The La Jolla Playhouse has cancelled its scheduled premiere of the musical "Finding Neverland," citing in a press release that one of the producing partners, Weinstein Live Entertainment, "elected not to go forward with the planned production at the Playhouse."
The premiere musical will be replaced with well-known fare by Andrew Lloyd Webber: "Jesus Christ Superstar."
San Diegans may be pleased to hear that the production of the 70s classic is directed by Des McAnuff, the former longtime artistic director at the Playhouse. His "Jesus Christ Superstar" has been getting good reviews since opening in June at The Stratford Shakespeare Festival where McAnuff serves as artistic director.
Bummer about "Finding Neverland," which had some notable talent behind it, with the "Grey Gardens" writing team of Scott Frankel (music) and Michael Korie (lyrics) and direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Rob Ashford ("Cry-Baby," "Thoroughly Modern Millie").
I haven't seen "Jesus Christ Superstar" in years, but growing up, my sister and I played the record (yes, I'm dating myself) over and over, belting out the lyrics from our favorite numbers. I'm excited to see what McAnuff has done to freshen up this familiar rock musical that tells the story of the last week of Christ's life.
"Jesus Christ Superstar" will run from November 18 – December 31, 2011 in the Mandell Weiss Theatre.
Here's a video of Des McAnuff talking about the Stratford production.
