Martin Short Delays B'way Bow of Solo Show

Tony Award winner Martin Short, whose original one-man show was announced for a spring 2005 Broadway bow, is postponing bringing it to the Great White Way until fall 2005. The delay is a result of scheduling issues, according to a production spokesperson.

The yet-to-be-titled show will feature songs and a script by Short and the Hairspray songwriting team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, with Wittman directing. Well-loved comedic characters from Short's television past on shows like SCTV Comedy Network, Saturday Night Live and Primetime Glick, are rumored to be a part of the show.

Short, who was last seen as Leo Bloom in the Los Angeles production of The Producers, is a musical theater veteran. He made his stage debut in a Toronto production of Godspell that also featured future comedy stars Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin. He then moved into comedic projects and became a member of the Second City comedy troupe. His television career took off after performing on SCTV and Saturday Night Live. He has since hosted his own television series, The Martin Short Show, and starred in Primetime Glick on Comedy Central. Short's feature film credits include Three Amigos!, Cross My Heart, Innerspace, Three Fugitives, Father of the Bride and Jungle2Jungle. He made his Broadway debut in 1993 in The Goodbye Girl, for which he received a Tony nomination. He then appeared in the Encores! production of Promises, Promises. Short won a Tony Award when he returned to the Broadway stage in the 1998 musical revival of Little Me.

With this delay, Short joins Tracey Ullman on the list of one-person shows that have already been announced for the 2005-2006 season.