RIALTO CHATTER: Sam Harris Joins 'FIRST WIVES CLUB', NYC Readings This Week

Recording and stage star Sam Harris has revealed via his 'vlog' that he has joined the workshop for the upcoming musical version of the hit film THE FIRST WIVES CLUB. He'll be playing a new character not found in the movie, he begins rehearsals this week in NYC for the reading. He also hinted that after the Old Globe run of the musical the production team was aiming for an October 2009 bow on Broadway. 

Sam Harris first shot into the public eye as the "Star Search" icon and has found success as a Tony-nominated Broadway star for The Life and also as an acclaimed replacement in THE PRODUCERS, a multi-million selling recording artist, a concert touring sell-out in venues all over the country including Carnegie Hall and on television in last years CBS series, "The Class," where he was touted by Liz Smith as "the comedy breakout character of the television season." 

Based on the best-selling novel and Hollywood blockbuster of the same name, FIRST WIVES CLUB features music & lyrics by the famous songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland and a book by Tony winner Rupert Holmes (Curtains!, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Say Goodnight Gracie). The production will be directed by award winning opera and theatrical director Francesca Zambello (The Little Mermaid for Disney on Broadway, Little House on the Prairie for the Guthrie Theatre, Rebecca at the Vienna Raimund Theatre and Porgy and Bess and the Wagner Ring Cycle at the San Francisco Opera).

The popular 1996 Paramount film The First Wives Club - about three divorced women who seek revenge on their former husbands - was based on Olivia Goldsmith's novel and featured a screenplay by Robert Harling. The motion picture grossed over $130 million and boasted a star-studded cast comprising Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton.

The musical will be produced on Broadway by Paul Lambert and Jonas Neilson, with a theater and exact dates to be announced. FIRST WIVES CLUB will be seen at the Old Globe this summer before heading to Broadway.

Tickets to First Wives Club-The Musical are currently available by subscription by contacting the Globe Box Office at (619) 23-GLOBE or online at www.TheOldGlobe.Org