It’s a familiar cry in the theatre: not when someone is taken ill in the stalls, but when the show itself is limping, or worse, onstage. On Broadway, where are they ruthlessly apply the scalpel to creative teams and casts in attempts to fix problems on the way to the first night, this is standard practice. After Disney tried out Aida in Atlanta in 1998, for instance, the principal creative team that included director Robert Jess Roth (who was also responsible for Disney’s first theatrical foray with Beauty and the Beast, still running on Broadway even now but soon to make way for The Little Mermaid at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre) were dismissed, as were most of the principal cast with the exceptions of Heather Headley and Sherie Rene Scott. Robert Falls took over direction, and also re-wrote the book (with an assist from David Henry Hwang). Crucially, too, Bob Crowley stepped in to re-design it. At Atlanta, a malfunctioning pyramid almost did for the show: as composer Elton John said afterwards, “Every time I saw the show, it broke down. It got on the cast’s nerves. It dragged everybody down.” They finally took a different version to Broadway’s Palace Theatre in 2000, with a brand-new set. It went on to a run of three and a half years.
In the case of Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out, the work done between a troubled Chicago try-out and a Broadway triumph was done by Tharp herself. But a triumph isn’t always guaranteed: even she couldn’t rescue her follow-up, The TImes They Are A-Changin’, inbetween San Diego and Broadway. More recently, The Pirate Queen was re-tooled en route from a Chicago try-out to a Broadway opening at the Palace Theatre: in came Richard Maltby Jr to rework the book and original lyricist John Dempsey’s work; also new to the team, Graciela Daniele joined to provide “musical staging”, with original choreographer Mark Dendy relegated to the title “additional choreography”. But whether or not these changes are going to change the long-term prospects for the show remains to be seen. It is still clinging on to life at Broadway’s Hilton Theatre, but with Mel Books’ new musical Young Frankenstein apparently trying to get its teeth into the theatre, there could soon be a blood-letting and The Pirate Queen could be made to walk the plank (instead of continuing to tread the boards).
This phenomenon is now, curiously, discreetly invading long-runners over here. Interestingly, when Michael Grandage’s Piccadilly production of Guys and Dolls was sent on the road, where it continues to tour now, the director was newly credited as Jamie Lloyd – with a line below his name, “Original production directed by Michael Grandage”. Ditto for choreography, now attributed to Chris Bailey (with “original choreography by Rob Ashford”). Is this generosity to their juniors, or a reflection of the fact that Grandage and Ashford haven’t gone too close to the touring production at all?
And in the last fortnight, I’ve noticed two West End shows with new billing. Christopher Renshaw, original director of We Will Rock You, has all but disappeared from the billing for that production: the directorial credit now goes to Ben Elton (who also wrote the book), with a credit for “original West End production directed by Christopher Renshaw” (but no programme biography). Ditto with Fame — the Musical, Karen Bruce is now credited for its direction and re-staging; while Runar Borge and Lars Bethke are credited respectively for directing and choreographing the original London production (but at least both still get bio’s in the programme).
