Ill wind, you’re blowing me no good.

Actually, the winds are favorable. If you’ve ever heard the original London cast album of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman’s Whistle Down the Wind, you may be relieved to know that the American touring production of the show, which had previously been announced as part of the SHN/Best of Broadway season in San Francsico, has been blown to another city.
The tour, now in Boston, will go to Philadelphia and then Norfolk, where it will close for good Feb. 17.
For information about the remainin shows in Best of Broadway visit www.shnsf.com.
Posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008
Under: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Best of Broadway, backstage, local theater, musicals | No Comments »

You knew Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote Cats, right? Well, did you know he also wrote a dog?
In the Lloyd Webber canon, only By Jeeves was more critically pummeled than Whistle Down the Wind, a collaboration with lyricist Jim Steinman (of Meatloaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” and Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” fame). The show, based on a 1961 movie of the same name, had its premiere at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. in 1996 and was supposed to open on Broadway the following year.
The Hal Prince-directed show was reviled, by critics and audiences alike, and the Broadway transfer was scrapped.
A revised London production opened in 1998 and closed in 2001. Producer Bill Kenwright took over the directing reins for a UK tour, which ended up back in London last year (taking up some slack from another flop Lloyd Webber show, The Woman in White) at the Palace Theatre.
Now Kenwright’s production of Whistle Down the Wind is touring the U.S., and that tour (seen above and below) is coming to San Francisco’s Curran Theatre April 1 through 20, so we can see what all the fuss (or what all the non-fuss) was about.
Here’s Lloyd Webber in a statement: “Whistle Down the Wind is a fantastic story for a musical dramatist and it took me back to my rock roots. It’s a primal tale about salvation and forgiveness that everyone can relate to. I’m absolutely delighted that Bill Kenwright’s wonderful production is going to be seen in America.”
The ticket sale date has not been announced. Visit www.shnsf.com for information.

Posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008
Under: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Best of Broadway, backstage, musicals, theater news | No Comments »