'Lennon' delays opening for a third time.

It has been announced that Lennon, the new musical based on the life and songs of John Lennon, has for a third time re-scheduled its Broadway opening. The show will now open at the Broadhurst on the 14 Aug 2005, and not on the 4 Aug as expected. The show began previews on the 7 Jul.

Producer Allan McKeown said, "We have delayed the opening of Lennon to allow Don Scardino and our creative team the opportunity to make adjustments to the show. We�ve moved the opening to the following week in order to make fundamental changes to the opening and closing scenes of the show, including adding an additional song from the John Lennon catalogue."

It was confirmed by a production spokesperson for the show that director David Leveaux (Fiddler On The Roof) has been offering support to the musical's director Don Scardino."

Lennon was originally scheduled to open on the 21 Jul 2005, following previews from the 7 Jul. Then at the end of April it was announced that the show would bypass its Boston pre-Broadway engagement set for the 31 May - 25 Jun 2005 and instead return to the rehearsal room to "make changes that will be beneficial to the show" and would open on the 28 Jul 2005, following previews from the 28 Jun. The show then rescheduled for a second time to allow Billy Crystal�s '700 Sundays' to extend its run at the Broadhurst Theatre through to the 12 Jun 2005. As a result of that re-scheduling the show was to have opened on the 4 Aug 2005, following previews from the 7 Jul.

Lennon stars Will Chase, Chuck Cooper, Julie Danao, Mandy Gonzalez, Marcy Harriell, Chad Kimball, Terrence Mann, Julia Murney, and Michael Potts.

The musical is written and directed by Don Scardino, with choreography by Joe Malone, design by John Arnone, costumes by Jane Greenwood, lighting by Natasha Katz and sound by Bobby Aitken.

Lennon is produced by Allan McKeown, Don Scardino and Edgar Lansbury in association with Clear Channel Entertainment, in arrangement with Yoko Ono.

Director and book writer Don Scardino says, "We will tell the story of John Lennon's life using Lennon's own words and twenty-seven of his songs. Our ensemble of 9 extraordinary and diverse performers and a ten-piece onstage band will guide the audience through Lennon's life and the eras he shaped. Scardino continues, "Out of the nearly two hundred songs to choose from, the musical includes such memorable tunes as 'Imagine,' 'Instant Karma,' 'Give Peace a Chance,' and 'Whatever Gets You Through the Night,' among others. Using slide and film projections, Lennon will be a visually stunning search for the real John Lennon.