REBECCA: The Doomed New Musical?

REBECCA, the upcoming Broadway musical, has pushed back its rehearsal start date two weeks following the death of one of its main investors. The investor, who was going to put in $4.5 million dollars, passed away in late August, leaving the funds in jeopardy.

The other producers are optimistic that the money will come through from the estate, and rehearsals will be able to start on September 24th, two weeks later than originally scheduled.

There is no word on what this means for the dates of the first preview and opening night, scheduled for October 30th and November 18th, respectively. I'd assume they will be pushed back as well though.

This musical, starring Jill Paice and Ryan Silverman, seems doomed. After an original spring 2012 opening scheduled, the show has had many setbacks. While the production team is optomistic the show will open, I am not holding my breath. I would put money on a major delay or it being shelved indefinitely. But I hope I am wrong and only time will tell.

UPDATED!! COMPANY With Neil Patrick Harris to Get DVD Release!

The NY Philharmonic production of Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY, which was filmed and shown live in movie theaters last year, will get a DVD this fall according to director Lonny Price. The concert featured Neil Patrick Harris as Bobby and Patti LuPone.

UPDATE: The DVD will officially be released on November 13th according to a listing on Amazon. The picture above is the official DVD cover. It will be released in both DVD and Blu-Ray.

According to Playbill, the concert also featured "Martha Plimpton (as Sarah), Tony winner Anika Noni Rose (as Marta), Stephen Colbert (Harry), Jim Walton (as Larry), Jon Cryer (as David), Craig Bierko (as Peter), two-time Tony winner Katie Finneran (as Amy), Christina Hendricks (as April), Aaron Lazar (as Paul), Jill Paice (as Susan), Jennifer Laura Thompson (as Jenny) and Chryssie Whitehead (as Kathy)."

I am so upset I missed this in theaters and am so excited for a DVD release!!

Jill Paice and Ryan Silverman to Lead REBECCA

Jill Paice (Death Takes a Holiday) and Ryan Silverman (Phantom of the Opera) will star as "I" and Maxim de Winter in REBECCA when it opens on November 18th at the Broadhurst Theatre.

Previously cast in REBECCA are Karen Mason (Sunset Boulevard, Mamma Mia!) as Mrs. Danvers, two-time Tony Award nominee Howard McGillin (The Phantom of the Opera) as Frank Crawley, James Barbour (Beauty and the Beast, A Tale of Two Cities) as Jack Favell, Donna English (Lend Me A Tenor) as Beatrice de Winter, Nick Wyman (Les Miserables) as Giles and Henry Stram as Ben.


Paice is a great choice and I don't know who Silverman is, so we'll definitely have to see