Rosie O'Donnell / WireImage
Will City Center's Encores! series transfer ANOTHER show to The Broadway? This is the question on everyone's lips today after the star-studded concert production of No, No, Nanette played this past weekend in New York City and has one final performance tonight.
Encores! certainly has a history of presenting shows that got scooped up by B'way producers for a long run on the rialto. We currently have Gypsy with Patti LuPone and, of course, the granddaddy transfer of them all - Chicago (still going strong after 10+ years - thanks to the revolving door of B-listers and rock stars doing the show - ouch). It seems that every show that Encores! does now is met with some level of expectation that the show will transfer. However, with Nanette it seems there is even more buzz than usual.
This concert version features Rosie O'Donnell, Sandy Duncan, Charles Kimbrough, Beth Leavel (from The Drowsy Chaperone) and Michael Berresse (currently in A Chorus Line and director of [title of show]) and has the direction of Walter Bobbie, choreography of Randy Skinner and musical direction of Rob Fisher.
No, No, Nanette, according to press notes, is a "light-hearted tale of millionaires, misunderstood wives, bathing beauties, wanton women and flappers. Nanette (Mara Davi), a young Manhattan heiress, tries to experience life by running away to the big, bad and bawdy town of Atlantic City, only to be followed by her straight-laced, tap-dancing fiancé, her cook/chaperone (Rosie O'Donnell), her lawyer and his wife (Beth Leavel) and her legal guardians (Sandy Duncan and Charles Kimbrough), who just want everyone to 'be happy.'" The show has music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach. You might know some of the songs...especially a little ditty called "Tea for Two".
Should we have a little history lesson? Sure. No, No, Nanette is based on Frank Mandel and Emily Nyitray's comedy My Lady Friends. The musical opened on The Broadway in 1925 and ran for 321 performances. It was made in a movie twice (two movies?) one of them being a loose adaptation called Tea for Two starring Doris Day. Nanette was revived in 1971 (Burt Shevelove reworked the book) and starred Ruby Keeler (who came out of retirement for the show) and Helen Gallagher; Busby Berkeley "supervised" the show. It was a big hit and won numerous Tony Awards.
No, No, Nanette is one of those shows that is always talked about in certain producorial circles of Broadway. It was very popular and is thought to be a real crowd pleaser. Over the last several years I have often heard discussions of reviving it, but the talks never get off the ground. It is rumored that the estate has a very firm hand on the material and won't let "just anyone" produce the show.
Since the moment Encores! announced they would do the show there has been whispers of the show transferring to a commercial run. Those conversations continue today. There is one big problem though; The New York Times. That persnickety Ben Brantley reviewed the show this past Saturday and it was not a "show-moving" review. Click HERE to check out the whole thing. Brantley praised many of the performers and had a good time, but felt that the show didn't work anymore.
A bad review in the Times is a sure fire way to kill a transfer, but this show has other things going for it. With stars like Duncan and O'Donnell attached someone may still be able to move the show. Certainly Rosie has the money, power and influence to move the show all by herself if she decided to do that (she might be ready to try producing again after the disaster that was Taboo). The question is - will she?
I will keep my eyes and ears open today for any more info and pass it on to you ASAP. Have a great week and I will...
~ See You On The Aisle
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