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Boublil & Schonberg Join Riverdance Director for Pirate Queen

By: Jun. 09, 2005
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Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, who collaborated on Les Miserables and other lavish pop operas, are teaming up with the director and producer of Riverdance for their latest musical, The Pirate Queen.

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The Pirate Queen will be a dance-heavy musical directed by John McColgan and produced by Moya Doherty, both of the Irish dancefest that swept the world some years ago. Reports are circulating that the swashbuckling new musical would get its start in Dublin in 2006 before setting sail for Broadway. A casting notice has appeared in which 2006 rehearsals with an out-of-town tryout "followed by opening on Broadway in late '06" are indicated.

According to the casting notice, "The producers of Riverdance present Boublil & Schönberg's The Pirate Queen, a new musical inspired by the legendary Grace O'Malley, a larger than life figure in Irish history. Set in 16th century Ireland and England, it tells the story of her losses and triumphs, both in her personal relationships and in her battles with the English in defending her beloved Ireland." The piratess of the title, however, has been re-named Grania, and Elizabeth I will apparently be a character in the musical. The actress playing the Renaissance queen should have a "strong classical/legit soprano."

The musical, with a score that blends pop, rock, musical theatre and Irish music, will use Irish-step choreography in its scenes of battles and funerals, according to McColgan. Mark Dendy of Taboo will create the Riverdance-style dances.

Boublil (book) and Schonberg (music and book) wrote Les Miserables with lyricist Herbert Kretzmer (based on the French ones of Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel). Together, they also wrote Miss Saigon and the less-successful Martin Guerre.

McColgan, a founding director of the Irish television producing company Tyrone Productions and a member of the board of the world-renowned Abbey Theatre, recently directed a production of the 19th century Irish melodrama The Shaughraun that transferred to the West End after breaking box office records at the Abbey. He guided Riverdance from a seven-minute number to a worldwide phenomenon, and directed the first top-selling video of the show.



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