More Info on GIGI on Broadway, anyone?

[mendezmosquera]

Posted: 12/1/13 at 11:01pm

Hey everyone!
I'm a big fan of old time classics and I just found this page on FB

https://www.facebook.com/GigiOnBroadway

Is a revival of Gigi in the works? Is this a Broadway bound show? Anybody has more information about this production? I'm so excited about this show coming to Broadway!

Best,
Gonzalo

[MCfan2]

Posted: 12/1/13 at 11:47pm

It'll be trying out here in D.C.! Here's some more info on that:

http://music.yahoo.com/news/kennedy-center-host-broadway-revival-gigi-182130638.html

[mendezmosquera]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 12:00am

Thank you! I was checking the FB page more in depth and I found some of those links... It seems that is happening, yay! They have lot of activity on FB so they must be working on it. Now I can't stop thinking who the cast is going to be. But it is too soon. So long until they announce anybody

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 6:42pm

It bombed previously on Broadway. Why bring it back again?

[mendezmosquera]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 6:52pm

Well, it was 40 years ago... I don't know if they will try to update it in some way, but I'm a big Lerner & Loewe fan so I hope they keep the old, glamorous vibe... I think it will worth a try!

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 12:07pm

I saw the original, which was memorable only for Alfred Drake, Agnes Moorehead, and Maria Karnilova's performances. Then I saw the '85 London production was stupefyingly dull. The score is very pleasant, but IMHO, the book was painfully sexist (yes, I know it's a period piece, but I still cringed)

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 12:20pm

For anyone who didn't read the posted article, the show is indeed being re-worked.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 12:24pm

Re: sexism, there's only so much you can do with the story of a courtesan-in-training. Gigi's not going to ditch her family and Gaston and become an executive at General Motors. They have to do the best they can with the time, place, and situation they're given.

If the book of the stage show is anything like the book of the musical (I've never seen it on stage), at least it ends up with Gaston committed to Gigi -- not in the kind of relationship she dreaded, where he could easily just dump her the minute he got tired of her, and she'd have no option but to find a new man. Updated On: 12/3/13 at 12:24 PM

[dreaming]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 12:39pm

In the film, he proposes to her. (They are married at the end.)

That's kind of the compromise of the story. I'm a feminist but I totally understand why the story can't be 'updated' to make her some kind of professional working woman. (She's like Mme. Armfeldt-and we don't necessarily criticize her.)

[someone.else's.story2]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 1:50pm

Oh god, I love Gigi! I hope this happens!

[BudFrump23]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 2:12pm

There a section in the book "One More Kiss: The Broadway Musical in the 1970s" which goes into depth why the author, Ethan Mordden, thinks the stage version failed. I agree with many of the points he makes, and would recommend the book (which is one of a series) to anyone interested in Broadway musicals that one may have not seen.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 2:28pm

I saw it at the Uris in the 70s and was bored out of my mind. The score is pleasant enough, and there are a few touching moments. But it felt like purely a movie to stage translation with very little work on a book.

I won't lie-if it is revived I will go see it - but my expectations would be low.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 6:46pm

I love the cast album from the original production. The Irvin Kostal arrangements are glorious and I actually prefer some of the performances over the movie's, at least when I'm not actually watching the movie and just want the songs. I'm also quite fond of the new songs written for the stage show, like "Wide Wide World" and "The Earth And Other Minor Things."

I wonder if they'll switch out some of the 1973 material for more from the original film. I hope they don't scale down the orchestra, but they most likely will.

[mendezmosquera]

Posted: 12/3/13 at 11:53pm

Thank you so much for the recommendation BudFrump23, and thank you all for the background on the original production. I'm trying to find the cast album and I also hope they don't scale down the orchestra because I love the sound of the original Loewe score.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 5/19/14 at 5:52pm

For those interested, a few tidbits:

There's a site up now: http://gigionbroadway.com/

Heidi Thomas of Call the Midwife is doing the book. (I haven't yet seen CtM, but many of my friends tell me it's wonderful, so hopefully this is a good thing!)

And the Kennedy Center has a logo up on its page. Can't say I care for it much, but maybe it's not the final version? http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=TPTSD

[mendezmosquera]

Posted: 5/20/14 at 10:47am

Thank you MCfan2! I'm a big fan of Call the Midwife, so that's great news!!! I also found the FB and Twitter profiles for the show. I hope they give more details through these channels soon...

https://www.facebook.com/GigiOnBroadway
https://twitter.com/GigiOnBroadway

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 5/20/14 at 11:21am

Anita Loos' original PLAY of GIGI is part of Beautiful Soup's season this year here in NYC.