Hold the Water! Flashdance — The Musical Will Not Arrive on Broadway This Summer

By Adam Hetrick
and Kenneth Jones
24 Apr 2013

Emily Padgett and Matthew Hydzik
Emily Padgett and Matthew Hydzik
Photo by Kyle Froman

Broadway audiences will have to wait a bit longer for Flashdance — The Musical to make a "splash" in New York. Producers have revealed that the anticipated August Main Stem premiere has been postponed to later in the 2013-14 season.

Flashdance — The Musical, based on the film about a female steelworker who dreams of legit dance while moonlighting as an exotic dancer, began Jan. 1 in Pittsburgh, PA (where the action is set). It continues to tour the U.S.

A separate company had been announced to open on Broadway in August. The recent announcement marks the third delay in the production's journey to New York.

Last summer, producers scuttled a pre-Broadway Toronto engagement of the musiucal. The show was expected to move to Broadway following a five-week August 2012 engagement in Ontario, although Broadway dates had not been officially announced.

"We have had the rare and tremendous opportunity in the last several months to experience Flashdance - The Musical on the road," producer Tom Viertel said in a statement. "We know we have a great show that audiences are responding to with huge enthusiasm and nightly standing ovations. We want to make clear that because we could not find the appropriate Broadway theatre for August, we will take this time to refine the production that we are excited to bring to Broadway in the 2013-2014 season. By that time, we will have determined the best possible theatre and date to welcome Flashdance home to Broadway."

The New York Times first reported news of the delay.

The national tour of Flashdance is produced by NETworks Presentations LLC, Steven Baruch, Tom Viertel, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, Christopher Malcolm, David Ian Productions and Transamerica.

The U.S. production marks the world premiere of a new stage adaptation of the hit 1983 film, revised since its London stage premiere in 2010. It reflects rewrites and new creative team since the title's stage premiere in London. The tour is currently booking engagements through May 2014.

Director-choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis, The Addams Family) stages the new work. Flashdance features a score including the hit songs from the movie, all of which became Top Ten hits on the radio around the world including the Academy Award-winning title song ("Flashdance – What a Feeling," "Maniac," "Gloria," "Manhunt," "I Love Rock & Roll"), plus 16 new songs written for the stage (music by Robbie Roth and lyrics by Robert Cary and Roth).

The book is by Robert Cary and Tom Hedley (co-writer of the original screenplay with Joe Eszterhas).

"With electrifying dance at its core, Flashdance — The Musical tells the inspiring and unforgettable story of Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel mill welder by day and a bar dancer by night with dreams of one day becoming a professional performer," according to the producers. "When romance with her steel mill boss threatens to complicate her ambitions, Alex learns the meaning of love and its power to fuel the pursuit of her dream."

Visit flashdancethemusical.com.