FLASHBACK FRIDAY: 15 Years Ago: Jane Eyre

Marla Schaffel and James Barbour

Jane Eyre, based in the novel of the same name, was the third of the four nominees for Best Musical 15 years ago that I've talked about.  What really sets this one apart from the others is that it really signaled the end (or at least the slooow death) of the epic musical so popular on Broadway the previous two decades.  It was even directed by one of the "greats" of that era - he had his hand in Les Miserables. Perhaps, it was the comparatively small scale of it.  Or the darkness.  Or that "new fangled" computer-generated scenery.  It also featured Marla Schaffel, who, at the time, was expected to become a huge Broadway and beyond star.  She hasn't been back since.

It wasn't a complete failure, I suppose.  It generated a cast recording and earned 5 Tony Award nominations - Best Book, Score, Actress in a Leading Role, Lighting Design and, of course, Best Musical.  It went home empty-handed, and closed one week later, on June 10, 2001.

36 previews, 207 performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre

Note the "new fangled" computerized scenery

Stars at the time:

• John Caird (Book, Direction) - He wrote and/or helmed two of the biggest hits in Broadway history: Les Miserables and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Tony nomination: Best Book of a Musical.
• John Napier (Scenic Design) - Also a part of Les Miserables and Nickleby, he also designed Equus, Cats, Starlight Express, Miss Saigon and Sunset Boulevard.  This was his only flop. 
• Andreane Neofitou (Costume Design) - a Tony nominee for the original Les Miserables, she also designed the current revival, and... you guessed it... Nicholas Nickleby.

Jane and Rochester get emotional

Stars Were Born:

• James Barbour (Rochester) - Barbour had appeared in several shows prior to this one, but from here on, he took on other starring roles in A Tale of Two Cities and the revival of Assassins.
• Several members of the ensemble - Stephen R. Buntrock, Mary Stout, Bill Nolte and Jayne Paterson - have continued to have successful careers as replacements and show gypsies.

Was the artwork better than the show?

The 2015 Connection:
James Barbour (Rochester) - He's the current Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera.
Gina Ferrall (Mrs. Reed/Lady Ingram) - She's a standby in It Shoulda Been You.
Don Richard (Mr. Brocklehurst) - He was the Lizard Man and Tod Browning in Side Show.
Bradley Dean (Swing) - He was in both The Last Ship and Dr. Zhivago.  I saw him in the title role of the latter, and he did a nice job under difficult circumstances.

Next week: The BIG show of 15 years ago...

Jeff

One That Got Away... and Came Back!

Have you noticed that even the biggest flop shows are getting major attention post-closing? The Story of My Life has since since produced a cast recording and a children's book based on the song "The Butterfly." (I bet that song is in MANY an audition book!) Glory Days has also produced a cast recording and has generated not one but TWO major events... concert/reunion/CD signing parties in NY and where it started, the Signature Theatre in Virginia. Two parties for a show that ran one night! Not bad...

Now comes a media blitz usually only reserved for the most "artsy" of musicals (any production of Passion, a Rodgers and Hammerstein event, or a British concert). But this time it is for a flop Broadway musical by an unknown writer: A Tale of Two Cities by Jill Santorello, who either leads a charmed life, has untold wealth or friends in high places. No matter how it happened, it did.

This was one of those shows I really wanted to see, but couldn't get to NYC fast enough. And it all has to do with the title. The novel, by Charles Dickens, is one of my all time favorites, and I pretty much enjoy any version of it, including several miniseries. Still, the music I had heard from it wasn't all that impressive, the cast was mildly interesting, though I have to admit James Barbour is one of those people I just don't see the appeal of (but that is another blog altogether), and it, from all appearances looked like a Les Miz retread. I am really weary of those. All of that said, it was still on my list of "need to sees." (And cutie Simon Thomas makes this concert a "must see"!)

Well, here we are, several months later, and an all-star, American/British cast has been assembled for a grand concert version to be shown multiple times on PBS, a Cast Recording is coming out and a DVD, too, of this concert. I haven't seen this much attention paid to a new show since Chess. But that's another one that got away and keeps coming back!

What do you think? Send me a comment! Jeff

(Photos by Catherine Ashmore: James Barbour; Brandi Burkhardt and Simon Thomas; The Company.)