Will Lauper Replace Murphy in Wonderful Town?
Lauper began her solo recording career in 1983 when She's So Unusual was released. The album was a huge success, selling more than 4.5 million copies in the United States alone and producing four top fve singles "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," "Time After Time," "She Bop" and "All Through The Night". Lauper received the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1984. Her subsequent albums include True Colors featuring the Grammy-nominated title song, A Night To Remember which spawned the Grammy-nominated single "I Drove All Night", Hat Full Of Stars, Merry Christmas…Have a Nice Life!, Sisters of Avalon and At Last.
Although she is best known for her recording career, Lauper is also an Emmy-winning actress. She was nominated for two Emmy Awards for her guest-starring work on Mad About You and took home the prestigious award in 1995. Her film credits include Vibes, Off and Running, Life with Mikey and The Opportunists. Lauper was once attached to a musical--David Henry Hwang's Largo, which ran as part of New York Stage and Film's season in 2001 but never made it to New York. She was also collaborating with Rosie O'Donnell on Find Me, O'Donnell's in-development Broadway show, which is based on her autobiography of the same name; however, plans for the show seem to be on hold.
Murphy, who received a Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Astaire Award and Tony nomination for her performance, is expected to leave Wonderful Town in late October. A production spokesperson could not comment on any plans to bring Lauper to the stage of the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.