TV: Broadway Beat - Journey's End, Adrift in Macao, etc

This week Broadway Beat takes you behind the scenes and into the rehearsal rooms of two shows previewing soon - Primary Stages' Adrift in Macao, and the revival of Journey's End. Also a trip back into the archives for "Don't Quit While You're Ahead" from The Mystery of Edwin Drood!

Adrift in Macao is a new musical with book and lyrics by Christopher Durang and music by Peter Melnick which begin performances Tuesday evening, January 23, 2007 for a limited engagement through Sunday afternoon, March 4, 2007 at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). The seven-member cast features Sunset Boulevard Tony-nominee Alan Campbell, Will Swenson, and from the Philadelphia Theatre Company's production of the show, Rachel deBenedet, Orville Mendoza, and Michele Ragusa, each of whom won Barrymore Awards for their performances. They will be joined by Jonathan Rayson and Elisa Van Duyne. Adrift in Macao is "a madcap musical parody of glamorous films noirs, in which the leading lady can always get a job singing in nightclubs no matter how she sings, and the leading man is always mysterious and can't go home for murky reasons he won't explain. From the opium dens of China to the lowlife bars of New York, Durang and composer Melnick take us on a hilarious tour through the post-WWII years complete with intrigue, silliness, and a playfully melodic score," according to production notes.

Journey's End by R.C. Sherriff, will begin previews at the Belasco Theatre on February 8th and open on February 22nd. Journey's End, which was first a hit in London, will star Tony-winners Boyd Gaines (Twelve Angry Men, Contact) and Jefferson Mays (I Am My Own Wife), as well as Hugh Dancy (Elizabeth I, Ella Enchanted) and Stark Sands (Chasing Liberty, Flags of Our Fathers). It will be directed once again by David Grindley, who directed the 2004 West End revival. That production, after a UK tour, returned to London last fall and ran through January 2006. The play, which Sheriff based upon his experiences during World War I, is set in a trench in St. Quentin, France. It involves Captain Stanhope's (Dancy) attempts to lead his British troops into No Man's Land, while Stanhope's old school chum Raleigh (Gaines) discovers that the captain is not the man he once idolized. Mays will play the Cook.

Broadway Beat, the popular weekly television program for and about the theatre world, right here on the web site. Broadway Beat is the premier, award-winning half hour television program covering theatre, music and performers. Each week, the show's popular and knowledgeable host, Richard Ridge, takes you behind-the-scenes for a look at the very best of New York Theatre - on Broadway, and beyond. The show always features beautiful footage shot by video veteran Bradshaw Smith. Now, in its 16th year, Broadway Beat takes you from the rehearsal studios to opening nights, including in-depth interviews with Tony Award winning stars and directors. Broadway Beat is your front row seat to all the music, all the magic, and all of the magnificent drama that is Broadway.