Off-B'way's Fame on 42nd Street to Close 6/27
Set in the 1980s at New York City's legendary High School for Performing Arts, Fame on 42nd Street takes the audience on a roller-coaster ride through the highs and the lows of star-struck students in their quest for success. The musical chronicles members of the class of 1984's four-year odyssey from freshmen to seniors. The stage show was inspired by the hit movie which later became a successful TV series and played at numerous theaters throughout the world before hitting Gotham.
Fame was conceived and developed by David De Silva with book by José Fernandez, lyrics by Jacques Levy and music by Steve Margoshes except the title song, which was written by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. The current cast features Emily Corney as Iris, Marque Lynche as Tyrone Jackson, Rick Cornette as Nick Piazza, Nancy Hess as Mr. Greta Bell, Sara Schmidt as Carmen Diaz, Dennis Moench as Schlomo Metzenbaum, Jose Restrepo as Jose "Joe" Vegas, Sara Schmidt as Serena Katz, Q. Smith as Mabel Washington and Cheryl Freeman as Miss Esther Sherman.
The show, directed by Drew Scott Harris, opened off-Broadway on November 11 to less than stellar notices. In his Broadway.com Review of the production, William Stevenson wrote: "The big cast tries hard to liven things up, singing and dancing their hearts out. But most of the lyrics are so clichéd and the music so uninspired that they're fighting a losing battle. Choreographer Lars Bethke has them moving constantly, usually to little effect. And director Drew Scott Harris manages to get the sprawling show finished in just under two-and-a-half hours. Regrettably, it feels a lot longer than that. Simply put, the off-Broadway version of Fame doesn't deserve to live forever."