New Musical Minsky’s Headed to Broadway Next Season

Producers say new musical Minsky’s is officially headed for Broadway, according to the Associated Press. The racy show about burlesque in the 1930s, which is currently playing at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, is aiming for a summer or fall Broadway bow.

Based on the 1968 movie The Night They Raided Minsky’s, the musical is the latest collaboration between director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw and author Bob Martin—the team behind The Drowsy Chaperone. It features music from Annie composer Charles Strouse and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead.

Inspired by the real-life Minsky brothers, whose legendary nightclub drew burlesque dancers, bawdy comedians and some notorious police raids, the musical follows Bob Minsky played by Christopher Fitzgerald as he struggles to keep his risqué establishment in business. The show was in development for 10 years, before Nicholaw and Martin signed on less than a year ago.

"Of all the musicals I've worked on, this version of Minsky's has been fairly quick," producer Bob Boyett told the AP. "And it's really from scratch. There's really nothing from the movie in it. As we got closer to our development production in Los Angeles, we were so intent on finishing all of those that we never got totally finished with the bigger picture of the show." He said that the creative team will continue to work on the show before it hits the Great White Way.

In addition to Fitzgerald, Minsky’s features Kevin Cahoon, John Cariani, Rachel Dratch, Beth Leavel, Katharine Leonard, Gerry Vichi, Paul Vogt and George Wendt. It started previews at the Ahmanson on January 21, and officially opened on February 6. It runs there through March 1.