REBECCA Looking at Broadway Bow in 2014 — Page 2

"Not to dwell on the small details but I believe it was reported that the rights were originally going to expire in June of 2013, then with this most recent extension, Sprecher has the rights till January of 2014, with the opportunity to extend if need be to December of the same year. "

They have to have the funding in place by January 2014, with the production running by December '14. The original rights issue was extended through June, then VBW (a public/state-run theatre establishment from Vienna) made this change as I'm sure they realize no one will probably pick up the rights anyway (at least for New York).

VBW is interested in getting another production to Broadway - the last (& only?) was, of course, Dance of the Vampires (also written by Michael Kunze). The rest of their titles are largely Austrian topics unlikely for Broadway (Elisabeth - written by this team, and Rudolf - written by Frank Wildhorn & Jack Murphy).

Sierra will not rejoin - the writers/directors really wanted her, but she won't. Silverman is in Chicago for the fall, if I'm mistaken. Getting a theatre is going to be another issue when the time comes.

Hate all you want, but I'm excited for this. I love the music. The title song is hauntingly beautiful. I haven't read any of the shadiness regarding the producers. I don't care about that.

I mean, I've only ever heard the title song sung by Karen Mason at 54 Below, but I loved it. It was enough for me to want to see the show. That said, I do think this show needs an "it" factor to survive. I think having the flames be video is just a wuss-move. They need to pay for them to have real flames. It needs that to become that thing.

^Where did you see that they were going to have video flames? On the staircase? Or do you mean projected on the scrim in front of the staircase as other productions have done?

I'm not hating, I want this to happen. I love the movie. Part of my frustration comes from wanting to see it, but having no confidence in if I ever will.

I have seen this show in Vienna many times & it deserves to be seen here in the states.. IT is a BEAUTIFUL PRODUCTION .... TIME WILL TELL !

This won't work for the stage, commercially. Even if it was good artistically, this wouldn't sell. From what I've seen of it, my reaction is, "Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley... it was so boring I woke up to break the monotony." The plot is actually interesting, but only if you execute it differently from how Du Maurier or Hitchcock did it, which is an out-and-out snooze.

Re: Tanz der Vampire... don't rule out its return. I've been working on it since 2007. If anything comes of my efforts, you'll hear about it.

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Updated On: 7/25/13 at 05:41 PM

Yes, it was. The lyrics, however, had a vastly different meaning in German. See for yourself.

Warning: Rather than try to read them side by side, scroll down far enough, and you get the translation in English under the German, divvied up by character.

A line-by-line translation

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Updated On: 7/25/13 at 09:56 PM

@gdelgi Wow, what a difference it is. I remember there was footage of Mandy singing it, and when she started, all you can hear were laughs coming from the audience. "No! Tonight! At the ball!" (break of laughter "giggle, giggle", "chuckle)

Here's Gloria Gaynor's cover of "Die Stärke einer Frau," which was released in 2006 as a single prior to the Viennese premiere. 99 cents at iTunes, and it's yours.

The English title is "The Power of a Woman in Love."

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I bought tickets to "Rebecca" for November 25, 2012, after the production was delayed from spring of 2012. With Hurricane Sandy having hit just as previews were about to start, the mishaps stopping the show from opening may have been a blessing in disguise.

Part of the reason I'm so anxious to see the show is that my writing teacher never stopped raving about the novel. I'm curious to see if the musical can keep up the suspense. I was also impressed with the title song.

The cast was going to be an old-home week for Phantom alums: Not only Sierra and, I think her fiancé (Tam Mutu), but John Cudia and Howard McGillin were going to be in the show. Ryan Silverman, from the replacement cast, is also a Phantom alum.

I'd love to see a musical mystery/thriller make it on Broadway. I hope Rebecca opens to rave reviews!

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Updated On: 7/25/13 at 11:11 PM

About European musicals, I remember some wanted to see Mozart, l'opera rock take a transfer over to Broadway. I'm not familiar with the show or anything, but for the people are, do you think it would be succesful? ...was it even succesful in Europe?

Okay, it's a European import. But it's an original musical.

Shouldn't we all be rooting for it to be a huge hit?