Mary Testa Stays Up for "Sleepless Variations"

Broadway veteran Mary Testa takes a leave of absence from her regular gig in Xanadu to perform in the debut of a new musical, Sleepless Variations.

Sleepless Variations is a song cycle exploring where a woman's mind wanders when she can't sleep. The score features songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jimi Hendrix, and Bjork.

William Finn is the artistic producer. Michael Schiralli directs. Michael Starobin is the musical director.

The show runs Thursday through Sunday at the Barrington Stage Company's Musical Theatre Lab/Stage 2, in Pittsfield, MA.

Source: The Berkshire Eagle

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Broadway "Brigadoon" Belayed

The planned 2009 revival of Brigadoon has been postponed for lack of appropriate theater space.

The production was to have been directed by Rob Ashford, with a new book by John Guare. Alan Jay Lerner, who wrote the book for the original version, also wrote the lyrics. Frederick Loewe composed the music. No cast had been announced.

Also canceled was the Broadway tryout, scheduled for October 21 through November 16 at the Colonial Theater in Boston.

Source: Broadway.com

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Luck Is a Lady for "Guys and Dolls" Revival

The first Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls in 17 years is slated for early 2009.

Des McAnuff will direct the musical, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The Ambassador Theatre Group of London is producing, after mounting a West End version in 2005, which was directed by Michael Grandage with Ewan McGregor playing the role of Sky Masterson.

No casting has been announced for the new production.

Source: Bloomberg

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Weekend Roundup: 7/21 - 7/27

This week at Broadway Musical:

Jason Robert Brown Musical Headed to Broadway
Phantom Sequel Coming Soon
Review Roundup: [title of show]
Angels Skips Try-Outs, Winging it to Broadway
A Little More Hairspray
Broadway Gets A Tale of Two Cities
Robin and the 7 Hoods to Muscle in on Broadway
Godspell Goes Back to Broadway
Caitlin Kinnunen Joins Cast of Spring Awakening

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Jason Robert Brown Musical Headed to Broadway

Jason Robert Brown's latest musical, 13, will open on Broadway at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on October 5, after previous stagings at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and at The Norma Terris Theatre (Goodspeed Musicals) in Connecticut.

Music and lyrics are by Jason Robert Brown (Best Score Tony Award winner for Parade). Dan Elish and Robert Horn wrote the book. Jeremy Sams directs, with choreography by Christopher Gattelli.

Previews begin September 16.

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"Phantom" Sequel Coming Soon

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber plans to stage the musical sequel to Phantom of the Opera in London in October or November of 2009.

The working title for the production is Once Upon Another Time.

Lloyd Webber held a workshop production of Act One at his country estate in Sydmonton, and he is now writing the second act.

The musical sequel is based on The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth. In 1906, the Phantom runs a freak show at Coney Island, NY. Christine, an opera diva, is married to Raoul.

If you are curious about how the romantic triangle plays out, read the book.

Source: The Star

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Review Roundup: [title of show]

The reviews are in for [title of show].

What's the verdict?

Here's a sample:

New York Times:

Does that sound silly and inconsequential? Well, “[title of show]” is definitely both, but at least it has the smarts to acknowledge it. And as performed by Mr. Bowen, Mr. Bell, and Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff, the talented girlfriends they rope into their makeshift, make-it-up-as-we-go-along opus, it is genial, unpretentious and far funnier than many of the more expensively manufactured musicals that make it to Broadway these days.

Entertainment Weekly:

The creators even smartly acknowledge their limited appeal with a winsome 11th-hour song that proudly asserts, ''I'd rather be nine people's favorite thing than a hundred people's ninth-favorite thing.'' ... Between the snappy dialogue, wistful lyrics, and actors clearly having a ball, [title of show] should become a favorite thing for far more than just nine people.

New York Sun:

"[tos]," as it's known, lovingly demolishes Broadway's most durable art form. In its place is a sweet, raunchy, and just about irresistible portrait of how and why we tell stories.

Time Out New York:

Sure, this self-referential behind-the-scenes musical comedy was infectiously show-queen–y, catchy, well-crafted and bursting with charm, but Broadway? Well, the little tuner that thought it could, did. Good news: it hasn’t lost a jot of its bighearted, quirky brilliance.

AM New York:

In any event, we found it to be an irresistible, infectious romp. Behind the low-key production values and musical theater trivia, there is pure genius, miles and miles of heart, and an immense amount of fun. We wouldn't miss it for the world.

Talk Entertainment:

It’s probably the best ensemble cast on Broadway. Not probably. It is the best. In one of the most original and entertaining shows on Broadway.

NY Daily News:

It's a joyously entertaining tribute to the pain and elation of the artistic process and of being a part of a world you adore.

Theater News Online:

Ultimately, it's a beautiful, universal study of the human need to create.

Back Stage:

[title of show] is a delightful 90 minutes, fueled by the passion, wit, and wackiness of its creators.

Curtain Up:

If laughter truly is the best medicine, this show just might be a cure-all for musical theater aficionados everwhere.

The Journal News:

Somehow, though, these boys' all-too-familiar quest for fame and fortune manages never to sink into cliche. It's fresh, smart and funny.

NorthJersey.com:

“[title of show],” which opened Thursday night at the Lyceum Theatre, may be small – that’s the point, actually – but it produces some of the best laughs on Broadway.

Philadelphia Inquirer:

The more these sincere, talented folks sing about the tough world they'll die to conquer, the more universal they become. You don't have to make theater to identify with {title of show}, you just have to want something meaningful.

TheaterMania:

The show also has a great deal of passion, tons of wit, and a handful of catchy tunes, all of which might be enough to turn this impossible dream into a long-running reality.

TheaterMania:

I’m rooting for it. In an age where Broadway often sees new musicals that mock other musicals, this is the one that most genuinely loves musicals.

New York Magazine:

If I’m hard on a musical that really is a good time, it’s partly because there’s so much real skill used in such unfortunate ways up there.

Wall Street Journal:

An hour, alas, is too long to sit and wait for a musical to get good.

Hartford Courant:

Insiders will be delighted. Others should consider taking in another show.

Newsday:

How I wish I could love the show. I wish I didn't feel that I was being manipulated by long-struggling talented people on a guilt trip.

Talkin' Broadway:

They're all so thrilled with the genuine moments of genius, as well as the life-affirming story it tells about its creators, Jeff Bowen (songs) and Hunter Bell (book), that they don't mind overlooking its other identity as a slag heap of intellectual, emotional, and theatrical dishonesty.

Variety:

But stripped of satirical edge for its heavy Broadway date, the backstage show by Hunter Bell (book) and Jeff Bowen (score) is revealed in all its narcissism, flaunting its shallow aesthetic values and taking unseemly pride in its inflated ambitions.

New York Post:

Seriously, I can take a fair amount of cuteness, and I can even accept a touch of the fey, having lived for many years in Chelsea. But when the self-conscious and terminally cute and the pixie-like fey are all mixed up with self-congratulatory smugness, it results in a piece of - oh, let's call it garbage.

Bloomberg.com:

Together they proceed to the parturition of 90 minutes' worth of unremitting torture for anyone with a shred of good taste, discernment and normal eardrums.

USA Today:

Sadly, [title of show] (* * out of four), which opened Thursday at the Lyceum Theatre, proves that these virtues alone don't add up to compelling entertainment, even when they're shoved down your throat for 90 minutes. Especially when they're shoved down your throat for 90 minutes.

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