I hope we get this scintillating Broadway comedy with its British star, Janet McTeer, in the West End soon. It certainly deserves a transfer. Not only is is an enjoyable backstage comedy and a dramatisation of a fascinating historical event but it also tackles the red hot topicality of women in theatre at a time when so many of us are hungry for women to excel outside of the secondary roles historically allocated to them.
Janet McTeer and Brittany Bradford in Bernhardt/Hamlet. Photo by Joan Marcus
Over the past 10 years the Disney organisation has become a major player in the stage musicals business. There have been massive, internationally replicated successes like THE LION KING, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and ALADDIN and critically acclaimed and much respected shows, for instance NEWSIES, a magnificent New York centric musical which is yet to transfer to the West End, and PETER AND THE STAR CATCHER which had a respectable Off Broadway and Broadway run. But there have also been some real clunkers like THE LITTLE MERMAID and TARZAN which sunk in the Big Apple and have only had a few revivals since.
It was a golden age for the Broadway musical. The early 1960s saw premieres of evergreen hit shows like Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady and Hello Dolly. They've been regularly revived ever since as highlights of subsequent Broadway seasons with stars of the day making them hot tickets ever since. Now Dolly is, in the words of the title song "back where she belongs" with a new production and leading lady that's got New York Theatre buzzing all over again.
When comparing London and New York theatre most critics agree that exciting new drama tends to be developed in London while New York is the town for innovation in musical theatre. It is therefore with huge excitement that I report that OSLO, at Lincoln Centre’s intimate Mitzi Newhouse space, is one of the finest new plays I have seen in years. Already a sold out smash in its limited run this summer, Lincoln Centre has announced that the show is transferring to its larger, Broadway venue, the Vivian Beaumont later in the year. No doubt this wonderfully theatrical and thought provoking production will be making its way to London soon.