Hoping for a bit of bloomin’ luck
WITH a little bit of luck, as the song goes, the recent Broadway production of My Fair Lady will be heading to the London Coliseum. The Coliseum, home to the English National Opera, has booked director Bartlett Sher’s glorious version of the classic Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical for a limited season in 2022. However, the stage world is at a perilous juncture, with fears mounting that some theatres may not survive the summer and could close permanently. Sam Mendes argued in a piece he wrote for the Financial Times that theatre and the arts are ‘a giant economic growth engine’ and the Government should help sustain the theatre workforce until the industry is back on its feet.
He suggested that UK Inc invest in shows, like a theatrical angel, and share in the profits when they recoup.
There’s a danger that writers, directors, actors and others will turn en masse to TV and film, which are finding it easier to return to ‘normal’ shooting schedules, simply in order to feed their families. (On the plus side, there’s chatter about pantos at
Christmas but producers won’t make final decisions on that until August.)
My Fair Lady played an extended Broadway season at New York’s Lincoln Center, ending its run last July. Harry Hadden-Paton and Diana Rigg played Professor Higgins and his mother. It’s too early to determine whether they’ll reprise their roles.
Bartlett Sher also directed producer Scott Rudin’s acclaimed To Kill A Mockingbird. A West End transfer for that is on hold, with plans for it to now open at the Gielgud Theatre next spring or summer, with Rhys Ifans starring as Atticus Finch.