Broadway producers rarely open new shows in summertime, when tourist-dominated audiences in New York are biggest for long-running hits, but a new musical comedy is moving into the St. James Theater in July: “Bring It On,” a takeoff on the battle-of-the-cheerleaders movie from 2000 starring Kirsten Dunst. The show will start previews on July 12, direct from a 13-city national tour — a rare example of a production that played in Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago and Toronto before coming to New York, where musicals usually begin before going out on the road.
The show was created by several Tony Award-winning artists: The music is by Tom Kitt (“Next to Normal”) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (“In the Heights”), with lyrics by Mr. Miranda and Amanda Green and a book by Jeff Whitty (“Avenue Q”). Andy Blankenbuehler, who won a Tony for choreography for “In the Heights,” is the director and choreographer. The production, which has a different plot and characters from the movie but still turns on a cheerleading competition, will feature the entire cast from the tour, which includes real-life cheerleaders in some of the high-flying acrobatic sequences.
The musical is scheduled for a limited engagement on Broadway, with an opening night of Aug. 1 and a closing date of Oct. 7.
(Source: followthatunicorn)
