Rebecca: Sierra Boggess to star as 'I'



Sierra Boggess is to star as 'I' in the new musical Rebecca, based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier. The musical will open at the Broadhurst theatre on 22 Apr 2012, following previews from 27 Mar 2012.

Boggess recently starred in London's West End in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Love Never Dies' as 'Christine Daaé,' a character which she also played in 'The Phantom of the Opera' in Las Vegas. She recently reprised that role in the 25th Anniversary Concert of 'Phantom' at London's Royal Albert Hall. Sierra was last seen on Broadway in the MTC revival of 'Master Class.' She also appeared on Broadway as the title character in Disney's' The Little Mermaid'

Based on the classic Daphne du Maurier novel (and later turned into an Oscar-winning film by Alfred Hitchcock), Rebecca is the story of Maxim de Winter, his new wife ("I") and Mrs. Danvers, the controlling and manipulative housekeeper of Maxim's West Country estate of Manderley - where the memory of his first wife, the glamorous and mysterious Rebecca, still casts a shadow.

Rebecca features original book and lyrics by Michael Kunze, music by Sylvester Levay, English book adaptation by two-time Tony Award winner Christopher Hampton (Sunset Boulevard), English lyrics by Hampton and Kunze, and direction by Tony Award-winner Michael Blakemore (Kiss Me, Kate; City of Angeles; Noises Off) and Francesca Zambello (Little Mermaid).

Rebecca had its world premiere in 2006 at Vereinigte Buhnen Wien in Vienna, where it played for more than three years. Productions of Rebecca have also played Budapest, Hungary; Helsinki, Finland; Stuttgart, Germany; St. Gallen, Switzerland and at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo.

The musical is being produced on Broadway by Ben Sprecher, Louise Forlenza, The Shubert Organization, Peter Bezemes, Tony Fusco, Larry Feinman, Nanda Anand and Peter Bogyo by special arrangement with/and based on the Vereinigte Buhnen Wien GmbH production.

Bios:

Michael Blakemore (Director) is the only director ever to win Tony Awards for both a play, 'Copenhagen' and a musical 'Kiss Me Kate' in the same year. Other Broadway credits include 'Deuce,' 'Democracy,' 'The Life,' 'Lettice and Lovage,' 'City of Angels,' 'Benefactors,' 'Noises Off,' 'Players,' and ''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg.'

Francesca Zambello (Director) is artistic Advisor to the Kennedy Center's Washington National Opera. Zambello made has Broadway debut when she helmed Disney's 'The Little Mermaid.'

Sylvester Levay (Music & Orchestrations) met Michael Kunze in the mid-seventies. Together they wrote and produced "Fly Robin Fly", "Get up and Boogie" - Silver Convention, Lady Bump - Penny McLean and various other records. For "Fly Robin Fly", Levay and Kunze received a Grammy Award. Between 1977 and 1980 he wrote and produced songs for Elton John, Donna Summer, Herbie Mann and Sister Sledge. In the 1980s Sylvester lived in Los Angeles where he worked as a film composer for Hollywood studios. He collaborated with Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, George Lucas, Sylvester Stallone, Whoopie Goldberg, Peter O´Toole and Steven Spielberg. He composed music for Films such as Cobra with - Sylvester Stalone, Hot Shots - with Charlie Sheen, Burglar - with Whoopie Goldberg, Touch and Go - with Michael Keaton, Creator - with Peter O' Toole, Flashdance - with Jennifer Beals, and many more. Starting from the 90s Sylvester Levay dedicated himself to the world of musical theater. Together with Michael Kunze he created the musical 'Witches, Witches' in 1991. In 1992, they presented their second musical production 'Elisabeth' in the Viennese Theater an der Wien. Elisabeth has been performed ever since in countries such as Japan, Nederlands, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary. Kunze & Levay's third musical 'Mozart!' premiered in 1999. With the drama-musical Rebecca, Sylvester continued his collaboration with Michael Kunze. It opened in Vienna in 2006. Their latest work 'Marie Antoinette' had it's world premiere in November 2007 in Tokyo/Japan; a German production opened in early 2009.

Christopher Hampton (Translation/Adaptation & English Lyrics). Christopher Hampton's plays, musicals and translations have garnered three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and four Evening Standard awards. Prizes for his film and television work include an Academy Award and two BAFTAs. His plays include 'Embers' (2006 Duke of York's Theatre) and the following at the Royal National Theatre - 'The Talking Cure (2002),' 'Alice's Adventure's Under Ground' (1994), 'White Chameleon' (1991) and 'Tales from Hollywood' (1983); 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' which began at the R.S.C.'s Other Place in Stratford in Sept 1985 and subsequently ran at the Ambassadors Theatre for over five years; 'Treats' (1976), 'Savages' (1973), 'The Philanthropist' (1970), all of which transferred from the Royal Court Theatre to the West End, where the 'Philanthropist' ran for more than 1100 performances; 'Total Eclipse' (1968) and 'When Did You Last See your Mother?' (1966) also at the Royal Court Theatre, the last of which, when it transferred, made him the youngest playwright ever to have a play in the West End, a record which still stands. He has written (with Don Black) the book and lyrics for two musicals - 'Dracula' (2004) with music by Frank Wildhorn and 'Sunset Boulevard' (1992) with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; and the libretto for two operas ;Appomattox; (2007, San Francisco Opera House) and ;Waiting For The Barbarians; (2005 Erfurt, Germany) both with music by Philip Glass.

Michael Kunze (Original Book & Lyrics) was the first German ever to win a Grammy Award. He wrote a book on the witch hunt, 'Highroad to the Stake,' that not only was awarded the 1981 Faculty Prize by the Munich University Law School, but also was translated into several languages. Collaborating with Roman Polanski (director) and Jim Steinman (composer), Michael wrote his first English libretto and lyrics for the musical 'Dance of the Vampires.' Kunze then wrote 'Mozart!' (music by Sylvester Levay; director: Harry Kupfer) a show about Mozart's dramatic life. In 2006 his Rebecca premiered at Vienna's Raimund Theatre. 'Marie Antoinettte,' a musical dramatizing the events of the French Revolution, opened in Tokyo's Imperial Theatre on 1 Nov 2006. Its European production premiered in 2009 at the Bremen Musical Theatre. His shows 'Elisabeth,' 'Dance of the Vampires,' 'Morzart!,' Rebecca and 'Marie Antoinette' have reached an audience of more than 20 million people in many countries.

Sierra Boggess

Originally published on

Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock exclusive New York theatre updates!

Special offers, reviews and release dates for the best shows in town.

You can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy