Hugh is nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award in the category of "Outstanding Actor in a Musical"! Best wishes Hugh! WOO HOO!

~Roz

How cool is it that Carolee got a nod for Distinguished Performance in LESTAT?! Best of luck Carolee!

~Rosalynn

Great article! Check out the excellent, new production pics in their Photo Gallery as well!

http://www.news...eater-headlines

Enjoy!

~Roz

By: Gordon Cox

How do you revive a vampire that's already been staked through the heart?
That's the question the creative team behind the big-budget Broadway offering "Lestat" has been scrambling to answer.

When the $10 million tunertuner, based on Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles novels and featuring a score by Elton John, tried out in San Francisco earlier this season, its tumultuous engagement included a midrun cast change and the addition of a creative consultant.

Local press damned it with a nasty critical drubbing. (Insert rim-shots about garlic, holy crosses and sucking here.)

But after "Lestat" shuttered in San Fran Jan. 29, the show's creators -- including lyricist and longtime John collaborator Bernie Taupin, book writer Linda Woolverton, director Robert Jess Roth and producer Gregg Maday, exec veepveep of Warner Bros. Theater Ventures -- declared themselves bloodied but unbowed and reiterated their commitment to opening at Broadway's Palace Theater April 25.

Then they went to work.

"We're putting a new opening in. We're redoing the Paris sequence. We've redone the mother scene. We're continually redoing," Maday says of the production, which has been in previews since March 25.

"The show we have now is at least 70% different from the show in San Francisco," Taupin estimates.

Stakes are high for this revamped "Lestat."

The production marks Warner's first foray into theatrical production -- and a first attempt to muscle in on Disney Theatrical territory.

Given the show's reception on the West Coast, there's also the possibility that "Lestat" could reprep the first legitlegit flopflop for John, whose "The Lion King," "Aida" and "Billy Elliott" have made him one of the most viable crossovers from pop stardom to theatrical turf.

And let's not forget the vampire curse: Tuners about bloodsuckers, including "Dracula" in 2004 and "Dance of the Vampires" in 2002, have been notoriously unsuccessful on Broadway.

"It's a lot of pressure," Maday acknowledges. "When people yell at your baby, it's not a fun thing," says Roth ("Beauty and the Beast") of the San Fran experience. He adds that he happily sought the advice of musical staging consultant Jonathan Butterell ("The Light in the Piazza") for his outside perspective.

And all involved agree the critical reaction was useful -- and not entirely off-base. "It was a good wake-up call," Taupin says.

Rice's novels instill anguished human souls in her vampires, especially her best-known character, the seductive and immortal Lestat. Tuner takes on the first two vampire volumes, "Interview With the Vampire" and "The Vampire Lestat."

Consensus said the early versions of the musical crammed in too much of Rice's story and world, leaving no time to develop Lestat into a rich lead.

" 'Simplify' is our big word here," Roth says.

Which means sacrificing scenes, songs and story points.

"You have to be prepared to weep on occasion," Taupin says.

An opening sequence with Lestat in the present day, typing his story on a laptop? Tossed. In its place is a scene in which Lestat first tastes the allure of blood, when he, still human, kills a pack of rampaging wolves.

A finale involving Enkil and Akasha, two major figures in Rice's mythology? Cut. Instead, two prominent characters from the vamp's past arrive just when he's at his lowest.

"Kingdom of the Moon" and "Nothing Here," a couple of songs John and Taupin wrote for the show? You won't hear them. Two tunes written since San Fran -- "Beautiful Boy" and "Right Before My Eyes" -- were added to deepen the characters of Lestat's mother (Carolee Carmello) and Lestat (Hugh Panaro), respectively.

Also gone is Jack Noseworthy, the thesp who originally played Lestat's nemesis, Armand. He was replaced during San Fran previews with the taller, darker Drew Sarich.

"Jack was cast per the book," Maday says. "But we didn't have the stage time to develop Armand as a wolf in sheep's clothing. He needed to look physically like a worthy adversary."

The creatives also have fine-tuned the show's homoeroticism, turning it up a notch from the ambiguity noted in the San Fran version.

Does that raise commercial concerns? "Yes, it was a conversation," Maday says. "But that's what our story is."

The team also is putting in changes based on how moments play during previews.

To wit: "Do you sing before you're about to put your boyfriend in the fire, or after?" Woolverton asks. (Before, it turns out.)

"And you can't make any change without the ripple effect of everything changing, whether it be orchestrations, or lights or projections," Maday adds.

Throughout all the backstage drama, John, busy with other commitments, has been a far less hands-on presence than Taupin, Woolverton and Roth, writing songs quickly and handing them over.

Work on the show started five-and-a-half years ago, when Roth pitched the idea to John, a longtime fan of Rice's novels. In 2003, Taupin, Woolverton and Roth hammered out their structure for the story during a Vegas gathering they've dubbed "vampire boot camp."

John's distance from the process suits Roth.

"Elton staying out of the day-to-day has been very helpful, because he comes with a clean eye and a clean ear," he says.

Rice has been supportive but never wanted to be involved. "She says collaboration isn't her thing," Roth explains.

That leaves Taupin, Woolverton, Roth and Maday as guiding forces for the show.

"There are tantrums thrown all the time," Taupin says. "We all have our hissy fits."

"We definitely all scream and yell at each other," Woolverton adds. "But not in a destructive way."

"Overall, we are trying to create more of a through line for Lestat," Maday says. "Which is tough, because as a picaresque hero -- which he is -- people come and go in his life. In retrospect, it probably would have been an easier dramaturgical job to narrow the focus, but we wanted to encompass the arc of this character and all of the adventure in his life.

"Do I wish we'd done it differently?" he asks. "I don't know. Maybe in a couple months I'll have an answer."

What publication is this from? I thought critics weren't allowed to review until official opening night?

~Roz

I think it's kind of funny how people that saw the SF show complained how Lestat lacked the passion and sexual energy, while people who saw the NYC show say it's too much. I haven't seen the NYC version, but I'd rather have them commit to the tension that's seen in the books than be kind of wishy-washy and conservative. Just as long as it doesn't border on raunchy. LOL!

As for the music being different in Act 1 and Act 2...that's not a new complaint. Although I'm beginning to wonder if that was done somewhat on purpose. I mean the story of Lestat transcends decades and centuries and perhaps they wanted to reflect the change in times with a change in music. Or else draw a distinction from his old life to his new life in the New World. *shrugs*

~Roz

Interesting... from what I hear, the ending sounds really dramatic and powerful. I like! At least more than the SF version. Just wondering though, is there an underscore with all the dialogue during the finale?

~Roz

Cape Twirl of DOOM: Nicolas still plays the violin. In fact there's a really nice scene where he & Lestat are laying together on his bed and he plays the violin for him as they both sing a short tune in Italian. He's just now also an actor as well. No mention is made of Lestat being an actor though.

No reference of Lestat being an actor? So I guess they cut out the "play within a play" bit in Act 1 when Lestat first feels the presence and hears "Wolfkiller"?

~Rosalynn

Cool! You're the best! Oh... who does Lestat kiss in Act 2 that's suppose to be really steamy? Thanks! LOL!

~Roz

Thanks Cape Twirl of Doom! Just wondering how Act 1 finale is different and what you thought of the changes done to "Welcome to the New World"?

~Rosalynn

Wonderful news! I guess the changes from SF are effective. I can't wait to see the show in May! Keep the reviews and details coming!

~Rosalynn

I'm going to throw in my well wishes too! I'm dying to know how the show went tonight as well! OMG, this is how I felt the day of the first preview in SF. Good times, good times. LOL!

~Rosalynn

Start saving up folks! LOL!

LESTAT: A PREVIEW EVENT WITH BERNIE TAUPIN, HUGH PANARO, AND ROBERT JESS ROTH - TO BENEFIT THE ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION

Join special guests Grammy-nominated lyricist Bernie Taupin, Lead Actor Hugh Panaro and Director Robert Jess Roth and be among the first to experience the musical event of a lifetime… and beyond.

On Monday, April 17, support the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) as they team up with LESTAT to raise money for international AIDS prevention and treatment initiatives. The event will feature an exclusive pre-theatre cocktail reception with special guests (listed above) and some of the best seats in the house for a pre-opening night performance of LESTAT.

Event Schedule: Monday, April 17
6:00 PM -- The Hard Rock Café Times Square (Pre-theatre reception)
8:00 PM -- The Palace Theater (Performance)

Tickets on sale now!
Price: $350, $500
To order, call +1.212.219.0297 or visit www.ejaf.org/lestat

For US Residents:
$150 of each ticket is a non-tax-deductible charge for food and entertainment. The remainder of each ticket is fully tax deductible as a charitable contribution to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. A tax acknowledgement will be mailed.

~Rosalynn

In the Playbill.com article, Elton John announced the titles of two new songs. Both are in Act 1. "My Beautiful Boy" will be sung by Gabrielle (Carolee Carmello) and "Right Before My Eyes" will be sung by Lestat (Hugh Panaro). Yay!

~Rosalynn

Ready for Broadway's Jugular, Lestat Swoops In; Elton John Discusses Recent Revisions
By Kenneth Jones
24 Mar 2006

When the curtain goes up on the first Broadway preview of the Anne Rice-inspired musical Lestat March 25, what's on stage will represent lessons the creative team learned from its recent San Francisco tryout.

Composer Elton John, lyricist Bernie Taupin, librettist Linda Woolverton and director Robert Jess Roth, along with Matt West, credited with musical staging, will refine the work further with their cast in the weeks leading to the April 25 opening night.

As previously reported, choreographer Jonathan Butterell (The Light in the Piazza, Nine, Fiddler on the Roof) has been enlisted to give his perspective on the staging. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, making its producing debut on Broadway, brought Butterell onto the project as a little extra insurance that the show would be in shape. (He is not credited in the Playbill.)

The San Francisco company remains intact for Broadway (with some additions), featuring Hugh Panaro as the title vampire (the musical is drawn from Rice's gothic novels under the umbrella "The Vampire Chronicles") and Carolee Carmello (Mamma Mia!, Parade) as Gabrielle, Drew Sarich as Armand, Jim Stanek as Louis, Roderick Hill as Nicolas, Michael Genet as Marius and Allison Fischer as Claudia. Lestat's cast of 16 features Rachel Coloff, Nikki Renee Daniels, Joseph Dellger, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Sean MacLaughlin, Patrick Mellen, Chris Peluso, Dominque Plaisant, Megan Reinking, Sarah Solie, Amy Sparrow, Will Swenson, Steve Wilson and Tommar Wilson.

Lestat reunites the legendary pop songwriting team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, who are collaborating together on a legit musical for the first time.

Lestat had its world premiere Dec. 17, 2005-Jan. 29 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco.

Collaborators Woolverton, West and Roth were on the creative team of Broadway's hit Beauty and the Beast.

Lestat is Elton John's third musical for Broadway following The Lion King and Aida. He also wrote songs for the smash London musical Billy Elliott, which has yet to be announced for a Broadway bow.

The changes to the script and score are "radical," Elton John told Playbill's Harry Haun.

"I just finished writing another two songs for Lestat," John said in February. "One's called 'My Beautiful Boy,' and one's called 'Right Before My Eyes.' Like with Billy Elliott, I wrote an extra song quite late in the day, and we left some songs out. And that's par for the course when you're a composer for a musical. You kinda have to leave your ego at the door and see some songs you really like bite the dust and you have to write some other ones because, in every show, the story changes."

Is the plot different since San Francisco?

"The storyline has certainly changed in Lestat — and it's still changing in Billy Elliott, to be honest with you," John said. "That's still going on. We're just trying to sharpen it up and make it better. And I think that's the way a musical has to keep going. Otherwise, you don't keep it fresh, and it becomes stale. But when you're actually working on a musical and it hasn't actually opened yet, you want to get it as good as it can be. You're working on it right up to the eleventh hour. And that's what we'll be doing with Lestat, with the two new songs…"

John explained, "'My Beautiful Boy' is done by Lestat's mother, Carolee Carmello, and 'Right Before My Eyes' is done by Lestat, Hugh Panaro."

(The Playbill for the first preview lists "Beautiful Boy" and "Right Before My Eyes" as musical numbers in Act One.)

How has the show changed since San Francisco?

"I think the first act we'll radically change," John said. "I think something will change in the second act—the opening in New Orleans will be much more ensemble than it was before. And there are more ensemble pieces being put into the first act. Two new songs. New beginning. New ending. It's quite radically changed. The beginning of Billy Elliott changed about 10 days before the opening of the show. That seems to be the way musicals work. It's an evolutionary process."

John isn't writing pop songs for Lestat — it's a more complex process than that.

"Lestat I found to be particularly draining because the songs are much longer, more complex than anything else I've ever written, and I really enjoyed the process of writing Lestat," he said. "They’re much more wordy songs. It's much more serious subject. You're writing about a vampire, and you're writing about a more complex situation than you normally would. Billy Elliott is a '70s pastiche, and it's very straightforward. It's political, but it's very straightforward. Here, you’re writing stuff that's coming from the 19th century and its historical base as well so you've got to get the music. It's 180 degrees away from Billy Elliott. I've never done anything like this before. Never. I think it's my finest piece of work as far as writing for the stage goes."

How is the score different?

"Different because there are no electronic instruments in it," John said. "I wanted it to be like that. It's totally organic, in a way. We may have to use a couple of synthesizers to emulate string sounds because the actual score is quite huge—and we just can't afford to have that kind of orchestra on Broadway.

"For me, it's not rock 'n' roll whatsoever. I mean, it changes in the second half, when it goes to New Orleans—and a little New Orleans music creeps in. But, generally, it's totally different from Aida and Billy and Lion King. I don't really see the point of doing something, one after the other, if you're not going to do something different."

On the topic of the two failed vampire shows — Dance of the Vampires and Dracula — that came before Lestat, John told Playbill's Harry Haun, "I didn't see the musicals so I can't judge what they were like, but we did [go] into this, saying there are going to be no dancing vampires and no garlic. We tried to stay about from the cliched version. But you can't be bothered by what everybody else has done. It is a difficult subject matter. We know that's a challenge. The others didn't do very well, but we're just concerned with what we're doing."

*

Here's how the producer bills Lestat: "The romantic and heartbreaking story of the extraordinary journey of one man who escapes the tyranny of his oppressive family only to have his life taken from him. Thrust into the seductive and sensual world of an immortal vampire, Lestat sets out on a road of adventures in a quest for everlasting love and companionship but is forced to reconcile his innate sense of good with his primal need to exist."

*

John and Taupin represent one of the great marriages of pop songwriting. They started working together in the 1960s, and their hits include "Candle in the Wind" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

Now, they are turning to a new form for them: Musical theatre rather than pop albums. Think of their new team-up as "together again for the first time."

"Elton and I have threatened for years to work together on something for Broadway but until now had never found anything that appealed to both of us collectively or suited my own personal writing style," Taupin said in production notes. "We have unified [the Anne Rice] books into a linear storyline and our intention is to make a stylish, sexy, intelligent and richly hypnotic show that is stripped of gothic clichés and that shows the vampire dealing with his damnation on a more realistic and human level. Please let me make this clear this is not a rock opera."

"This musical is the fulfillment of my deepest dreams," said author Anne Rice, in a statement. "Elton's music and Bernie's lyrics have captured the pain and the passion of the characters perfectly, and the entire adaptation has re-created the very essence of the books. Working with the whole team — Rob Roth, Linda Woolverton, and of course Elton and Bernie — has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire career. The talent, the brilliance, and the generosity of these folks is beyond belief. I'm humbled; I'm grateful; and I'm so excited that I can hardly stand it. Lestat, Louis and Claudia are about to be reborn."

Elton John said in production notes, "'Interview with the Vampire' is one of my favorite books and Anne Rice is one of my favorite authors. Lestat is the first stage musical that I've written with Bernie which makes it even more special for me."

"Anne had always loved the idea of seeing her 'Vampire Chronicles' set in some sort of serious and seductive musical setting and for all of the parties involved this is the opportunity of a lifetime," stated Taupin.

The creative team includes scenic designer Derek McLane, costume designer Susan Hilferty, lighting designer Kenneth Posner, sound designer Jonathan Deans, visual concept designer Dave McKean, wig and hair designer Tom Watson, make-up designer Angelina Avallone, fight director Rick Sordelet and projections coordinator Howard Werner.

Lestat has orchestrations by Steve Margoshes and Guy Babylon, with musical supervision by Guy Babylon, musical direction, incidental music and additional vocal arrangements by by Brad Haak, and vocal arrangements by Todd Ellison.

The playing schedule for Lestat during previews is as follows: Monday through Saturday at 8 PM, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2 PM. There will be no 2 PM matinees Wednesday March 29 or Wednesday April 26. There will be an added 2 PM matinee on Friday April 28. The regular playing schedule for Lestat, beginning Tuesday May 2 is as follows: Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2 PM, and Sunday at 3 PM. Tickets range from $65 to $110, and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.com at (212) 307-4100.

For more information, visit www.lestat.com.

~Rosalynn

P.S. - Can't wait to hear the two new songs! I'm sure that Carolee and Hugh will do them justice!