Following four more canceled performances of the touring production of “Burlesque the Musical” this week, partner ATG Entertainment has said it is “working closely” with producers of the beleaguered musical to ensure the show will go on. This week’s cancelations are the latest calamity to befall the touring production after it was forced to postpone the first leg of its tour last month. The touring production of the show, which is based on the 2010 film starring Christina Aguilera, Cher and Stanley Tucci, was due to kick off in Woking in July before abruptly canceling the performances (a spokesperson for the production said this leg was moved to the end of the tour due to technical issues).
At the time, a source told Variety trailers with sets hadn’t arrived to fit the stage leaving the cast to rehearse on an empty stage despite the opening night being just days away. A new launch date, of Aug. 6, was set in Sunderland, which previously was supposed to be the tour’s second leg. This was then pushed back by a week, to Aug. 13, but that performance was also canceled.
The show finally opened, albeit with a 30-minute delay, at the Sunderland Empire on Friday, Aug. 14. Two further performances took place on Saturday, Aug. 15 before the next four performances, scheduled for this week, were again abruptly canceled. The Monday show was canceled hours before curtains up.
When Variety contacted the show’s rep to ask about that cancelation and query whether the Tuesday night performance was going ahead, the rep replied at 12.30pm local time to say it was. But just a few hours later the Sunderland Empire announced that performance as well as the next two were being scrapped, apparently due to cast illness. We are bolstering the company with additional covers who have performed in the show previously to ensure we open on Friday.
Customers affected will be contacted via email regarding next steps and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.” The touring production sees “Coronation Street” star Fay Brookes lead the show as club owner Tess (played by Cher in the film) while Gracie O’Brien takes on Aguilera’s role of Ali and Ryan Carter steps into Tucci’s shoes as Sean. It is unclear if it was the leading trio who were sick or other members of the cast. In a statement, one of the show’s producers Adam Paulden told Variety: “It was unfortunate that physical illness meant that three cast members were unable to perform and we wish them all a speedy recovery.
We swiftly arranged for other talented performers to take their place to ensure future shows remain unaffected.” “All payments are up to date, and the production has sold over 100,000 tickets with shows scheduled across the country until the very end of May next year,” he added. Last month Variety exclusively reported that a West End production of the show, which was set to launch on Sept. 12 in London, had been postponed until next year.
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