It's Official - Matthew Broderick to Star in Kathleen Marshall Directed NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT Spring 2012

[Rob]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 2:35pm

Click Here to Read It's Official - Matthew Broderick to Star in Kathleen Marshall Directed NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT Spring 2012

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 2:37pm

Awesome!!! I was hoping I'd be able to take a 2 hour nap in the spring!

[suttonfoster]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 3:00pm

Say whatever you want. I'm happy Broderick is coming back to Broadway!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 3:01pm

If they could bottle Brodericks on stage charisma and sell it as a sleeping aid, someone could make a fortune.

[jovie27]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 3:33pm

Was I wrong, but wasn't Susan Stroman supposed to do this with Harry Connick, Jr?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 4:04pm

Yes, Harry Connick was originally supposed to star in this. Now that Matthew Broderick is taking over, I'll be sitting this one out. Broderick is an actor who showed such great promise in BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS but has become duller and duller with every performance since. His performance in THE PHILANTHROPIST was, indeed, a snooze-fest.

[Anastasia_Beaverhausen]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 4:18pm

Soooooo Crazy For You 2?

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 4:41pm

Sometimes I wonder why people think certain things will make money.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 5:23pm

So I guess Broderick has aged out of Dolly's interest bracket.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 5:25pm

He sure did. The day BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS closed.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 5:53pm

Private message for Namo and Jordan (no one else should read this!):

YOU ARE BOTH DASTARDLY DEMONS!

[Taryn]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 6:09pm

Awesome!!! I was hoping I'd be able to take a 2 hour nap in the spring!

Jordan, you just made my week.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 7:57pm

Broadway's most boring director directing Broadway's most boring star.

[Donthatecongratulate]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 9:18pm

"Broadway's most boring director directing Broadway's most boring star."

exactly. hugh jackman would be better. and stroman would add a flair that marshall just doesnt have. ANYONE ELSE would add a flair that marshall doesn't have. now if they're looking to play it safe for the white haired crowd, they've got the perfect people.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 6/16/11 at 11:28pm

I can't wait to not see this!

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 6/17/11 at 1:08am

I also remember this project from a couple of years ago. I think it was supposed to go out of town (to Boston, along with a tryout of Rob Ashford's Brigadoon revival that same season) but was cancelled due to the financial crisis and its effect on Broadway. Or maybe it was just lack of interest at the time. But I seem to remember it was still Marshall attached along with Harry Connick Jr. Could be wrong, though...

Nonetheless, I didn't want to see this then, and I still don't really want to now. Though it's interesting that they want to open it cold on Broadway this time around...

[Kad]

Posted: 6/17/11 at 1:10am

So the Plan B for casting if Harry Connick Jr. couldn't do it was... Matthew Broderick? The man's career has been one big sideways move for two decades.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 6/17/11 at 1:19am

This is the official info on the show and a clarification of the stuff I said on my post above, from its Wikipedia page:

"A workshop was performed in November 2007, featuring Harry Connick Jr. and Erin Dilly. At that time, the show was titled Heaven on Earth. The musical was first scheduled to debut at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, running from December 16, 2008 through January 11, 2009. The production was expected to open on Broadway in Spring 2009. The production announced that Harry Connick, Jr. would star as a "Long Island playboy". Scenic design would be by Derek McLane and lighting design by Kenneth Posner, music arranger/supervisor was Rob Fisher, and costume design was by Martin Pakledinaz.

On June 2, 2008, it was announced that Kathleen Marshall, who was formerly announced as director and choreographer, was no longer with the project. According to a statement made by Broadway Across America, the previous producing team "has disbanded due to irreconcilable differences", and Broadway Across America has assumed the lead producing role.

According to The New York Post, it was triggered by a feud between Ann Marie Wilkins (Connick's manager), and Scott Landis (Connick's agent and Marshall's boyfriend). On July 25, 2008, it was announced that the musical was "officially postponed", as they needed more time to work out the details, after the change of producing team.
Connick mentioned in an interview on The Today Show on MSNBC on January 29, 2009, that the Broadway production was to be directed by George Wolfe. It was then announced in the June 2010 issue of Playbill magazine that Harry Connick, Jr. left the project, citing his own personal feud with Kathleen Marshall.

A new reading was scheduled for October 8, 2010, starring Matthew Broderick and Sutton Foster, with Kathleen Marshall directing and Scott Landis producing. Broderick has been announced as starring in the musical, which is slated to open on Broadway in Spring 2012 under the direction of Marshall, who will also choreograph."

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 6/17/11 at 1:55am

Shame Sutton can't be involve, now that "Anything Goes" has extended indefinitely. And seeing how long she stayed with "Millie" after the Tony awards, I doubt she'll free herself up for this one.

I say get Rachel York in there.

[erikinthecity2]

Posted: 6/17/11 at 5:09am

Ruthie.

[mc1227]

Posted: 6/17/11 at 7:00am

I don't think Anything Goes is going to run beyond the summer. It has gotten the Tony bump in sales but that won't last forever. She was already working on Anything Goes when she did the workshop for Nice Work last fall so it seems she would be interested in staying with the project. I suppose it would depend on her current contract.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 6/17/11 at 7:42am

I really wanted to see this but I wouldn't waste my time on another Mennered Broderick performance. He'll whine his way through this part too.

He has basically done the same schtick and character for the last ten years. His roles in Producers, How to Succeed, Odd Couple among others were all the same.

When he finally did take on a role that is extremely difficult to do, The Philanthropist, all he did was show how extremely limitted and mediocre he really is.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/17/11 at 10:59am

Even before Harry Connick Jr. became involved a few years ago, the show was done for the first time at Goodspeed in 2001, back when it was known as AND THEY ALL LAUGHED! That production featured James Ludwig and Marla Schaffel in the two leads, but September 11th (and a decidedly mixed critical reception) killed the show's chances of coming to Broadway.

As has been mentioned, when Connick became involved, they changed the title to HEAVEN ON EARTH. He did a workshop opposite Erin Dilly in 2007, which was supposed to lead to a tryout in Boston followed by a run on Broadway, but everything stalled when the producers squabbled internally, which led to Marshall and all of the subsidiary producers walking away. The whole thing fell apart shortly after that.

I saw the reading in October, and the cast was unbelievable. In addition to Broderick as Jimmy and Foster as Billie, Katie Finneran, Victoria Clark, Michael McGrath, Elaine Stritch, and a host of other big theatrical names participated. They're still fine tuning parts of the book, but everything I saw in the room scored big. I'm not surprised they were able to raise their capitalization as quickly as they did. It'll be interesting to see who ends up doing the show in the spring.

In terms of Foster, while the character of Kay/Billie gets some nice material, it's the sort of secondary-love-interest-to-a-leading-man-star type part that I think she's trying to move past with ANYTHING GOES (considering she's already played those types of roles in SHREK and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.) She turned down LEAP OF FAITH for similar reasons after having done that reading, so I wouldn't be surprised if she elects not to continue on to the Broadway production.

Updated On: 6/17/11 at 10:59 AM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/17/11 at 11:10am

Paging Tommy Tune. Paging Twiggy. Please report to your dressing rooms. This is your half hour call.

I'd rather see those two do it even if they are past their prime. Broderick was never a dancer and this show will require a leading man who is a graceful dancer. And Broderick is more of a warbler rather than an actual singer.

[mc1227]

Posted: 6/17/11 at 9:46pm

So, Somethingwicked, since you are the only person who has posted here that has actually seen the workshop, can you tell us how Broderick was in the workshop in your opinion. I heard that he was very good but the Broderick bashers on here will never believe that.