Conrad John Schuck, John Rubinstein and the cast of Grumpy Old Men: The Musical.
Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a Grumpy ride.
The world premiere of Grumpy Old Men: The Musical, at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Thursday night takes New York producer Jeff Gardner one step closer to fulfilling his Broadway dream.
But it's a long haul from the Great White North to the Great White Way. And eight years into his creative journey, with the adaptation of the 1993 Warner Brothers movie starring Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon and Ann-Margret, Gardner is taking the scenic route.
"I'd like to get there as soon as possible. But you know, fools rush in," he says.
The $1.3-million musical starring Broadway veterans Susan Anton, Tony Award-winner John Rubinstein ( Children of a Lesser God) and Conrad John Schuck ( M*A*S*H) is the most expensive production in MTC's 53-year history.
MTC artistic director Steven Schipper says the budget includes $1-million MTC would have spent on its own, with $300,000 in financing from Gardner's team under an enhanced development deal to make the scale of the production and its star power possible.
Gardner thinks the comedy's snow-blanketed Wabasha, Minn., setting and its themes of love and redemption will resonate with Winnipeg audiences. But he still wants gardnerto know how it will play in Peoria.
"Traditionally, shows used to play four or five cities prior to opening on Broadway, and there's a great deal of wisdom in that," he says. "Because with each city you were able to view how much of your material was universal and how much was aimed at local people."
A full dress rehearsal for the cast of 17 last Saturday night brought a flurry of final-hour tweaks to musical cues, props and sets, most at the behest of the senior actors.
Director Bill Castellino said the four actors cast out of New York – the three romantic leads and Ken Page, who originated the role of Old Deuteronomy in Cats – bring a "deep and fertile bag of tricks" to the production, and their input has been instructive.
"It is a really exceptional group of people that bring collectively centuries of experience to the stage," he laughed.
The musical is a reunion for Anton and Rubinstein, whose paths hadn't crossed since they were entangled in another onstage love triangle in Hurlyburly, Anton's Broadway debut in 1984.
Known for movies such as 1984's Cannonball Run II and a recurring role on Baywatch in the early nineties, Anton says people are often surprised to learn she has a musical background, with roles in The Will Rogers Follies on Broadway, the Las Vegas production of Hairspray and a five-year run in the Las Vegas Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular.
At 61 – she celebrated her birthday Wednesday – – she says it's a blessing to land a lead romantic role in a new musical.
"I was telling my husband, I said, 'What a gift to be here at this stage in my life. Who would have ever thought, I still get to be the hottie and the two guys are chasing after me?' " she says. "It's a wonderful commentary, I think, on our show because love doesn't have an age restriction to it."
While there's a parallel romantic storyline for a young couple, Gardner says he's delighted to cast older actors.
"The women that don't get leading romantic roles because of their age is just disgusting," he says. "The number of men who are at the peak of their artistic powers who are around 70 years old and not considered romantic any more is just tragic."
Gardner had searched for a musical property for many years before he rented a video of Grumpy Old Men in 2003 and realized it had all the right elements. A character-driven story about the value of friendship and community, it has strong life-affirming messages and one essential scene that cried out for a song.
Gardner took the movie to composer Neil Berg the next day. The creative team now includes lyricist Nick Meglin, who edited MAD magazine for 30 years, along with Tony-winning orchestrator Larry Hochman ( The Book of Mormon) and, at MTC, costume designer Judy Bowman and set designer Douglas Paraschuk.
Gardner says the late Winnipeg-based music contractor Sam Lutfiyya played matchmaker for him and Schipper.
"He said to me: 'You know, you should bring this project to MTC because they will get it and do a great job.' "
At least one early review this week has been tepid. After seeing Wednesday's preview, CBC critic Joff Schmidt declared that the show "doesn't have a snowball's chance" of becoming a Broadway hit (although he cited supporting actors Frank Adamson and DeAnn deGruijter for standout performances).
Grumpy Old Men: The Musical runs in Winnipeg until Nov. 5.
Special to The Globe and Mail