The preview date has been announced for The Woman in White,Andrew Lloyd Webber's new romantic gothic musical; the show will play its first performance on October 28th at the Marquis Theatre for an official opening on November 17th.
No casting has been confirmed for the Broadway incarnation of the West End hit, although two-time Olivier Award-winner Maria Friedman, who originated the role of Marian, is likely to make her Broadway debut in the show. The Woman in White, which is based on the classic Wilkie Collins novel, is currently spooking audiences at London's Palace Theatre, where it opened on September 15th, 2004. Directed
by Trevor Nunn (Les Miserables, Chess), the show features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber (Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera), lyrics by David
Zippel (City of Angels, The Goodbye Girl) and a book by Charlotte Jones (Humble Boy). William Dudley (sets and costumes), Paul Pyant (lighting),
and
Mick Potter (sound) make up the design team with Wayne McGregor behind
the choreography and
Simon Lee handling the music supervision. The show makes extensive use of projections for its sets.
The show is
based on the classic Wilkie Collins novel, and is (according to production notes) about "a dashing
young man, employed as the art tutor to two devoted sisters,
[who] is stranded at a remote railway cutting. Out of the darkness
looms a woman, a mysterious figure dressed in white, desperate to share
a chilling secret. He and the sisters soon find themselves trapped in a
web of betrayal and greed, the victims of a seemingly flawless crime.
Together they will need all their resourcefulness and courage to outwit
a hugely charismatic and ingenious villain. As the compelling plot
twists and turns, low villainy vies with high romance in a world where
nothing is as it first appears and where it is impossible to know who
to trust."
Ruthie Henshall, who succeeded Friedman, currently stars as Marian. The cast also includes Anthony Andrews as the nefarious Count Fosco (a role originated by Michael Crawford), as well as Damien Humbley, Alexandra Silber, Michael Cormick and Elinor Collett as the white wraith of the title.Visit www.womaninwhitethemusical.com for more information.