The new Broadway show is......

Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 09:05:42 -0500
Newsgroups: alt.fan.elton-john
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Warner Bros. is about to duke it out with Disney on Broadway. The Hollywood powerhouse is producing its first Broadway show, a
musical based on Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles," in partnership with long-standing Disney composer Elton John. The show, with the working title "Vampire Lestat" - the character
played by Tom Cruise in the movie "Interview With the Vampire" - is
slated to hit Broadway in 2005. Warner Bros. and John declined to comment. The singer and studio execs
are set to announce the project at a press conference today in midtown. "Lion King" composer John, who's played a key role in the massive
success of Disney on Broadway, will write the music and his longtime
partner Bernie Taupin is writing the lyrics. Warner Bros., a division of AOL Time Warner, will initially invest $10
million to $15 million in the project, sources said. But more than
dollars, the powerful media giant is staking its reputation on the high-risk
project. For years, Warner Bros. tried to transform one of its movies into a
Broadway hit. An attempt to turn its valuable "Batman" franchise into a
musical has yet to fly. Rather than producing shows, until now it has licensed
projects, such as "42nd Street." Meanwhile, Disney has wrung mega-profits out of Broadway. Since it
entered the business 10 years ago, the Mouse House has launched three Broadway shows - "Beauty and the Beast," "Aida" and its crown jewel,
"The Lion King," all still running. Those shows, along with their lucrative touring companies, generated
$450 million in the last year alone. Disney also owns Broadway's New Amsterdam Theater, though Warner has no immediate plans to buy its own
theater. In attempting to duplicate that success, Warner Bros. is closely
following Disney's script. John composed both the "Lion King" and
"Aida," though his lyricist on those shows was Tim Rice. And Warner Bros. has also assembled talents who have worked on Disney
theatrical projects. "Vampire" director Rob Roth directed "Beauty and
the of Beast" on Broadway. Linda Woolverton, who wrote the "Vampire" book
has worked on two Disney shows. Sources said Warner Bros. has the approval of writer Rice, who
complained about the "Vampire" movie. The studio has the TV, movie and
theater rights to all three of her "Vampire" novels. In transforming one of its movies into a musical, Warner Bros. is
following a big trend on Broadway that has seen movies like "Hairspray,"
"The Producers" and "The Full Monty" find big dollars in the theater. "It's not surprising that Warner Bros. wants to look to its own
library to compete in the same game," said Jed Bernstein, president of
the League of American Theaters and Producers.