Double, double, toil and trouble
What will the critics say?
If they like our bloody play
We’re off to the Great White Way
THE money’s in place. The star’s ready to go. And a theater’s about to become available.
All that’s needed is a send-off today from the critics, and “Mac beth,” starring Patrick Stewart at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, will come big-footing on to Broadway, shaking up the Tony Award terrain.
This highly stylized production, which uses video projections, buckets of blood and special effects galore, was a hit in London and is an extremely tight ticket at BAM.
Emanuel Azenberg, the veteran producer behind “The Odd Couple” and “Movin’ Out,” has quietly met with theater owners to see where “Macbeth” could land in this packed season. It’s a big production, so it needs a big theater. One possibility is the Imperial, now home to the critically acclaimed “August: Osage County.”
In April, “August” will move next door to the Music Box, freeing up the Imperial for “Billy Elliot” in late summer. That leaves a potential window – from the end of April to the middle of June – for a limited engagement of “Macbeth.”
Everything hinges on how soon the producers of “Billy Elliot” want to start building their set at the theater. If they want to move in right away, “Macbeth” will be out in the cold.
If Stewart winds up at the Imperial, he’ll be reunited with his beloved old friend Gerald Schoenfeld, chairman of The Shubert Organization, which owns the Imperial.
I jest. Stewart and Schoenfeld are mortal enemies, having blasted away at each other during the run of Arthur Miller’s “The Ride Down Mt. Morgan” in 2000.
After the show one afternoon, Stewart stepped to the front of the stage and denounced the Shuberts for failing to promote the play.
“Arthur and I no longer have confidence in our producers’ commitment to publicize this extraordinary play,” he said.
A furious Schoenfeld brought his star up on charges with Actors Equity, forcing Stewart to make a humiliating public apology.
The two have never reconciled. Just a few years ago at the Caprice restaurant in London, when Stewart extended a hand to Schoenfeld, the powerful producer turned his back.
But business is business, and nobody thinks Schoenfeld will pass up the chance to have a hot “Macbeth” at his theater.
Stewart is said to be eager to move to Broadway, especially since he’s yet to win a Tony. He would become the immediate front-runner, his only challenger being Morgan Freeman, who opens in April in a revival of “The Country Girl,” directed by Mike Nichols.
QUICK hits:
* I’m happy to report that Hal Prince, who suffered a stroke a couple of weeks ago, is back in the saddle. The legendary director, who just turned 80, stopped by the Majestic Theatre to say hello to the cast and crew of his long-
running “The Phantom of the Opera.” He held court, watched the show for a bit and gave notes.
* Betty Buckley is improvising at Feinstein’s, where she’s ensconced with her new show, “Then and Now,” through Feb. 23. For Saturday’s late show, the Tony winner is inviting the audience to submit song requests from any Broadway musical. She’ll fashion the act around requests.
“Momma’s Turn” anyone?