Like Christmas, preparations for which seem to start earlier and earlier every year, the advance guard for the hyping of next year’s Tony Awards has officially started today, with Michael Riedel’s column in today’s New York Post that speculates whether Cry-Baby, the latest musical to be based on a John Waters film after the success of Hairspray (which itself finally officially opens in London next week), may turn out the show that everyone has to beat. [CLICK BELOW TO CONTINUE READING]
There was a private reading to solicit investment last week in New York ahead of its regional try-out at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse next month, which Riedel reports “went very, very well”. The book is by Tom Meehan, also currently represented by co-writing the book to Young Frankenstein, that is now in previews on Broadway; so Meehan may be going head-to-head with himself and Brooks at next year’s Tony’s – Riedel wonders what Mel will do if his friend Meehan wins for Cry-Baby, and offers this answer: “Mel will kill him, says an insider”.
Though New York is unusually busy with new plays this autumn, it isn’t shaping into the most prolific season musically speaking: after the cancellation of Lone Star Love, there are only two new musicals opening on Broadway this side of Christmas: Young Frankenstein (on November 8, assuming star Roger Bart recovers from the spinal injury that has him out of the show this week], as I reported yesterday and Disney’s latest film-to-stage transfer for The Little Mermaid (previewing from November 3 prior to a December 6 opening, which has a fantastic tagline on its posters: “The hardest part of falling in love is taking the first step”).
Otherwise, there are only three more musicals confirmed to open in the New Year besides Cry-Baby (which is hoping to arrive in March and eyeing the Marriott Marquis, currently home to The Drowsy Chaperone, according to Riedel). The first is A Catered Affair, now also trying out in San Diego (though not last night, when the performance was cancelled owing to the fires raging through Southern California) and booked for the Walter Kerr for March (which I previously wrote about here). Then there’s In the Heights, which had an off-Broadway run at 37 Arts earlier this year and is now set to re-open at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in February. Finally, Passing Strange, a transfer from the Public Theatre of a new musical by a performance artist called Stew is now booked to open at the Belasco in February.
