 August. He replaces Stark Sands, who will be joining the new musical Swept Away.

Adam Pascal (Roger in the original Broadway cast of Rent) will direct a production of the musical at From Stage To Screen Studios in Huntington, Long Island for a short run on 28-30 July.

In an interview with Playbill he talks about his long, sometimes complex, relationship with the musical which has evolved and morphed over the years. During the early days in his solo music career, he would often get requests to perform "One Song Glory," his big solo number from Rent. But he wanted to perform his own songs rather than any tunes from the musical.

"I really shunned that stuff. But the reality is, all I was doing was punishing the audience. It took me a while to internalize and accept that and be OK with that. And to understand that, you know, you are an entertainer, and your number one job is to entertain an audience," he says. "It took some life, and it took some maturity, and it took some wisdom to get to that place."

Pascal fully embraces his relationship to the musical now. He knows what it did for his career, and he recognizes how much the musical means to so many people. "I'm so proud and grateful and honored at my enduring connection to this show. Purely. There's no 'buts.' There's no 'and.' There's no 'also.' It's just that. It really is".

Tickets to the production are available here.

There's also a special Meet & Greet function before the first performance on 28 July.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) has called a strike authorisation vote following unsuccessful negotiations with The Broadway League and Disney Theatrical, collectively representing Broadway and national tour producers. Union members have until early 21 July (New York time) to vote, which could result in a strike being called as early as Friday morning. Such a move would immediately shut down most Broadway and national tour productions.

The move would affect approximately 1,500 union members employed via IATSE's Pink Contract, which covers stagehands, hair and make-up artists, wardrobe personnel, and others employed directly by productions. The contract covers 28 of 30 currently-running Broadway productions and 17 national tours.

IATSE would be the third major entertainment union to go on strike in recent weeks, joining film and TV unions SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America (strikes which, largely, do not impact theatre).

Actors' Equity Association, which represents actors and stage managers on Broadway and Broadway League-represented national tours, approved a new Broadway contract in December 2022 that will remain in effect for three years.

IATSE also recently reached a new agreement for national tours not represented by The Broadway League, commonly referred to as non-union tours.

The complete cast and performance dates have been set for for the world premiere of Here We Are, the new musical from Stephen Sondheim and David Ives, at The Shed in New York. Here We Are will feature Rachel Bay Jones, Francois Battiste, Tracie Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Rachel Bay Jones, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Jin Ha, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O’Hare, Steven Pasquale, David Hyde Pierce, Jeremy Shamos and Rachel Bay Jones.

The show starts previews on 28 September 28. Opening Night is on 22 October October 22, and the run is limited to 15 weeks only.

While the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike does not impact theatre productions directly there are consequences for musical theatre-related film, tv and radio productions. One of these is the two-part Wicked movie, which has halted production on Part 1 with only days before filming was set to conclude. BroadwayWorld reports that the song "One Short Day" was the only number left to be shot when the strike was called.

With the strike potentially set to last for months, it is possible that the sets for the film may be struck and the remaining scenes shot in a virtual studio after SAG-AFTRA and the studios settle their dispute. Alternatively, the sets could be stored or even left in situ.

Wicked Part 1 is due to be released on 27 November 2024. Part 2 is currently set to be released on 26 November 2025. However, as both actors and writers are currently on strike, it is possible that Part 2 may end up being delayed.

The new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of The Opera opened last week at the Rossetti Theater in Trieste, Italy.

This is not the original Hal Prince production, nor the Laurence Connor staging that has toured the UK, the US, Australia and elsewhere, but a totally new concept directed by Federico Bellone. The show is performed in English.

The cast features Ramin Karimloo as Erik, Amelia Milo as Christine, Bradley Jaden as Raoul and Earl Carpenter as Monsieur André.

As InTrieste magazine reports, thousands of spectators from around the globe flew in just for the show from the Unites States, the UK and around Europe.

The production runs in Trieste for a limited time until 16 July, before other short stints in Milan (11-22 October 2023) and Monte Carlo (last two weeks of December).

The same production, ie with the same creative team, will also play in Madrid, Spain, with a different (I gather, Spanish-language) cast, including Geronimo Rauch as the Phantom (Manu Pilas as alternate), Talia de Val as as Christine and Guido Blazaretti as Raoul. The Madrid season runs from 20 September to early December 2023.

While Australia punches well above its weight when it comes to performers, there have been comparatively few locally written and developed shows that have become successful. This may be changing. Over the past 18 months (since the start of 2022) there have been at least thirteen Australian musicals that been either produced (including presentations of public development showcase readings) or announced.

Not all of these will become successful (realistically, only a few - or fewer - will), but the amount of work in development reaching point where it can be presented to the public (either in showcase or full form) is encouraging.

Australian musicals that have had a showing since 2022 include:

• Moulin Rouge
• Midnight - the Cinderella Musical
• Bananaland
• Bloom
• The Dismissal
• Driftwood
• Rabbits on a Red Planet
• The Lucky Country
• Metropolis
• Show People
• Mount Hopeless
• Work of Art
• Dubbo Championship Wrestling
• The Deb
• Songs of the Unseen
• Wonderfully Terrible Things
• Roller Coaster
• Forgetting Tim Minchin
• The Hero Leaves One Tooth
• The Marvellous Elephant Man
• Villainy
• My Brilliant Career

If you know of more, please chime in.

More details in the posts below.

Note: this post is about musicals written (or otherwise created by) Australians. It is not about international musicals produced in Australia, such as Australian productions of Hamilton, Wicked, Mamma Mia, Into the Woods, The Great Comet etc.

Fremde, etranger, stranger. Happy to see you. Bleibe, reste, stay.

Please take a moment to introduce yourself.

If you're not sure what to write, here are some prompts. Feel free to answer any, all or none of these:

• Favourite musical?
• First musical you saw?
• Bucket list musical? (A show you've never seen but really want to.)
• Most memorable musical experience?
• What are you hoping to get out of this community?
• Anything else you feel like adding.

On the other hand, if you'd rather just let your posts and comments speak for you and skip the introductions, then, as Jack's Mother says in Into the Woods: "That's okay too..."