Grammer heads to Broadway
2009-12-01 11:26
New York - From television's favourite psychiatrist to the owner of a French Riviera nightclub: Kelsey Grammer is set to star on Broadway in La Cage aux Folles in 2010.
Producer Sonia Friedman said a revival of the 1983 Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein musical will open April 18 at the Longacre Theatre. It's based on the current hit London production and will feature that show's British star, Douglas Hodge. The director is Terry Johnson.
La Cage concerns the relationship between the club owner, portrayed by Grammer, and its drag star, the role played by Hodge.
Grammer, 54, is set to play Georges, the emcee and owner of a St
Tropez nightclub that boasts drag queen headliner Zaza, George's
flamboyant lover. Comedy ensues when George's son introduces them to
his fiance's conservative parents.
Grammer played Dr Frasier Crane on the comedy TV series Frasier for 11 seasons.
Lukewarm reviews
"I had a wonderful experience playing Henry Higgins in the New York Philharmonic My Fair Lady in 2007, which made me long to perform in a musical on Broadway," Grammer said in a statement.
Grammer acted in Shakespeare plays in New York's Broadway theatre district in the 1980s and in 2000, when he starred in Macbeth. It closed early following lukewarm reviews.
His singing can be heard in some of his animated projects, such as The Simpsons and the 1997 film Anastasia.
Grammer follows several celebrities who have starred on Broadway. James Bond actor Daniel Craig and X-Men's "Wolverine", Hugh Jackman, are starring in the play A Steady Rain, and Sopranos star James Gandolfini headed the cast earlier this year of God of Carnage.
- AP