East West Players is performing the revised version in LA in May-June. As per the website: "It a time when conversations about identity and cultural preservation are more important than ever, Hwang’s reworking of the book for the Spring 2026 production allows Asian Americans to reclaim this cherished story in a meaningful way, illuminating the complexities and richness of the community’s continuous evolution."
This concert is part of the Prospect Musicals Ignite Concert Festival, and is being held on Saturday 7 March. Strictly speaking it's a musicalised novel reading, incorporating some songs from 'Fiddler' and some original songs, rather than a fully-fledged musical. It's an interesting idea. Has anyone here read the novel?
"What happens to the remarkable characters of Fiddler on the Roof after the curtain falls? Broadway performer and author Alexandra Silber shares a musicalized book reading of her novel, After Anatevka, which picks up where Fiddler left off. Hodel takes center stage as she attempts to join her fiancé Perchik in Siberia, facing extraordinary obstacles and finding inner strength. The evening includes beloved songs from the classic musical, alongside original songs inspired by Silber's novel."
Julia Riew also seems ready to blow up, if indeed she isn't blowing up already. Social media virality, ART/Diane Paulus development of one show, South Korean development of another show, YA book deals...
Interesting. I wonder if this change might be testing the waters for selected productions elsewhere, perhaps in other countries in which the show may not have a strong established reputation under the original title. Christopher Luscombe from the UK is directing this production.
While sometimes productions in other countries will change a show's title simply to make the show more comprehensible/marketable to a local audience, the original title has been used in Japan as recently as 2023. The website also notes at the bottom (courtesy of Google Translate): "The original title of this film [sic], "GYPSY," is a discriminatory term given to the Roma and Sinti people. During World War II, the Roma and Sinti, like the Jews, were victims of the Nazi Holocaust. They are still recognized as the largest minority group in Europe, and the EU, the United Nations, and Western human rights NGOs are working to address the issue of exclusion and discrimination against Roma. Although the original title is credited, the Japanese title has been changed to "Rose" out of consideration for this term."
I'm not sure if the show actually deifies Hamilton much anyway, although that's a much bigger discussion. For example, Hamilton is portrayed as a man who wants a war to happen, any war (he was wishing for one since his childhood in the Caribbean), so that he can leverage it to benefit himself by advancing socially. He's lucky enough to pick the winning side of the war that he eventually fights, and so he can give a 'righteous' cast to his actions in that regard;&n
The all-female Japanese theatre troupe's production, based on the video game, is available to purchase for streaming until 31 March 2026 (JST). The cost is $15.20 USD for 14 days of access. Subtitles in English, along with some other languages, are available. There are apparently some limitations regarding compatible browsers etc.
She would like to play Claire in HME, and to write a musical someday:
"I really, really want to write a musical... I feel deeply that I need to be in a musical before I write a musical. I don't have the experience of being in a show, I only have the outside viewership experience and my own songwriting experience. I feel that to understand the inner workings of a musical, I need to be inside someone else's art first. So yes, I have my own ideas. But I need to be in a show first before they can become anything more than voice memos."
Is anyone going to this? I would appreciate hearing reports if so. Running 16 December - 17 January; book and lyrics by Hilary Bell, music by Greta Gertler Gold. It's interesting to see a new take on this classic Australian Gothic story. I've always liked the handful of demo tracks that I've heard from a previous, separate musical version by Daniel Zaitchik.
So this show is coming back once again, this time at the Phoenix Theatre, Arizona in mid-2026: https://phoenixtheatre.com/events/ever-after/ . I can't say I have high hopes based on snippets previously shared of the older versions, but who knows.
This looks intriguing. It's based on the inspiring real-life story of William Kamkwamba. Chiwetel Ejiofor, who made the film of the same name, is executive producing the musical.
A version of this show has been around for a few years already. They even officially released a full pro-shot for free online, with English subtitles, of the older version (which I think has songs by Japanese composer/s, not by Wildhorn): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYPy4vh3_dQ . (Not sure if that will be taken down eventually.)
According to the website at https://musical.chimney.town/, when put through Google Translate, "From the beginning, the aim of this work was to be performed around the world, starting with Broadway in New York, and a company has now been established in New York, where they are continuing to update the work and work with local creators as they work towards a Broadway performance."
Speaking just as a fan and not as an industry expert, I used to get more excited by seeing big name performers attached to concept albums. However, as time has gone on, I've realised that the quality of names involved doesn't correlate to the quality of the show; generally the actors are just fulfilling a paid job, not necessarily endorsing or committing to the project beyond that (and fair enough). So the names might move the needle slightly for me, but probably not enough
Interesting to read these recent comments about the book 'versus' the score. I was a little taken aback to read Danny Strong saying in this interview (linked by corninthesky earlier in the thread) that in previous versions of the show, "There were things that would happen too quickly, things where story would turn within song. So you couldn’t really pick up what had happened, because it’s buried in song lyrics." I thought... isn't it generally a good thing for songs in a musical to do the dramatic work of conveying changes and plot progression? It's not a hard and fast rule, but it did make me wonder a little about Strong's approach to this.
