Broadway revamps classic theater

NEW YORK -- From Peter Allen to Jerome Kern, from Boy George to Leonard Bernstein, the sound of music on Broadway this fall will be the most eclectic in years.\nFive new musicals and two revivals are expected to arrive before 2004, starring such performers as Hugh Jackman, Donna Murphy, Kristin Chenoweth, Joel Grey and, yes, Jackie Mason.\nUp first is a revival of "Little Shop of Horrors," the 1982 off-Broadway hit about a man-eating plant that ran for more than five years in the East Village. The Broadway production, now in previews, opens Oct. 2 at the Virginia Theatre, but it almost didn't happen.\nThe show foundered during its summer tryout in Coral Gables, Fla., shut down and then got back on track with a new director (Jerry Zaks), a new leading lady (Kerry Butler) and a new supporting cast. Retained from the Florida cast was Hunter Foster, as Seymour, the nebbish plant-shop sales clerk.\nAustralian pop entertainer and songwriter Peter Allen starred in and wrote only one Broadway musical, the 1988 "Legs Diamond." Now the performer, who died of AIDS in 1992, is the subject of "The Boy From Oz," a musical biography opening Oct. 16 at the Imperial.\nMovie heartthrob Jackman plays Allen, who was discovered by Judy Garland and who later married Garland's daughter, Liza Minnelli. Stephanie Block is Minnelli and Isabel Keating has the difficult task of impersonating Garland in the show, which uses many of Allen's own songs. Previews begin Sept. 16.\n"Wicked" promises to be big -- or at least expensive. It's a lavish, $14 million adaptation by Winnie Holtzman of the novel by Gregory Maguire about those Wizard of Oz witches -- both the good and the bad one -- before Dorothy and Toto ever arrived.\nChenoweth portrays the good one; Idina Menzel plays the one made famous by Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 film classic. Grey, in his first Broadway appearance since the revival of "Chicago" in 1996, portrays the Wizard.\nThe score is by Stephen Schwartz, the composer of such hits as "Godspell," "Pippin" and "The Magic Show." Previews start Oct. 7, with an opening set for Oct. 30 at the Gershwin.\n"Taboo" is a musical about Boy George, with music and lyrics by Boy George and starring Boy George -- but with a different actor playing Boy George.\nEuan Morton portrays the cross-dressing pop superstar whose real name is George O'Dowd. The composer portrays real-life performance artist and painter Leigh Bowery. The musical, a celebration of 1980s London nightlife, was seen last year in England. The New York production will have a new book by Charles Busch, author of "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife." And the show will have a high-profile producer, former talk show goddess Rosie O'Donnell.\nPreviews start at the Plymouth Theatre on Oct. 24; the opening is set for Nov. 13.\n"Wonderful Town" was one of two valentines to New York with scores by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green -- the other being "On the Town."\nThe show is based on short stories by Ruth McKinney that appeared in The New Yorker. They concern two young women from Ohio who arrive in New York during the Depression.\nIn 1953, "Wonderful Town" was a big hit for Rosalind Russell. This latest version, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, stars Donna Murphy. Preview performances begin Nov. 4 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, and the opening will be Nov. 23.\nJackie Mason has made a name for himself doing his one-man shows on Broadway. Now, he's trying his hand with a musical modestly titled "Jackie Mason Laughing Room Only." Mason, of course, stars. Previews are tentatively set to begin Oct. 23, with the curtain officially going up Nov. 19 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.\nThe season's first old-new musical will be "Never Gonna Dance," a show which that classic Jerome Kern songs interpolated into a new book by Jeffrey Hatcher. In it, a young dancer comes to New York to prove to his fiancee's father that he can make a living in a field other than dancing.\nThe stars are a couple of unknowns, Noah Racey and Nancy Lemenager. They are backed by some expert hoofers including Karen Ziemba and Deidre Goodwin. The choreography is by Jerry Mitchell, the man who made "Hairspray" move. Look for the show to begin preview performances at the Broadhurst on Oct. 27 and open Dec. 4.