Following today news that theatre owners are eager to transfer the Sheffield production, as Cameron holds the rights, he is eager to get the show into one of his venues.
Rumours are that plans are being drafted for it to come to The Geilgud from July 2013 for a six month run. The Geilgud was to be home to Jersey Boys come Autumn, but with Miss Saigon pushed back to Spring 2014, the boys have The Edward for the year but if My Fair Lady proves a smash, they could be forced out of a transfer and bow out of London, probably to tour.
Dominic West is/was bloody fabulous as professor higgins. The Sheffield production of My Fair Lady was bloody brilliant.
My first reaction to this reading the thread headline and before opening the actual thread, that this would be great fit for The London Palladium once A Chorus Line finishes in June. Great filler for the theatre until 2014 New Year.
I thought A Chorus Line had been extended to January 2014, My Fair Lady I think would be too small for the Palladium, think it would be better in a smaller theatre.
Great news! Great show, but why a limited run? Put it in there and let it go. There must be some other wonderful actors who could take over as Higgins. As an American who often visits London I really enjoy seeing shows there which are set there. My Fair Lady is one of the all-time best. Keep it running!
Remember the last lauded revival played none other than Drury Lane.
I would still think Eliza would fill The Palladium easily. Where if open by July, it would have the benefit for the tail end of tourist season, then Christmas audience and for October between the tourist and Christmas coach parties.
I wasn't aware that A Chorus Line had extended and I would of thought My Fair Lady would be far superior at pulling in the audience?
ACL is 2 hours and no interval. It has been extended thru Jan 2014.
My Fair Lady production could fill the Palladium, but that was the last 2000 production. This Sheffield production is on much smaller scale, they would have to expand the show greatly, do new sets etc, it would basically be a new production or just the Drury Lane production revived.
Cameron owns the West End rights to My Fair Lady so will no doubt co produce in some way a transfer.
ACL is 2 hours and no interval. It has been extended thru Jan 2014.
My Fair Lady production could fill the Palladium, but that was the last 2000 production. This Sheffield production is on much smaller scale, they would have to expand the show greatly, do new sets etc, it would basically be a new production or just the Drury Lane production revived.
Cameron owns the West End rights to My Fair Lady so will no doubt co produce in some way a transfer.
If My Fair Lady went into the London Palladium which it won't as A Chorus Line has extended, a new set would need to be built, even if this show went into a smaller West End theatre, a new set needs to be build as the Sheffield one is based on one for a thrust stage, My Fair Lady didn't have much of a set anyway, the set was mainly wheeled out on stage.
A Chorus Line doesn't have a set, except for art deco style mirrors at the end, when the stage opens up for the finale, I guess set is your biggest expense, so therefore following my logic A Chorus Line would be cheap to put on.
lets not forget what the O.P. contributed who is uncannily accurate most of the time and that's the great news My Fair Lady is coming back to London.
Funnily enough we are talking about two shows that at one time have been the longest running shows in Broadway history.
Built and designed. The Sheffield production is no where near on a scale designed for the Palladium so would need massively redesigning an created as well as doubling cast etc..Therefor would mean the production would alter hugely causing it to be as I said an almost new production of the show. It could happen but I would imagine the shows team want to keep as close to it current roots as possible.
A Chorus Line has no set hardly, but always has the whole company nearly on stage in a line. The rights of A Chorus Line specify the show can only be staged at The Palladium or Drury Lane.
-Panels of rotating mirrors at the back of the stage. -A white line.
That's it! LOL.
But the lighting design was one of the most sophisticated for the time. It's still gets mentioned today as an achievement and asset to the show. That along with the direction and original choreography is what really makes the show what it is. Meaning, you don't even need the mirrors or even the white line for it to work. It's incredibly cheap to produce, yet, I've never come away with the feeling I just saw a barebones production. It fulfills audiences in other ways, making the need for spectacle and eye candy unnecessary.
Even the orchestral requirements are cost effective, compared to most other musicals that require expensive musicians for string sections. ACL doesn't even have a string section. Just brass, woodwind, drums, and percussion.
It originally ran at the Drury Lane, but why would the rights limit it to only that theatre and the Palladium? Isn't the Palladium a cave? A Chorus Line works in all types of theatres but it is more effective in a standard Broadway sized theatre like the Shubert, where it ran for 15 years on Broadway.
I first saw it at the massive Pasadena Civic Auditorium but sat upfront and enjoyed it immensely; however, the actor paying Zach had to walk more than usual to get to the back of that cave where he sat for most of the show.
A close snap, the only time I have seen A Chorus Line is only up the road from Pasadena and that was in Los Angeles in the iconic Pantanges Theatre with all its art-deco glory.
Am I looking forward to seeing A Chorus Line coming to London? Is the Pope Catholic.
Am I looking forward to My Fair Lady? Seen the mentioned production in Sheffield and The National Theatre production at Drury Lane. But would I like to see it again? Don't go breaking my heart Anything Goes!
I do find it odd that only The Palladium or Drury Lane can be used for any London production of A Chorus Line. I'm sure other London theatres could hold A Chorus Line without any problems.
Regarding the set (ACL) ...the same Producer presented this show in Australia last year. He imported the set from the recent U.S. tour so, I would assume that is the same set you will get. It is basically the same but the the sunburst for One has been smartened up to present day standards.
All this talk of Cameron Macintosh is interesting, he was in Melbourne last week to sign a contract for Her Majesty's Theatre here. Talk is that it will be for a new production of LES MIS...but talk on here of MY FAIR LADY has me wondering about that now. The last show I want to see for a very, very long time is LES MIS.
It will come in Phantom I am sure if deals can be done...don't worry!
The West End professional production rights, set by Michael Bennett, currently limit the show to be at Palladium and Drury Lane theatres due to length of theatre. At that time, Dominion, Apollo Vic and Lyceum weren't legit musical houses, so possibly those venues maybe applicable now but from what I gather the license hasn't been updated.
Saw My Fair Lady in Sheffield a few days ago and loved it. Its small scale, simplicity and intimacy are its unique features. It needs to stay as close to what it is now and if transferring should be to a small house and ideally replicate the Crucible as much as possible - let the apron thrust out (taking out the first few rows and putting seating banks to replace them at either side of the stage). Its the funniest, most upbeat My Fair Lady I've ever seen and while it lacks the full gravitas and complexity of the material it is some party. Carly Bawden is essential - she managed to retain Eliza's vulgarity even after her transformation and it threatened to erupt at any minute with hilarious consequences. It would be lovely to have it in London for 6 months.
As I said for my review on the other "My Fair Lady" thread, I didn't think this was a great revival of the show, and to be totally honest, I don't understand why they are thinking of transferring it into London. I love "My Fair Lady" - it holds a lot of special memories for me and is one of my favourite shows, but I do not particularly want to see a sub-standard production make its way to the West End. There have been so many other shows worthy of a transfer in the past that have just not made it in.
I wish it the best of luck if it does transfer though.
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joined:11/21/11
Posted: 1/4/13 at 04:08am