Matthew Bourne's newly choreographed, theatrical version of the ballet Swan Lake, a hit both in London and Los Angeles, is set to begin Broadway previews Sept. 26 and open Oct. 8 for a 16-week engagement at Neil Simon Theatre.
The flamboyant dance/theatre show, with men dancing the swan roles usually assigned to ballerinas, is co-produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Katharine Dore.
Tickets for the Broadway production are on sale via Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4100.
As he did in London and L.A., Lez Brotherson will design the Broadway production. The production will have lighting by Rick Fisher, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's score will get new orchestrations by Andrew Lloyd Webber's longtime collaborator, David Cullen.
After a run at London's Piccadilly Theatre, the piece, a modernized, look at the ballet that is strongly influenced by contemporary stage musicals, had a hit run at L.A.'s Ahmanson Theatre, April 22-June 15, 1997. Asked why this Swan Lake has captured the public imagination, Robert Noble, of the Mackintosh office in London said, "It's a mix of ballet and musical theatre. It's very accessible and more comic; you don't feel like you're sitting through your `normal' ballet."
A look at the Piccadilly program shows that this Swan Lake has scenes not only in an opera house and the prince's bedroom, but in "A Seedy Club," where characters include a Pop Idol, East End Gangsters and a Pimp.
According to "The Theatre List" newsletter (put out by the Society of London Theatre), the "Adventures In Motion Pictures" troupe has made its reputation "through the subversion of traditional dance forms with productions of The Nutcracker and Highland Fling (based on La Sylphide)." The latter was revived by the company in late February following their Swan Lake engagement. Other pieces by the troupe include Does Your Crimplene Go All Crusty When You Rub? (1987-90) and The Percys Of Fitzrovia (1991-93). Their next production, also staged by Bourne, will be an adaptation of "Cinderella," set for the Piccadilly Theatre in London.
In this Swan Lake, Royal Ballet principal Adam Cooper plays the prince turned into a swan. Also performing are Scott Ambler (Prince) and Fiona Chadwick.
Roundabout Theatre's commercial transfer of Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge is in the midst of a limited run at the Neil Simon.
