The Woman in White (musical) - Production History

Production History

West End

The musical adaptation of the book opened in London's West End, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by David Zippel, and book by Charlotte Jones, freely adapted from the novel. Directed by Trevor Nunn, it opened Wednesday, 15 September 2004 at the Palace Theatre. It gained attention for its set design, which employed the innovative use of projections rather than traditional scenery.

Through its first year, the London production earned some criticism. The projections were dizzying, out of focus, and the revolve (turntable) was not synchronized with the projections. (The revolve is used to move actors from one point of the stage to another while pictures behind them move, giving the effect of a camera swooping about.)

Also, at the end of 2004 (in the show's fourth month), the star Michael Crawford was taken ill, as a result of oversweating in the fat suit he wore to play the grossly obese character Count Fosco. From late December until early February 2005, Steve Varnom, the understudy, played the role. Renowned British singer/stage star Michael Ball then took over until late April. He received much praise for his portrayal because he had reinvented the role and his interpretation was used as the base for his replacements.

On 9 July 2005, the final Original London Cast (except with Fosco being played by Anthony Andrews) appeared on stage. It was also the final performance of the "first" version. The "second" version opened the following Monday night, with an almost completely new cast (some original ensemble members remained, along with Andrews and Edward Petherbridge, who played Mr. Fairlie). This version "previewed" through the rest of summer, inviting critics to return in early September 2005 with the arrival of Simon Callow as the fourth Count Fosco. The production was received with more enthusiasm though feelings were still mixed. The relations between the projections' movements and the revolve were said to be tighter, and the images were more in focus. The cast was also given good notices.

The show reportedly received some cutting, but still took roughly as long because of an extended ending which almost filled in the time saved earlier. Staging was also tightened.

On 20 January 2006, it was officially announced by producer Sonia Friedman and The Really Useful Theatre Company that the show would close in London on 25 February 2006 after a run of 19 months just reaching its 500th performance.

Broadway

The Broadway production (which is chronicled below) was shortened far more than the Version 2.0. Verses were cut from "Perspective" and "The Seduction," along with "If Not for Me, For Her" (also cut in Version 2.0). The scenery was improved further. William Dudley's curved walls were no longer perfectly round, but oval shaped (it made the images feel more encompassing). The walls also had their doors fixed. The London production (through its end in 2006) had the doors aligned with the walls on only one side, so whenever they were spun around to the audience, there was roughly four inches of excess space between the wall and the door within. The Broadway production solved this problem by attaching the doors to tracks inside the 6-inch-thick (150 mm) walls so that they would move to the other side whenever the walls were spun.

The Broadway production opened on 17 November 2005 at the Marquis Theatre to mostly negative critical reaction. In his New York Times review Ben Brantley wrote: "It's not a terrible show, but it's an awfully pallid one." This followed much publicity after the show's star, Maria Friedman, who had created the role of Marian Halcombe in the original London production, was diagnosed with breast cancer during previews; however, she underwent treatment and returned for the Broadway premiere. Lisa Brescia performed the lead role during Ms. Friedman's several absences on Broadway.

In a surprising announcement, the Broadway production closed even earlier than the London production on 19 February 2006, having played 109 regular performances and 20 previews. The producers cited Friedman's frequent absences (as well as the negative reviews) as difficult obstacles to overcome.

A rumoured tour of a reconceived production planned to open in Milton Keynes in January 2007 failed to materialise. In January 2013 there was talk of a new production to be directed by original lead Maria Friedman, at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, following her acclaimed professional directorial debut with Merrily We Roll Along at the same venue.