The Woman in White Will Skip Chicago and Head Straight to Broadway
in the London Production of The Woman in White
(Photo © Manuel Harlan)
The Woman in White, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical, is now set to arrive on Broadway in November. The show had been scheduled to make its American debut at Chicago’s LaSalle Bank Theatre, November 15-January 8, and to hit New York in the spring; but the Chicago production has been cancelled “due to casting issues,” according to a production spokesman.
No casting has been announced for the Broadway staging. The show will be housed at the Marquis Theatre, which is available as of the end of this month with the closing of La Cage aux Folles. The original London production of The Woman in White began performances last August with a cast led by Maria Friedman, Angela Christian, and Michael Crawford. (Earlier this year, Crawford left the production due to illness; his role is now being played by Anthony Andrews.) Trevor Nunn, who directed the show in London, will repeat his duties on Broadway.
With music by Lloyd Webber, lyrics by David Zippel, and a book by Charlotte Jones based on Wilkie Collins’ novel, The Woman in White tells the story of a young man and the two sisters whom he tutors. The trio are haunted by a mysterious woman and must battle an ingenious villain.
No new booking has been announced for the LaSalle (formerly the Shubert), which was to have reopened with The Woman in White. The theater’s most recent tenant was Monty Python’s Spamalot in its pre-Broadway engagement.
