Blake Edwards — last represented on Broadway with the stage version of Victor/Victoria — is currently at work on a new Broadway musical based on the famed "Pink Panther" films.
In an interview for Variety, Edwards' wife, the internationally renowned Julie Andrews, explained that her husband is collaborating with writer-lyricist Leslie Bricusse on the new musical for MGM's On Stage division, which is headed by Darcie Denkert. Already completed are the show's book, 13 new songs as well as words to Henry Mancini's famed "Pink Panther" theme. "Pink Panther" is one of 4,000 titles in the MGM/UA catalog that are available for the Broadway treatment.
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Directed and co-produced by Blake Edwards, Victor/Victoria opened at the Marquis Theatre on Oct. 25, 1995, where it ran for 734 performances. Among the cast were Andrews, Michael Nouri, Tony Roberts and Rachel York. Other actresses who played the dual lead role on Broadway were Liza Minnelli and Raquel Welch.
In related news, Julie Andrews is currently writing her autobiography for Hyperion Books, and she plans to direct a production at Sag Harbor's Bay Street Theatre. That theatre, located in Sag Harbor, New York, is run by Andrews' daughter Emma Walton; Emma's husband, Stephen Hamilton; and Sybil Christopher. A spokesman for the Bay Street explained that Andrews will not be on board this season but hopefully in the not-too-distant future. The former star of "The Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins" is also busy working for the Foundation for Voice Restoration and Research at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary in Boston. "Not about me," she told Variety, "but for those who've lost use from cancer, premature birth, aging."
