The "Rebecca" Saga Continues- Page 2

[philly03]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 1:32pm

One glaring problem is that almost all the sets/costumes are finished, so assuming the producers can get the money, its coming. If I'm not mistaken, if the show doesn't happen, they will have to pay out the cast (again - those who keep extending), designers, VWB, etc. Its costly for it not to open.

I wonder if Jill Paice (who I think is the absolute perfect actress for the role) will continue with it, given that American in Paris has success. Karen Mason, James Barbour certainly will; I question if Ryan Silverman will. Lisa O'Hare is available now also (the producers liked her in London as an alternate to Sierra Boggess).

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 1:37pm

Philly-I can't imagine a scenario in which additional money would be due to anyone. Assuming they can get the money together (a big if), and a theatre, I would expect they would do it, but out of lunacy not for financial reasons. 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 1:52pm

"@g.d.e.l.g.i.-your excusing of what is alleged to have happened on the ground that everyone does it is really icky."

Really icky, and also really true. Again, I am not justifying the use of fraud to report fraud, but I am not shocked that Thibodeau chose the method he chose if he wanted to continue to work.

Updated On: 5/13/15 at 01:52 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 2:18pm

This show is as dead as Joan Rivers.  Bye!

[philly03]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 3:29pm

^ Most shows with this baggage, yes. This show has contracts, sets, rights, has had the same theatre reserved twice with a marquee up that will be open in the fall. Its clinching on for dear life, but not completely dead yet. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 4:05pm

Sutton

Great comment. It should have been deader

The only reason to invest in this (or possibly almost every show) is for a tax writeoff

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 5:46pm

g.d.e.l.g.i., what was icky to me was not the underlying saga but your statement that "if there was a whistle-blower like Thibodeau on every show about every incident that might be considered criminal activity, we would have no industry." I find that not only false but offensive. broadway theatre is not rife with criminality.

philly, I know you want to believe there is some force pushing the show forward based on having had it together already but the truth is that those items are either neutral or additional expenses that have to be added to the budget (and probably the capitalization as well). Several years of storage for sets and costumes probably has run up a bill almost as big as starting from scratch, plus there is major additional teamster expenses involved. And nothing that sits for that long doesn't deteriorate, and that means extra load in time and headaches. And remember the rights are still in place because additional money changed hands. The truth is, the budget for this show is probably +25% where it was before. And the show is not coming in for Fall but (allegedly) Spring. No one can say what theatre will be available then, and I seriously doubt any landlord is jumping for joy for this show in any event.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 6:17pm

"g.d.e.l.g.i., what was icky to me was not the underlying saga but your statement that "if there was a whistle-blower like Thibodeau on every show about every incident that might be considered criminal activity, we would have no industry." I find that not only false but offensive. broadway theatre is not rife with criminality. "

Baby, where have you been workin' all your life? Occasional interpersonal relations between actors alone would make the human resources person at Merrill Lynch do a spit take. If we had a whistle-blower like Thibodeau at every spectrum, you can bet the New York jail system would be a lot fuller.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 7:07pm

I think, if "Rebecca" ever opens on Broadway, it will have a decent shot. The novel has become a true English language classic. If the musical manages to reproduce the mood of the book (its brooding sense of doom), that would be quite an achievement -- one that should guarantee a hit.

Also, the fangirls and overgrown fangirls (like me) haven't had a new musical in which to squee at a male lead in some time -- POTO is a fave, but let's face it, most of us have seen it over and over. Dr. Zhivago was the most promising romantic musical in some time, but it apparently decided to make war and not love.

"Rebecca," however, is the stage equivalent of a "chick flick." Whoever is cast as Maxim de Winter will undoubtedly be a heartthrob, no less than Tam Mutu or James Barbour, both of whom were slated to play the role. With a sympathetic "I" and a properly malevolent and charismatic Mrs. Danvers, the dramatic potential is enormous.

I think the producers realized that they were seeking audiences who have spent a lot of time at the Majestic -- they cast a bunch of Phantom expats, in both the first and second casts. If James Barbour goes from mask to Maxim, he will be yet another Phantom alum. If the show can capture the women who can't get enough of POTO, it should do fine. It may not run for 27 years, but 5 would be a possibility.

Just my two cents ... or my wishful thinking.

[philly03]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 7:16pm

Trust me, I'm well aware of how it is working and the costs associated.

 

Also AHliebross - James Barbour will be playing Jack Favell, Rebecca's brother (he's got a solo in Act II). Ryan Silverman was contracted for Maxim when Jill Paice was cast.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 7:23pm

g.d.e.l.g.i., we are not talking about interpersonal relations; we are talking about fraud. But it seems like you are, for whatever reason(s), oblivious, and are just not gonna get it. Such is life.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 8:40pm

Excuse me? You stated that you found my statement that "if there was a whistle-blower like Thibodeau on every show about every incident that might be considered criminal activity, we would have no industry" to be false and offensive, and that Broadway theater was not rife with criminality, which opened the floor to other instances of criminality. There was nothing specifically related to fraud in your addressing that statement. This isn't a kaleidoscope; you can't broaden and narrow the scope to change the picture as you please.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 9:41pm

Well, to me, the expression "a whistle-blower like Thibodeau" does not contemplate someone poking around dark backstage areas calling out the inappropriate sexual advances. But if that's where you mind went during a discussion of fraud, that's fine. Not what I was talking about, but yes, that happens. 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 9:44pm

But the inclusion of the phrase "on every show about every incident that might be considered criminal activity" immediately following certainly connotes more than just fraud being reported on, you would agree?

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 10:20pm

sure, but we are just talking past each other at this point. 

[Eurotrash]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 5:06am

I think people overlook that this is a very good show of its kind. And there's no point prejudging the English language version, because it will be different. 

IMO the biggest mistake in the whole saga was moving the show from London to NY, without which the rest of the fiasco would not have occurred. The irony is that Mr Sprecher has raised more than enough cash to put on the show in London. 

If he ever does get this going, the man will be a living legend. 

The show has also played Helsinki, Belgrade, Seoul, Moscow, Bucharest, Malmo and Budapest, btw.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 7:01am

A blast from the past

Adele Holzer

[philly03]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 9:56am

Eurotrash - but when he re-signed the rights after failing to get it at the Shaftesbury in London in 2010/11, they wanted the show to be on Broadway. "Broadway musical" is always going to trump "West End musical" globally when it comes to future productions. 

[PatrickDennis92]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 10:36am

London presents its own challenges for making a show a financial success. Just because he raised the amount he did, there's so guarantee that those investors would have agreed to invest if the show had been in London. Broadway is really the most lucrative theatrical market in the world by a wide margin; thus Broadway can still attract otherwise competent investors to take a leap they might not typically consider, even though the odds are long.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 5:21pm

Oops, Philly03, I'm mixing up my Phantom alums -- Ryan Silverman played Raoul in Las Vegas. I saw him there and he's a great singer and actor, in my opinion.

Other Phantom alums who are being or have been mentioned for one or the other casts of Rebecca are Howard McGillin, and John Cudia and his wife, Kathy Voytko, for the chorus. The first time I saw Phantom (at the Kennedy Center, in DC in 200 John was the Phantom. He was INCREDIBLE and started my obsession with the stage version of the show -- I was already hooked on the 2004 movie version.

I may have missed other POTO alums, besides McGillin, Cudia, Silverman, Boggess, and Barbour, but that's a high enough number to link the show with POTO in the minds of the phans.

Audrey

[#1CarrieFan]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 8:15pm

Found this message board interesting and didn't realize, or am I misunderstanding that there had been a production of Rebecca in Australia? If that is the case was there an English cast recording made of this dibocal???

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 9:01pm

A close friend of mine saw the Vienna proxuction and raved about it. He bought the color progrzm back for me as a gift. I really want to see this happen. Just from the photos in the program! But he also said I would probably enjoy it. He said it didn't even bother him that it wasn't in english. It was that good, in his opinion. I have heard some of it and liked what I heard, and saw.  

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/14/15 at 9:04pm

before anyone asks, a dibocal is a contrabassoon with two mouthpieces.

[Eurotrash]

Posted: 5/15/15 at 5:19am

I'm sure that's all true re NYC, but I was speculating that the probability of a hit in London with this show was higher, and that would've provided momentum.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 5/16/15 at 3:21am

I haven't heard much of the music from the show, so I don't know the type of voice would work best for Mrs. Danvers.  However, if it's not strictly operatic, I think that Patty Lupone or Idina Menzel would be great -- they both have the kind of stage presence and personality to play a charismatic villain. Another possibility would be Audra McDonald, but I'm not sure she's old enough. Then again, she apparently blew people away as the Mother Superior in the televised Sound of Music, and she was DEFINITELY too young for that role.