Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Has Opened

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, the Broadway musical adaptation of the Oscar-nominated film by Pedro Almodovar, opened on Thursday night to some pretty harsh reviews.  The show was universally cited as having attention deficit disorder -- of lacking a focus.  The reviews in both The New York Times and Variety have said that the show never fully develops anything before moving on (too quickly) to the next.  The show has a number of Tony winning stars, including Patti LuPone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Laura Benanti, as well as the 3-time Tony-nominee Sherie Renee Scott, as well as a much lauded design team headed up by Tony-winning Director Bartlett Sher.  However, it would seem that not even this talented group of people could reign in this mess of a show, even though Variety did call the show "visually fascinating".

That being said, however, Laura Benanti and Patti LuPone did get some pretty strong reviews, so they seem the show's best shot at Tony nominations this season.  The writing and direction seem to frenetic to go anywhere, but with the critics taken out of the voting pool, anything is really game, I suppose.  There is also some chance that at least one or two design departments (or maybe the choreography) will be nominated, but it's too soon to tell simply based on the lack of information about the competition.

Everyday Rapture

The final entry in the 2009-2010 Broadway season has opened and it is Sherie Rene Scott's semi-autobiographical musical, Everyday Rapture.  The off-Broadway production, based on a 2008 benegit show Sherie did for the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative called You May Now Worship Me, opened in 2009 and was so (if you'll excuse the pun) rapturously received that buzz immediately began around the topic of when the show would come to Broadway -- a process about which the New York Times recently reported.  Well, by sheer luck (for Miss Scott, anyhow, at the cost of Megan Mullally and the rest of the Lips Together, Teeth Apart revival that never ended up materializing) the show finally made the jump and is finally here and the reviews are just as gloriously rapturous as before ... a big feat for Ms. Scott and the rest of the show's team who were praised for maintaining the show's intimacy and charm in a much bigger theater.  As for the chances this show has come Tony time, I am waiting on a ruling from the Tony Administration Committee (their final meeting is happening at some point today) as to weather the show qualifies as a musical or as a special event.  If the latter comes to pass, the show will not be eligible for any nominations.  If the show is deemed a musical, then Ms. Scott has a 90% chance of scoring a best actress nomination, and the show overall is decently likely to get nominated for best musical and best orchestrations.

The Rocky Road to Broadway

The New York Times has published a great article about the rough steps it takes to get to Broadway through the eyes of Sherie Rene Scott and her show, Everyday Rapture, which is coming to the roundabout this week.  Enjoy it!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/theater/25rapture.html?ref=theater

Oh Joy! Oh Rapture!

It has been officially announced that Sherie Rene Scott's show, Everyday Rapture, which had been previously speculated to replace a revival of Terrence McNally's Lips Together, Teeth Apart, will now replace that show as the last entry in the Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway Season.  The show will play at the American Airlines Theatre in a limited engagement from April 9th through July 11th, with an opening night set for April 29th.  The show, written by Dick and Scott Scanlan, will be directed by Michael Mayer.

The supporting cast of the show will include Eamon Foley, Lindsay Menendez, and Betsy Wolfe.  An already recorded cast album is expected to be released in May.

Ms. Scott is best known for her portrayals of Ursula in The Little Mermaid, Cathy in The Last Five Years, Amneris in Aida, and her Tony nominated performance as Christine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Might There Be Some Rapture At the Roundabout?

Rumors are floating around that Sherie Rene Scott may be saving the Roundabout.  Since the Roundabout production of Lips Together, Teeth Apart was cancelled earlier this week, the Roundabout has been looking for another show to fill in that show's slot.  One of the possibilities is Ms. Scott's semi-autobiographical show Everyday Rapture.  The show, which originated off-Broadway at Second Stage last spring, follows Ms. Scott (or a character at least partially based on her) from her Mennonite days through her time in New York.