Harry Connick Jr. set for ON A CLEAR DAY revival

[Cordy_Biddle]

I love this show. It's about time it was back on Broadway. Harry will be interesting to see as the psychiatrist (and I'm looking forward to who gets announced to play Daisy/Melinda...perhaps Connick's "Pajama Game" leading lady Kelli O'Hara).

I can understand why the score is going to be chopped down and combined with some of the numbers written for the Streisand film. But adding the songs from "Royal Wedding"? I can see "Too Late Now" in the show but the others seem to be a stretch, methinks.

The revised revival of the musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, once aimed for Off-Broadway, has been bumped to Broadway and will star Tony Award nominee Harry Connick, Jr.



The show — as reconceived by Tony-winning director Michael Mayer, with a new book by Peter Parnell — will open in fall 2011, producers announced on March 1.

The Tony Award-nominated score by Burton Lane (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) is enhanced by classics from their film scores for "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" (1970) and "Royal Wedding" (1951). The new libretto is based on the original book by Lerner.

Additional cast and creatives will be announced. Dates and venue will be announced.

Originating producer Liza Lerner joins with Tom Hulce and Ira Pittelman and Broadway Across America (John Gore, Thomas B. McGrath, Beth Williams) to bring On a Clear Day to Broadway.

Here's how they bill the show: "Love blooms in unexpected places in the delightfully reimagined world of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Still in love with his deceased wife, Dr. Mark Bruckner (Harry Connick, Jr.), a dashing psychiatrist and professor, unknowingly takes on the case of his life with David Gamble, a quirky young florists' assistant. While putting David under hypnosis to help him quit smoking so he can move in with his perfect boyfriend Warren, Dr. Bruckner stumbles upon what he believes to be David's former self — a dazzling and self-possessed 1940s jazz singer Melinda Wells. Instantly intrigued by Melinda, Dr. Bruckner finds himself swept up in the pursuit of an irresistible (and impossible) love affair with this woman from another time and place, who may or may not have ever existed.

"Michael Mayer and Peter Parnell's enchanting new version celebrates much of the beloved score from the 1965 musical including the classic hits 'Come Back To Me,' 'What Did I Have That I Don't Have Now?,' 'She Isn't You,' and the title song, while adding songs from the film score such as 'Love With All The Trimmings' and 'Go To Sleep.' Songs from the Lerner and Lane score for the film 'Royal Wedding' such as 'Ev'ry Night at Seven,' 'You're All the World to Me,' 'Open Your Eyes' and 'Too Late Now' complete the landscape for this romantic musical comedy."

The production "makes the case for living life with your eyes, and heart, wide open."

Full article is at Playbill.com

[carolinakid]

The new gay twist sounds intriguing!

[Cordy_Biddle]

I think it could be, but from what I've read of early audience reaction to this "revisal" in previous workshop stagings, the bookwriters haven't really tapped into all that could be mined for the role-reversal situation.

The thing which irks me is that in the original, there was a clear line between Daisy and her previous life as Melinda. I don't think there will be as clear a link between David and Melinda (who's now a Forties nightclub singer--OK???). I loved the Regency settings of the original show. Designers would have been lining up to do stuff for a show like that.

No wonder the score is being chopped down and interpolated with the "Royal Wedding" songs. The more I read about this "revisal" the more I get scared. This isn't ON A CLEAR DAY, but more some strange pretender.

[UmbrellaFish]

I'm not very familiar with the original "Clear Day," but I adore the title song, so...

[SpringHeelJack]

The revisions are interesting, but if they're not going to fully commit to the new ideas inserted, I doubt I'll see this.