Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake on Broadway

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 3/1/25 at 10:31am

I recently visited recordings of Matthew Bourne's queer adaptation of Swan Lake. It opened in London in 1995, transferred to Broadway in 1998, and went on to tour the world. Bourne mentioned, after the show's 30th anniversary, that Broadway producers had asked him to tone down the queer elements. He began describing the male swan as a "father figure." Anyone who saw the show would find this ridiculous.

'It was a shock to many': Matthew Bourne on his Swan Lake with male swans, the show that shook up the dance world

Does anyone here remember how the show was discussed in 1998? I remember the logo with the swan's eyes. And the mocking Forbidden Broadway parody. Were many audiences "surprised" to learn it was a male love story? 

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 3/1/25 at 2:15pm

I think most people knew what it was about.  I know it wasn't the box office smash here that it was in other countries.  Got great reviews, everyone who wanted to see it saw it, but it didn't entice the curious.  Maybe it was the gay stuff or maybe Broadway is not where consumers go for pure dance, even if Swan Lake often felt like a book musical.  

[jagman106]

Posted: 3/1/25 at 3:44pm

I remember that Swan Lake being well-received and beautifully performed. I don't recall there being any negativity surrounding mounting it on Broadway. It was a stunning production with elements of homoeroticism, but I don't recall it being "overly queer." I saw it twice and don't remember anyone in the audience being aghast, appalled, or even disliking it. Both times, the audiences appeared to be typical Broadway audiences for the late 90s (a lot of middle-aged/older white folks) who appreciated the production. It's odd that producers would ask Bourne to "tone down" the show for today's audiences. I'd think that most theater audiences would have evolved in the 25-30 years since this show first appeared on stage, and to tweak the piece in any way would be detrimental to the concept of the show. I may be mistaken, but I think PBS even broadcast a performance of it for a while.

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 3/1/25 at 8:48pm

He isn't asked to tone it down now. He's amused to find that 30 years later it's gone from controversial to embraced by a family audience. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 3/1/25 at 10:46pm

That's true. Nowadays when they perform at NY City Center it's always sold out. Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake was the last time I was in the theater before the covid shutdown in 2020.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 3/1/25 at 11:01pm

Is it coming back to new York any time soon?

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 3/2/25 at 12:30pm

1999: I thought it was amusing that the Tonys ruled ''Swan Lake'' was not eligible for Best Musical (and possibly Musical Revival), but Matthew Bourne won the Tony for Best Director of a Musical (in addition to his win for Choreography).  And Adam Cooper, the lead ballet dancer, was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical. Cooper and Will Kemp shared the lead role. Anyone recall if they split 4 and 4 shows, or did Kemp just do the matinees? I'm assuming Cooper got the Tony nomination because he did the opening night. 

More inconsistent Tony decisions from 1999:

https://observer.com/1999/06/a-tony-award-for-best-award-thats-not-a-theater-award/

Updated On: 3/2/25 at 12:30 PM

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/2/25 at 1:06pm

Just based on my experience working in the ballet world, I would guess that it was an even split. It is fairly unusual for a principal/soloist to do two performances in a row in the same role, especially in a full length piece. For instance, the Nutcracker I've been doing for the past few years, this year we had 7 Sugar Plum/Cavalier pairings, and that was only for 13 performances. That same company just finished Romeo and Juliet and they had two pairings for the title roles for four performances.