Issue #5: September 2, 1998

• The $1.3 million production of writer-director Patrick Marber’s Closer will make its Broadway debut in February at the Music Box Theater. The Olivier Award-winning play will continue its run in London at the Lyric Theatre sans star Rupert Graves–he is slated to star at the New York premiere.

• One of the producers of Closer, Robert Fox, plans a heavy Broadway schedule over the next 15 months. Look for John C. Russell’s Stupid Kids at an off-Broadway venue; David Hare’s Amy’s View with Dame Judi Dench direct from the London production will recreate her role for the first 16 weeks next April; then Fox’s current Australian hit The Boy From Oz based on the life of Aussie superstar Peter Allen, will hit the Broadway boards in November 1999.

• You knew it had to happen! Princess Diana has only been dead a year and already the first musical based on her life will open Oct. 1^st. The five-week run of Queen of Hearts will star unknown Kendra Munger at a small off-Broadway theatre.

• The stunning tribute to the late legendary choreographer/stage and movie director Bob Fosse left Toronto on Aug. 29^th after a triumphant run. Look for Fosse: A Celebration in Song and Dance, a sizzling dance spectacular to visit Boston then Los Angeles before opening on Broadway this fall. After seeing all those buff bods on stage it’s off to the gym for life!!!

• Colm Wilkinson is still packing the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto with his unparalleled portrayal of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. Currently scheduled until the end of November, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is extended into the New Year. I’ll keep you posted.

• The Livent production of Ragtime due to open at the Prince Edward Theatre in March ’99 has been postponed indefinitely. The shelving of the production for the time being is probably due to the suspension of Livent chief Garth Drabinsky and his partner Myron Gotlieb, in Toronto on August 10^th pending investigation of accounting irregularities.

• There is a rumor flying around that Shirley MacLaine is considering starring in both Mame and Gypsy in repertory. No doubt she still has the legs for both but why would she want to put herself through that grueling schedule! Stay tuned!

• Jackie–An American Life will premiere at the Queen’s Theatre on October 22. Based on the life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, it played New York in the ’96—’97 season to modest audiences. It may fare better in the U.K.–it might have been too close to home for the Jackie lovers in New York.

• Rent cast update! It was previously reported that Kylie Minogue was starring in the Australian engagement of the musical inspired by Puccini’s La Boheme. Not so!!! The late Jonathan Larson’s award-winning musical will star Aussie Christine Anu at the Theatre Royal in Sydney starting Oct. 21.

• Also downunder, Topol has recreated his legendary role as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. This classic musical will close on October 10.

• You may recognize him as the handsome JAG officer in the American television series of the same name, but Canadian actor David James Elliott began as a stage actor. He was tagged after an open audition for the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, while attending acting courses at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in Toronto. Following his two seasons with the renowned Shakespearean festival, Elliott was seen on the Canadian television series Street Legal for four seasons before heading to Hollywood.