The upcoming Broadway musical Amour isn't slated to begin previews at the Music Box Theatre until Sept. 20. Those who can't wait until then will have a chance to preview some of the songs from the new musical at an outdoor mini-concert in New York's Battery Park on Aug. 22.
Amour composer Michel Legrand, who has written such pop hits as "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?," "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" and "The Windmills of Your Mind," will present a sneak preview of his first Broadway musical at 12:30 PM at the famed New York City landmark. The entire cast of Amour — Melissa Errico, Malcolm Gets, Norm Lewis, John Cunnigham, Christopher Fitzgerald, Bill Nolte, Nora Mae Lyng, Lewis Cleale and Sarah Litzsinger — will be on hand to perform songs from the musical, which concerns a man who can walk through walls.
Shubert Organization Chairman Gerald Schoenfeld recently commented, "The Amour event may be the first in a series of mini-concerts under the banner of 'Broadway Goes Downtown.' We are delivering the message to theatregoers that Broadway is alive and well. The theatrical community," Schoenfeld added, "looks forward to our downtown friends joining us to celebrate the start of a wonderful new season on Broadway."
Legrand will also offer several of his Oscar and Grammy-winning hits on the 22nd.
* Amour will begin previews on Sept. 20 with an official opening set for Oct. 20 at the Music Box Theatre. Tickets will be available through Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or on-line at www.telecharge.com beginning Aug. 19.
Directed by James Lapine, the creative team for Amour comprises Scott Pask (scenic designer), Dona Granata (costume designer), Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer (lighting designers) and Dan Moses Schreier (sound designer).
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A translation of the hit French tuner Le Passe Muraille, the American version will be produced by The Shubert Organization, Jean Doumanian and USA Ostar Theatricals. The French musical featuring music by Michel Legrand has been translated by Jeremy Sams. Original French lyrics were written by Didier van Cauwelaert.
Tony winner James Lapine, who helmed Broadway's Dirty Blonde, Passion, Sunday in the Park with George and both the current and original productions of Into the Woods, will direct.
Based on a French short story by Marcel Ayme, Amour is set in post World War II Paris and concerns the life of Dutilleul, a civil servant who discovers he has the ability to walk through walls. The French version, Le Passe Muraille, won the Prix Moliere for Best Musical in 1997, the equivalent of the Tony Award. Asked this past January about the show's American plans, Shubert Chairman Gerald Schoenfeld told PBOL, "It's a small musical, estimated in the $3-3.5 million range, but estimates are only that, made before negotiating all the deals."
Michel Legrand has composed over 200 film and television scores, including "Lady Sings the Blues," "Wuthering Heights" and "Ice Station Zebra." He has won three Academy Awards, five Grammys and an Emmy nomination, some of his best-known songs include several collaborations with Alan and Marilyn Bergman: "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?," "The Windmills of Your Mind" and "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" as well as the score to Barbra Streisand's "Yentl."
Jeremy Sams wrote the book for the current London production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. As a director, his work includes the current Broadway production of Noises Off and the London productions of Schippel the Plumber; Neville's Island; Wild Oats; Marat/Sade; Enter the Guardsman; The Wind in the Willows; Two Pianos Four Hands; Spend, Spend, Spend; and Stephen Sondheim's Passion. His translations include Becket, The Rehearsal, The Miser, Mary Stuart, Les Parents Terribles (on Broadway as Indiscretions) and A Fool and His Money.
