In this week’s column, we ponder the ephemeral nature of theater, from the Amy Winehouse musical that never was to Ricky Martin‘s departure from Evita.
BACK TO BLACK
That musical based on the life of pop singer Amy Winehouse isn’t going to open after all. Although Amy was set to premiere in Copenhagen’s Danish Royal Theatre on January 30, the whole production has been canned due to problems with getting permission to incorporate her songs.
The show was to blend Winehouse’s music with letters, interviews, speeches and concerts. Johanne Louise Schmidt had been cast as the English powerhouse, who died at age 26 after a battle with alcohol and drugs. [Playbill]
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SISTER GEORGE REBORN
Missing stage and screen star Kathleen Turner? The Serial Mom actress is directing and stars in a new production of The Killing of Sister George, a lesbian farce that was first mounted in 1964.
Turner stars as June “George” Buckridge, a popular radio actress who plays a nun on the air, but is a cigar-smoking, gin-guzzling battleaxe in real life. When George learns her character is being killed off, she pulls out all the stops.
Frank Marcus’ original stage version never explicitly stated George and her ladyfriend Alice were gay, but Robert Aldrich‘s 1968 film made the lesbianism more explicit, shooting in real-life London lesbian nightspots and featuring a sapphic sex scene that earned the film an X rating.
For this production— at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre until December 23—the script has been considerably revised by Jeffrey Hatcher to diminish the play’s shock factor and emphasize character development and relationships. Is this the killing of Frank Marcus’ vision? [Broadway World]
NERD POWER
For a quirky bit of performance artsy entertainment, check out Queer Not Cool, a monthly show in Queens that celebrates gay nerds and their geeky obsessions. Dancers, musicians, performance artists, comedians and others share the fandoms that keeps them trapped in their bedrooms. (Is there a Broadway-flop edition? Sign us up!)
The December 8 show focuses on “nerd sex”: Kevin Allison discusses about his extensive passion for bondage, while Kyle Supley describes his history with outdoor sex and writer David Lawson regales the audience with his porn addiction. Well, whatever gets them out of the house for a while. [Secret Theater]
GOOD NIGHT AND THANK YOU
You’ve got just two months to see Ricky Martin as Che in the Broadway revival of Evita: The out entertainer has announced he’s leaving the show on January 26.
Though reviews of the show have been mixed, Martin has been box office gold, helping the Andrew Lloyd Weber vehicle break sales records.
On Tuesday morning, Martin tweeted, “Evita 1 of the most amazing cycles of my career. Discipline and growth…Thanks so much for your applause.”
Co-stars Elena Rogers as Eva and Michael Cerveris as Juan Perón also leave the show on the same date. No replacements have been announced. [Hollywood Reporter]
