According to Broadway.Com, Steve Wynn has snapped up another. Spamalot will open at Wynn Las Vegas in 2007 upon completion of the custom built “Spamalot Experience and Grail Theatre,” which will be designed by Spamalot set and costume designer Tim Hatley and show creator Eric Idle. If you recall, Wynn also snapped up Avenue Q, preventing it from going on tour. Even worse, although Spamalot will go on tour… it won’t hit Los Angeles. According to the article, Spamalot will launch its national tour next March in Boston, although, according to the Associated Press, the tour will not play California, Nevada or Arizona due to the terms of the producers’ agreement with Wynn Las Vegas. Even worse, the Las Vegas version of Spamalot won’t be the Broadway version: it will be shortened to 90 minutes for its Vegas run (unlike Avenue Q, which bows in late August at Wynn Las Vegas). Spamalot will be performed 12 times a week with tickets prices ranging from $80 to $100.
So, what’s the good news. The article notes that “Avenue Q will not tour as long as the show remains open in Vegas”. This implies (to me) that once Spamalot opens in 2007, Avenue Q might indeed go on tour.
In other Broadway news, the trend of turning movies into musicals continues unabated (just like the trend of remaking movies). What happened to original ideas, folks? Don’t believe me:
- Cast for the Upcoming Musical The Wedding Singer Shapes Up
- The Color Purple to Open on December 1 at the Broadway Theatre
- Leads Announced for Stage Version of Edward Scissorhands
- Disney Sets Spring 2006 Broadway Bow for Tarzan Musical
- Sweetly sardonic ‘Harold & Maude’ gets tuneup
We all know you can turn any old movie into a musical. Who here remembers Carrie: The Musical or Gone With The Wind. I’ll note that the Pasadena Playhouse is even getting on this bandwagon, looking into having Sister Act as a musical in its 2006 season, with a potential move to Broadway.
On the good news side, those in New York will be able to see a revival of my favorite musical, Two Gentlemen of Verona. I’ll note that Rosario Dawson of ST:VOY fame will be in the musical. Perhaps it will even come out to LA again! Also noted in the works: The Great American Trailer Park Musical… what a name!
