Issue #114: August 15, 2003

• It's hard to believe but the producers of Fame are really going to bring the show to Broadway - sort of!  Beginning October 7 the road weary production opens at the Off Broadway Little Shubert Theater.  This musical was first produced in 1990 and has trekked around the world since then.  Receiving everything from mediocre to scathing reviews this production defies all reason and the collective taste of the "theatre" going public.  Based on the 1980 movie, all this production has is one song and it is beaten to death during the performance.  This cash cow for the producers is set to head out on another 100 city U.S. tour in the fall. 

• Steven Pimlott is on board to direct the London transfer of Bombay Dreams, which begins previews March 29 at the Broadway Theater with opening night scheduled for April 29.

• It looks as though Man of La Mancha is coming to the end of its run.  The revival, starring Brian Stokes Mitchell, will close on August 31 at the Al Hirschfeld Theater.

• Rumor has it the producers of The Producers have lured the dynamic Tony-winning duo back to Broadway.  Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick will return to the roles they originated to rejuvenate lagging ticket sales.  Word is that they will be the highest paid actors on the Great White Way.  No date of their return was available at deadline.

• Julie Andrews made her directorial debut at Sag Harbor's Bay Street Theater this summer when she brought to life a revival of the musical The Boy Friend starring Tony Roberts and Veanne Cox. 

• Woody Harrelson heads north of the border to take up directing duties when a limited run of Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth opens on September 22 at the Berkeley Street Theatre.  I wonder if Canada's new lax marijuana law has anything to do with this gig?

• Gregory Hines died on August 9 of cancer, a profound loss to the world of dance, Broadway and showbiz in general.  Although there have been a number of "legends" passing in recent months, his death was a shock.  Having worked with Mr. Hines in Toronto in recent years because of his association with the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, I feel a personal as well as a professional loss.  Gregory Hines was a gentleman, a professional and giving entertainer. He enjoyed holding master classes at the academy whenever he was in town either on business or to see his sweetheart, Negrita Jayde. Only 57 years old at his death, Gregory is a dance legend. Known for his many Broadway roles, including a Tony Award-winning performance in Jelly's Last Jam in 1992, Hines also made his mark on the big screen in White Nights, The Cotton Club and Waiting to Exhale to name a few.  He found his way to the small screen in Emmy nominated Motown Returns to the Apollo as well as I Love Liberty, Gregory Hines: Tap Dance In American and in a 2001 docu-drama on his hero, Bojangles. 
  
  Gregory Hines is one of the last true song and dance men but his legacy lives on in the hearts of all those who were fortunate enough to have been in his larger than life presence. Many years ago Sammy Davis Jr. passed the tap-dancing torch to him and he in turn recently passed that torch to Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in da Funk star Savion Glover.  Gregory, you left us much, much too soon.