Impending Stake For Lestat’s HeartDarkness is normally welcomed for vampires, but effective May 28, the lights on Broadway’s
Lestat will officially dim for the final time. The announcement comes only one day after the cast took to the Sony Studios to record their cast album. Based on the wildly successful Anne Rice novels,
Lestat was Sir Elton John’s third Broadway outing, but first collaboration there with his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin.
The musical, which only enjoyed 39 regular performances, did manage to snag a couple Tony Award nominations, but will likely be long forgotten by the time they’re handed out in June. Perhaps this third of three wildly
unsuccessful vampire musicals will place the final stake through the ill-fated genre.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets. Related Stories:Critics Sink Their Fangs Into Lestat (April 26, 2006)
Lestat Opens On Broadway Tonight (April 25, 2006)
Labels: Broadway, Closing Notices, Elton John, Lestat, Musical
Critics Sink Their Fangs Into LestatWith reports of scenes being changed right up through last weekend, perhaps it's not suprising that Broadway's
Lestat provided theatre critics with an easy target for their sharpened fangs. The third, yet perhaps most anticipated, of the vampire musicals to descend on the Great White Way in the last three or so years,
Lestat has received middling to poor reviews in the initial check of leading critics at such outlets as
The New York Times (Ben Brantley), New York's
Daily News (Howard Kissel),
New York Post (Clive Barnes) and
USA Today (Elysa Gardner).
Brantley suggested that
Lestat might make a great alternative to Ambien;
Kissel pummels everything as being "flat";
Barnes' headline ("Bloody Awful") sums up his half-star rating; and while
Gardner gave the show a mediocre two-and-a-half stars, she still likened the show to syrup.
Of course, with the legions of Anne Rice fans out there, it remains to be seen whether this show will have the last laugh and live forever, or suffer the fate of vampires with a stake driven through its heart. And personally, I'm waiting to see what Rice herself has to say, especially since she was not pleased with the casting of Tom Cruise in the movie adaptation.
Hopefully, the Broadway version of
Billy Elliot - The Musical -- which even the jaded Brantley seemed to enjoy -- will demonstrate just how appreciative the theatre community can be toward Sir Elton John's musical genius. I'll write more about how truly exhilarating this London production was in future postings.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Lestat tickets.
Click here for Billy Elliot - The Musical tickets.Related Stories:SOB's Best of 2005-06: #8 - Billy Elliot The Musical (Victoria Palace Theatre, London, UK) (May 18, 2006)
Billy Elliot in Triplicate on First Birthday (May 9, 2006)
Lestat Opens On Broadway Tonight (April 25, 2006)
Labels: Billy Elliot The Musical, Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Elton John, Lestat
Lestat Opens on Broadway TonightIt's been 12 years since Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles" opened in movie theatres. Tonight,
Lestat, the much-anticipated Sir Elton John-Bernie Taupin collaboration on the Broadway musical version opens at the Palace Theatre, which was home to Sir Elton's last New York production,
Aida. Despite being denied a 2000 Tony nomination for Best Musical,
Aida earned Elton John his first Tony for Best Original Score (he was previously nominated for his work on
The Lion King in 1998).
What should be noted on
Lestat is that the John-Taupin collaboration went into high gear after a less-than-celebrated world premiere in San Francisco at the close of 2005. The hit songwriting duo -- who had never previously worked together on a stage effort -- were forced back to the drawing board to rework Rice's novel. With three bona fide stage hits under Sir Elton's belt already (
Aida,
The Lion King and
Billy Elliot - The Musical, the amazing retelling of the 2000 British film that currently may only be seen at London's Victoria Palace Theatre), can his proven flair for musical staging be reaffirmed once again? We'll see what the critics say tomorrow morning!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Critics Sink Their Teeth Into Lestat (April 26, 2006)
Labels: Aida, Billy Elliot The Musical, Broadway, Elton John, Lestat, Musical, Opening Night, The Lion King
