Issue #83: March 1, 2002

• More news on the Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp project. The Broadway debut of Movin’ Out, based on 26 songs and instrument compositions by Joel, will premiere in Chicago at the Shubert Theatre June 25 to August 4. It will then move to the Richard Rodgers Theater for an October 24 opening.

• Well it’s official, the hit musical The Producers will be taking the show on the road. A North American tour kicks off in Pittsburgh in September then hits other mid-western cities including Cincinnati, St. Louis and Chicago. The Toronto engagement was announced by Mirvish Productions with Mel Brooks in tow on February 20. This will be an additional company with an opening of May 2003 at the Canon Theatre – casting was not announced. The Toronto run is confirmed for thirteen weeks but an extension is expected. A third company is also expected to open in San Diego on December 31 with a transfer to Los Angeles for a six-month run. There they are talking about Martin Short and Jason Alexander, two stage vets, taking top billing.

• Canadian musical icon Gordon Lightfoot is joining the ranks of Abba, Boy George, Bruce Springsteen and The Pet Shop Boys by bringing his music to the stage. This summer the Charlottetown Festival in Nova Scotia will premiere If You Could Read My Mind: The Music of Gordon Lightfoot. The production will feature 25 of his classics including “Early Morning Rain,” “The Canadian Railroad Trilogy” and “Alberta Bound.”

• West End producer Bill Kenwright plans on mounting the acclaimed Broadway production of Dance of Death with Sir Ian McKellan reprising his hugely successful role as Edgar. Unfortunately Helen Mirren will not be part of the London production when it opens in either November or early 2003.

• Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest foray into producing brings the $6.5 million musical Bombay Dreams to the stage on June 19. Lloyd Webber was singing the praises of the 35-year-old Madras-born composer, AR Rahman at the February launch in London.

• The creators of Notre Dame de Paris announced their new musical Cindy. The modern version of Cinderella will debut September 25 at the Palais de Congres in Paris. You can have a sneak listen from the recent release of the pop-opera show album which features Murray Head, best remembered for “One Night in Bangkok” from 80s musical hit Chess.

• To most he was known as the grumpy, opera-loving Chief Inspector Morse. John Thaw, who played the character on a British television series, lost his battle with cancer on February 21. Accepted by RADA at the age of 16 it was his stage career that was filled with diverse roles. He appeared in London with Diana Rigg in Night and Day, also Business as Usual with Glenda Jackson and in 1993 with the Royal National Theatre in The Absence of War. He did a stint at Stratford with the Royal Shakespeare Company playing Wolsey in Henry VIII and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. He transferred his role in Two in One from the Shaftsbury to Toronto for a season. Other television and film roles included the series Sweeney as well as the movie based on the series. In 1994 he played author Peter Mayle in the television mini series A Year in Provence. A consummate professional to the end, Thaw will be missed by stage and television lovers alike.