WestCoast Best of Broadway Season '07-'08

Silly silly silly Janean. I only picked two of the eight Best of Broadway shows announced as coming to town this next season. I didn't pay enough attention to which shows were Equity and which were non-Equity (the actors are not paid according to union rules, so they are therefore less expensive. As a rule, they are considered the "B" tours, or less quality. That's not necessarily true, but higher chance than not.)

I don't mean to be biting the hand that feeds me -- literally. WestCoast Entertainment put on a lovely luncheon to announce their upcoming musicals, and yours truly was invited. But frankly, for a 20th Anniversary rollout, the delicious lunch on the stage of the INB Center was the best thing about the gathering. My table companions were unimpressed overall.

The best surprise: A special one-night concert with the Chad Mitchell Trio. No kidding! Chad is from Spokane, and still lives here (he performed in Civic Theatre's A Child's Christmas in Wales and was an absolute delight). Mike Kobluk and Joe Frazier met Chad at Gonzaga, and they were a nationwide sensation among folkies in the 1960s. The luncheon featured a great montage of appearances on TV shows of the '60s, including Ed Sullivan. The one concert takes place Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. This is an EXTRA add-on.

Actually, half of the announced shows are add-ons at this point. Nothing was announced for after March 30. My guess is that the April and May shows are still in negotiations. Rather than announce and then change direction, as had to happen last season (the planned Little Shop tour shut down), I would hope they're make arrangements and will make future announcements. Otherwise, we've got a season of four shows for $177.

The pre-picks: Movin' Out (Sep 25-30), and Riverdance.

More on Riverdance: The tour will swing up our way after going through Portland, on its way up to Alberta. Jack Lucas said they worked hard to convince Riverdance to stop in Spokane, and I'm glad they did. This is reportedly the final tour of Riverdance. (or at least the production company is going to give it a nice long break) I will admit that I have watched the video several times and listened to the music, but have never sat in a theatre to watch them live. Considering how much I love to watch the Haran Irish Dancers perform, I think I've been missing out. Performances Jan. 18-20. Again, this is an ADD-ON show.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: I thought I'd put this in the pick list, but on second look, I hadn't. I'm very glad this is on its way to Spokane. (We almost saw it in New York last year, but messed up our timing, saw something really bad instead.) I never saw the movie this is based on, but I enjoy the cast album. So I guess I'll have a shock at the start: composer/lyricist David Yazbek wrote a new opening number for this tour, called "The Only Game in Town." Ironically, the song it replaces is called "Give Them What They Want." I hope this isn't an omen of not getting what we want out of this tour. Performances are Oct. 30-Nov 4

Jesus Christ Superstar: The only reason I didn't pick this as a show coming to town is that Ted Neely's "Farewell Tour" has been going on for a while. I thought the 60-year-old might be finished with singing Gethsemane by spring. I should have checked his Wikipedia site -- it's listed there as continuing into 2008 (open-ended). Neely and Superstar was last here in '93 (the first date my hubby and I went on together) and, according to our Wiki friends, is a "stripped-down version with staging and set limited to a few risers." It comes through Spokane Dec. 18-19. This production's booking is done by Troika Entertainment (same group associated with Cats, Chicago, Joseph and Movin' Out)

Speaking of producing companies, this season includes an early start in a first national tour -- HIGHLY unusual. The Wedding Singer began its stage life in Seattle's 5th Avenue before hitting Broadway. It was charming and got a little notice in its eight or nine months on Broadway, mostly because of lead Stephen Lynch. The Road Company is the booking agency, responsible for several A-list tours, specifically Wicked. (Talk about wanting to get in on their good side!) Perhaps the Wedding Singer creatives are fond of the Northwest. In any case, the '80s-style musical comes to Spokane Nov. 27-Dec. 2.

Gypsy is the most ... ambiguous of the productions listed. It's being touted based on its solid score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim lyrics. Whereas most of the video montages publicizing the tours showcased the Broadway stage productions they are based on, this montage featured clip after clip of the film versions (visible at Phoenix Entertainment's site).
I was hoping it was because the production would be based on this summer's Encores series at New York's City Center, which will have Patti LuPone play Mama Rose for a special one-month production this summer.
Phoenix Entertainment -- the group also behind the current television show looking for the next leads in Grease -- is then sending the production on tour, but NOT with LuPone. Rumor has it that Kathy Halenda will portray Mama Rose. She's not a big name, hence the focus on the show itself. Maybe that'll be a refreshing change, seeing Mama Rose as a stage mom and not as a celeb portraying a stage mom. Rumors also say the set pieces and costumes, etc. are coming from the 2003 version with Bernadette Peters. That'll come Feb. 21-24 next year.

The other add-on show finishing the announced season is ... Mamma Mia. Wait, didn't we just bop to this staged concert to ABBA tunes a year ago? Jack Lucas said that WestCoast thought it was too early too, but the producers really really really really wanted to come back to Spokane. (So "back by popular demand" refers to the producers? Do they need to fix their set? Do they want to take a group photo on the carousel or the wagon slide? Was there an untapped audience here who learned about the first showing too late? Will it spark a new debate on jukebox musicals? We'll find out Mar. 25-30 '08.

I'm really surprised that Light in the Piazza and Sweet Charity are not on the list. The main reason is that they are both booked by Network Productions, the same group that shopped around Annie and Hairspray, and is about to bring Rent. Who knows, maybe we'll have some new announcements before too long.