Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

Playbill is reporting that Love Never Dies, the long-anticipated sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, will not open in Spring 2011 on Broadway as previously announced. This is disappointing news for sure. Here is Playbill’s coverage of the story:
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, which officially opened in London March 9 at the Adelphi Theatre, will not arrive on Broadway in spring 2011 as previously announced. A spokesperson for the musical confirmed to Playbill.com, “Love Never Dies will not be opening on Broadway this spring. Further news about the show will be announced shortly.” Mixed reviews and the recent illness of composer Lloyd Webber had prompted an earlier postponement. Originally, the sequel to the international hit The Phantom of the Opera had been scheduled for a November 2010 Broadway bow. In April it was announced that the musical would open at the Neil Simon Theatre in spring 2011. The New York Times previously said director Jack O’Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, who staged the London production and were scheduled to repeat their duties for Broadway, had withdrawn from the project. No official announcement about their withdrawal has been made. The New York Post recently added that Lloyd Webber’s plan is to now mount two separate productions with two different creative teams in Australia and Toronto. He will then choose the stronger of those productions to bring to New York at a date to be announced.

Playbill reported today that Frank Wildhorn’s musical Wonderland is officially making its way to the Big White Way. Wonderland marks the first show ever produced by the Genesis Project, through the Straz Center at the Tampa Bay Center for the Performing Arts, an initiative created to bring Broadway shows written, designed, and produced in Tampa, Florida to the stages of Broadway in New York City. The show will open in April of 2011 at one of the Nederlander Theaters. Per Playbill: Wonderland, according to press notes, is a “story about a new Alice who has lost her joy in life. Estranged from her husband, alienated from her daughter and in danger of losing her career, Alice finds herself in Wonderland where she encounters strange though familiar characters that help her rediscover the wonder in her life while searching for her daughter.” I was able to catch the show in its final week run in Tampa. It was a lot of fun. The score is very pop-driven and the show is laden with some pretty spectacular special effects. But, there were some casting issues (the leads were weak and had a difficult time carrying the show) and the book could use to be tightened in several spots. There’s probably no doubt the musical will be strengthened before opening on Broadway in April.

Last week I was fortunate to make a trip to New York City to catch some shows and spend some much-needed time with my mom and sister. The entire trip was prompted by a news release a few months ago that the NYSEC was organizing a benefit concert of Titanic (which as most know is my all-time favorite Broadway production) featuring most of the original Broadway cast. Titanic won 5 Tony Awards in 1997 when it opened, including the coveted Best Musical. The NYSEC production was amazing! The cast performed magnificently and the large orchestra performed Titanic‘s elaborate and dynamic score beautifully. The acoustics of NYSEC’s Concert Hall are known to be excellent; but the spoken dialoague of the production was difficult to comprehend at times. Titanic was definitely the highlight of the trip! In the picture, you’ll see my mother and I posing with Titanic‘s Tony-Award winning Composer, Maury Yeston.

  Our second day in NYC ended with Promises, Promises, one of the biggest shows on Broadway right now. The show is playing at the Broadway Theater and is a musical comedy. Sean Hayes (best known as Jack McFarland from Will & Grace) stars as the main character Chuck, who’s life of mediocrity and singledom comes to an abrupt end when his co-workers discover he has an apartment that easily provides shelter for them to have affairs. Hayes really showcases his talent in Promises, Promises and Kristen Chenoweth’s country-style voice provides a sweetness to her role that was needed for an appreciation of her character, who might otherwise be thought of as unlikeable. But the real scene-stealer is Katie Finneran as Marge MacDougall, a “widow” who provides much of the second act with gut-busting laughter! Promises, Promises is definitely a MUST SEE!

The trip ended with a visit to the St. James Theater to see the production of the rock-musical opera American Idiot, based off of my favorite band’s (Green Day) 2004 album of the same name. The show also features a handful of songs from the group’s most recent 2009 album 21st Century Breakdown. The show centers around a group of friends who are at points of change in their lives and is set in the beginning of the Iraq War. One moves to NYC to attempt to find himself but eventually becomes addicted to heroin; another literally goes nowhere and ends-up unexpectedly becoming a father; and finally, one is wounded after joining the Army and going to war. The show is incredibly unique and anyone who is a fan of Green Day will love every minute of it. My only complaint is that the show, which runs a solid 95 minutes, does not have an intermission. At times, the story feels a little rushed and consequently, the characters are never developed to the level usually seen in traditional musicals. Then again, American Idiot is no traditional musical! It is a rock and roll music video live on stage and on the Great White Way is something that cannot be skipped, especially if you’re a fan of Green Day.

 Playbill.com is reporting that Sean Hayes, a 2010 Tony nominee for his performance in Promises, Promises, will host the 64th Annual Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards on June 13 live from Radio City Music Hall. In a statement the Emmy-winning “Will & Grace” star said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be hosting the Tony Awards. As the new guy on Broadway, it’s an honor to be included in the established alumni.” The Tony Awards will air live on CBS from 8-11 PM ET. The Tonys are presented by The Broadway League and The American Theatre Wing. In exciting news, on my upcoming trip to NYC in a few weeks, we’re going to get to see Hayes and Broadway and “Glee” sensation Kristen Chenowith in the current (Best Musical-nominee) Promises, Promises!!!

The Broadway Revival of one of the greatest musical of all-time, Ragtime, may have been short-lived, but it is certainly not going unnoticed. Yesterday, the nominations for the Tony Awards (the most prestigious awards in American Theater) were announced. Ragtime was nominated for 7 Tony Awards, coming-in at #5 for the most nominated show. The show was nominated in the top-category of its eligibility, Best Revival of a Musical. The original production of Ragtime opened in 1998 and was the most expensive production ever staged at the time of its run. Although the original show was nominated for a slew of Tonys (including Best Musical), it took home 3 and lost the coveted prize to Disney’s The Lion King. [On a personal note, I actually saw the original Ragtime on Broadway and saw The Lion King the very next day. When the curtain closed on The Lion King, I was scratching my head in complete disbelief.] Ragtime and its revival (which I had the honor to see last Summer @ the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC) are simply put, two of the best shows to ever grace the Great White Way. Let’s hope the Tony Awards Committee realizes its extreme 1998 error and awards Ragtime with Best Revival of a Musical.

Below are Ragtime‘s 7 Tony Award Nominations:

– Best Revival of a Musical, Ragtime

– Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Leading Role: Christiane Noll, Ragtime

– Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Leading Role: Bobby Steggert, Ragtime

– Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Ragtime

– Best Costume Design of a Musical, Ragtime

– Best Lighting Design of a Musical, Donald Holder, Ragtime

– Best Direction of a Musical, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Ragtime

Although the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Ragtime was short-lived in its Broadway bow, it received heavy accolades on Tuesday when it received 5 Helen Hayes Awards. The Helen Hayes Awards are the Washington, DC version of the Tony Awards. With over 53 resident theaters in the Capitol, Washington DC has a very vibrant and thriving performing arts district, including the Kennedy Center, which has been named as the most outstanding theater in the United States. Ragtime earned five Hayes Awards including Outstanding Resident Musical, Outstanding Director Resident Musical (Marcia Milgrom Dodge), Outstanding Lead Actress Resident Musical (Christiane Noll) and Outstanding Costume Design Resident Musical (Santo Loquasto and Jimm Halliday). I was unbelievably lucky to be able to see the Kennedy Center’s Ragtime last Summer with my best friend Annie on our trip to DC. The show was incredible! Although it was heavily scaled-down compared to its original 1996 production at Broadway’s Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now the Hilton Theater), the show was beautifully staged, well-acted, and just as moving as that 1996 spectacle. It is sad that it did not succeed on its return to the Broadway stage during a harsh economic climate where shows were closing on a near-daily basis. Nonetheless, Ragtime is well-deserved of the honors it has earned! Congratulations to all involved with the amazing Kennedy Center production!

The Phantom: Love Never Dies, the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, which opened at London’s Adelphi Theatre on March 9th, has been temporarily postponed because of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ongoing battle with prostate cancer. Although Webber’s cancer was diagnosed early and its growth halted, he has been suffering from complications related to his treatment. In addition, long flights Webber would need to take to travel back and forth from New York City to London is contraindicated for him at this time. An April 6 statement from the show’s producers says that the original date was set prior to Lloyd Webber’s diagnosis with prostate cancer last fall. “Although the cancer has been eradicated, there have been post-operative problems,” according to the statement. “These have been aggravated by recent air travel and Lloyd Webber’s doctors have requested that he does not take any further long-haul flights for the time being and until the problem has been investigated. This prevents him attending auditions and being part of the pre-production process in New York on the original schedule.” A date has not yet been set but Love Never Dies will now be scheduled to open at Broadway’s Neil Simon Theater in the Spring of 2011.

The LA Times reported today that the national touring company of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera will close in Los Angeles on Novemember 14, 2010. The tour is currently in Orlando, Florida through February and will give up the ghost in Los Angeles. Organizers announced Friday that “Phantom” will return to L.A. for an engagement at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood that is set to begin Sep. 23. The run will be the last stop on the tour, which is set to close in November. The current tour of “Phantom” began more than 17 years ago and has played more than 7,000 performances in cities across the U.S. The decision to close the tour in L.A. is a symbolic one — the first national tour of “Phantom” kicked off in L.A. in 1989. On Broadway, “Phantom” has been playing at the Majestic Theater since opening in 1988. That production won the Tony Award for best musical that season. A musical sequel, “Love Never Dies,” is set to open in London this month and on Broadway later this year. Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the music for the original “Phantom,” has also penned the sequel.

Wonderland, the Broadway-bound musical that started in Tampa, Florida in November of 2009 has made its pre-Broadway move to Houston’s Alley Theatre. The show’s creative team has a solid reputation on Broadway and is credited with such hit shows as The Civil War, Jekyll & Hyde, and The Scarlet Pimpernel. The cast features the same actors seen in the Tampa run, including actress Janet Dacal from the Tony-award winning In the Heights, as Alice. Costing over $3 million, the production is first-rate and is the first show from The Genesis Project. Broadway Genesis is intended to help create new works of American theater to play the Tampa market, and then possibly tour other performing arts centers or move to Broadway. I was able to see Wonderland a few days before its Tampa closing. The show was fantastic! The pop-rock sore reminded me somewhat of the tunes from Wicked and the special effects were dazzling. Unfortunately, the lead actress Janet Dacal didn’t give Wonderland what it needed from a top performer. Nonetheless, it was a great show and I highly recommend it. The Web Site for Wonderland is very interactive and fun. Take a look: http://www.wonderlandthemusical.org/ Wonderland plays the Alley Theatre through February 14th.