Issue #214: June 1, 2008

• They are resurrecting martial arts phenom Bruce Lee with a Broadway musical. An announcement was made recently that Bruce Lee: Journey to the West is scheduled to open during the 2010-11 season.

• A fourteen-year-old Montreal native, David Alvarez, has been cast in the lead with two other fellows for the much-anticipated Billy Elliot, The Musical. Previews begin October 1.

• Another Canadian is currently on the Broadway stage in the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening. Twenty-year-old Kyle Riabko, a native of Regina, is living his Broadway dream and if all goes well he will be heading to Toronto in the musical when it plays in 2009.

• I was in New York recently and took the chance to see Jersey Boys, the 2006 Tony Award-winning best musical. The story behind four guys from New Jersey was brilliantly showcased in this slick, crisp, infectious production. In addition to New York, productions are currently in Las Vegas, Chicago and London….and soon to be in Toronto. If you haven’t seen it yet….run, don’t walk….to get a ticket…you’ll want to see Jersey Boys again and again.

• The life of the musical Gone With The Wind has been somewhat shorter than the staying power of the movie. The producers recently announced the musical would close on June 14, not totally unexpected as the production received scathing reviews when it opened in April.