Recent Broadway Transfers

Saturday's NY Times has a great article on the current batch of Off-Broadway to Broadway transfers (Grey Gardens, The Little Dog Laughed, and Spring Awakening). The article details some of the complicated nuances of making the move. Roy Gabay, producer of The Little Dog Laughed, talks about the difficulty of getting The Schubert Organization onboard, and details reason #3,011 why Moxie loves Julie White.

One morning this summer, he brought Julie White, the play’s star and critics’ darling, up to the storied Shubert offices for an appointment with Gerald Schoenfeld, the august, octogenarian Shubert chairman. Mr. Gabay sat quietly as Ms. White let fly a fusillade of weapons-grade charm, asking for a tour of the office in her sugary Texas accent.

After the pleasantries, she moved in for the kill. “Gerry, won’t you please give us a theater,” she recalled saying. “Bottom line: my mother, Sue Jane, didn’t see the show at Second Stage because I was told it was moving to Broadway. So you have to help my mama see this. Sue Jane isn’t getting any younger, you know.”

There was a long pause.

Then Mr. Schoenfeld named four theaters, asked Ms. White for her preferences and promised a decision by the end of the week.

The article also talks about the re-casting process, and how Alicia Silverstone and Alyssa Milano were both considered for the role that ultimately was given to Ari Graynor. The Times also tells us that John Stamos was "game" for the Neal Huff role, but was already booked on ER. Moxie wonders how Ari Graynor and Tom Everett Scott (not to mention Zoe Lister-Jones and Neal Huff) feel about the names of the celebs that almost played their roles being tossed around.