Spider-Man: The Musical has hit a financial stag, Variety has learned.
The production, written by U2’s Bono and The Edge, has a current operating cost estimated between $30m to $45m and is expected to be one of the most elaborate performances ever staged on Broadway.
“Others attached to Spider-Man acknowledge the funding hiccup, but believe the situation will be resolved without forcing a disruption of the musical’s launch.”
Spider-Man is still is scheduled to open on Broadway in March 2010.
Brooklyn-based composer Jacob Cooper has penned an opera based on the teenage love affair of pop’s ill-fated “It Couple,” Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.
Jessica Biel made her musical theater debut alongside acting vet Beau Bridges in a concert version of Guys And Dolls over the weekend.
The actress played saintly Sarah Brown, a Manhattan missionary at odds with a gang of gamblers, in the three-night run at The Hollywood Bowl — produced by The Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Acclaimed theater director Tina Landau is developing a new musical based on the hit 1995 comedy about a rich high school girl who eventually evolves from her shallow existence as a superficial fashionista.
The film made stars of actress Alicia Silverstone and Stacey Dash, who played on-screen companions Cher Horowitz and Dionne. Paul Rudd, Brittany Murphy, and Scrubs’ Donald Faison also appeared. Clueless was adapted into a TV series for ABC’s TGIF format in the late ’90s.
According to Playbill.com, The Witches of Eastwick’s John Dempsey and Stephen Trask and Peter Yanowitz are aboard to create the script and musical score that will accompany the stage production.
The Notebook is headed for the bright lights of Broadway.
New Line Cinema
One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Galeotti and music producer Ron Aniello are currently casting a musical workshop to attract producers interested in financially backing The Notebook: The Musical on the Great White Way. The workshop, which will take place in Wilmington, North Carolina, is described as “…a preliminary step toward an eventual opening in New York.”
The beloved romance novel by Nicholas Sparks was brought to life on the big screen by former couple Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, who played lovers Noah and Allie in the 2004 hit.
Controversial mom of octuplets Nadya Suleman is the inspiration behind a new musical parody poking fun at the icons of American excess.
Octomom! The Musical opened to a sold-out audience at The Fake Gallery in Hollywood last weekend. In a 62-minute production of hysterical song and dance, the cast of character rips into schemer Bernie Madoff, greedy mortgage companies, and of course, mom of 14, Nadya Suleman.
Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff are making their Broadway debut this summer. The engaged stars of ABC’s ballroom reality series, Dancing With The Stars, will appear in Burn The Floor, a Broadway dance showcase opening next month.
Maks and Karina will star in the show for the first three weeks of its run, which kicks off at New York’s Longacre Theatre on July 25 for previews and officially opens on August 2.
Mariah Carey has reportedly landed a contract to appear in an upcoming unnamed production in London’s West End theatre district. Read the rest of this entry »
