Taking Off

Great fun was had writing this preview piece on Minksy's, a new musical about the vintage burlesque house from Bob Martin and Casey Nicholaw (Drowsy Chaperone), with a score by Charles Strouse and Susan Birkenhead. The show is in an out-of-town tryout at the Ahmanson in L.A., at the same theater and the same season slot as Drowsy was a few years back, though I never got anyone to confirm or deny Minsky's' Broadway future. It's rumored for the St. James, where The Producers bowed--a fitting spot for a show that might be described as Mel Brooks' 42 Street.

Speaking of that famous boulevard: The rehearsals and run-throughs I sat in on were held at the New 42nd Street Studios, just a few floors above the New Victory Theatre--the very site where Billy Minsky ran a burlesque theater (not his original LES base, the National Winter Garden) to compete with Ziegfield's Follies across the street. The ghosts must have been smiling, or leering, or both.