Issue #55: November 1, 2000

• Scary things could be in store for Broadway in the future. Apparently author Stephen King and rocker John Mellencamp are talking about writing a musical ghost story together. No other specifics are available but we’ll keep you posted on any developments.

• On The Producers front the latest information has Roger Bart joining cast members Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Chicago’s Cadillac Palace in February is where you can have a first look at the new musical before it heads to Broadway’s St. James Theatre for an April opening.

• August Wilson’s latest play King Hedley II will open on Broadway in April following its travels to Chicago’s new Goodman Theatre in December and a February stint at the Kennedy Center. It is currently at the Mark Taper Forum in L.A.

• Gwenyth Paltrow’s mother Blythe Danner is hitting the boards, joining the cast of the Roundabout’s revival of Follies, which begins previews at the Belasco Theatre on March 6.

• Imitation is the greatest form of flattery — right. Well another Stomping style show has hit the road. From the mines of South Africa comes Gumboots — a 12-member troop that introduces this dance form to Americans during its current nine-city tour.

• Atlanta’s Rialto Theater will be the place to be on December 10 when Maurice Hines introduces his latest work Yo, Alice! — a hip hop version of Alice in Wonderland.

• Disney Theatricals Worldwide has inked a deal with producer Joop van den Ende’s Stage Holding for the stage rights to The Lion King and Aida. Future productions are planned for Germany and the Netherlands.

• Broadway has lost one of its greatest dancers. Four time Tony Award winner Gwen Verdon died at the age of 75 on Wednesday, October 18. In 1953 she won her first Tony Award for her show-stopping performance in Cole Porter’s Can-Can. In 1955 her path crossed with an up-and-coming choreographer named Bob Fosse. Verdon and Fosse’s names would become synonymous with one another — not only professionally but personally. Their first musical together was Damn Yankees, which opened in May of 1955 linking Gwen with the role of Lola the way The King and I is linked to Yul Brenner. In 1960 Ms. Verdon and Fosse married creating an incomparable team. In 1966 Verdon originated the role of Charity Hope Valentine in Sweet Charity. She also created the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago which opened in 1975 — two classic Fosse musicals. A successful Chicago revival is currently on Broadway and on tour. Even after Fosse’s death 1987 Verdon continued to preserve the integrity of his choreography by taking on the role of artistic adviser for the new musical Fosse which is a collection of highlights from his career. The lights on Broadway are somewhat dimmer with the passing of this legend.