Rebecca delays its arrival on Broadway

The Broadway premiere of the new musical Rebecca, based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier, has delayed the start of its rehearsals by two weeks due to the death of a key investor responsible for a $4.5 million investment pool in the production. Rehearsals are now scheduled to begin in two weeks.

Lead producers Ben Sprecher and Louise Forlenza: "Since the tragic and sudden death of a major investor in early August, we have been working with the representatives of the estate to complete the committed investment. We had been reassured that the commitment would be honored, and have tried day and night to finalize this matter, but as of yet have been unable to do so, which has left us no choice but to delay the start of rehearsals for Rebecca by two weeks. We are fiercely committed to resolving this issue as soon as possible and getting the production back on track in two weeks."

As of the resolution of this investment transaction, rehearsals will now begin 24 Sep 2012. Revised first preview and opening night dates will be announced shortly. The musical was to have opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on 18 Nov 2012, following previews from 30 Oct 2012.

This is the second time the show has been hit with captilization problems. It was originally scheduled to open at the Broadhurst theatre on 22 Apr 2012, but was cancelled due to lack of investment.

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.

The musical 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).

Jill Paice will star in the role of 'I' and Ryan Silverman in the role of 'Maxim de Winter.' The cast will also feature Karen Mason (Sunset Boulevard, Mamma Mia!) as 'Mrs. Danvers,' two-time Tony Award nominee Howard McGillin (The Phantom of the Opera) as 'Frank Crawley,' James Barbour (Beauty and the Beast, A Tale of Two Cities) as 'Jack Favell,' Donna English (Lend Me A Tenor) as Beatrice de Winter, Nick Wyman (Les Miserables) as 'Giles' and Henry Stram as 'Ben.'

The musical is being produced on Broadway by Ben Sprecher and Louise Forlenza; with The Shubert Organization, DC Tours Pty Ltd, Manderley Partners, Tony Fusco, Nanda Anand, Peter Bogyo, Peter Bezemes and Dennis Grimaldi, in association with David Mirvish, Stage Entertainment and Larry Feinman and by special arrangement with Vereinigte Bühnen Wien GmbH.

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.