Reincarnated: A
new production of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever promises an exciting new plot twist
and, for the first time on stage, the incorporation of songs from the Barbra Streisand film version.
It's
Curtains for Clear Day
January 17, 2012
Lerner
and Lane's profound lyrics
seem to sum up the latest
breaking news from
Broadway:
"Why
is
the
sequel
never
the
equal?
Why
is
there
no
encore?"
Alas,
the
much
anticipated
Broadway
stage
revival
of
On
A
Clear
Day
You
Can
See
Forever
will
close
its
doors
and
shutter
its
windows
on
January
29.
Clear
Day
was
to
have
been
a
highlight
of
the
current
New
York
theatrical
season.
But
a
great
score
(that
included
all
the
songs
Barbra
Streisand
sang
exclusively
in
the
1970
film),
an
intriguing
rewrite
and
a
marquee
star
(Harry
Connick,
Jr.)
just
weren't
enough
to
save
a
show
that
the
New
York
Times
called
"a
case
of
clinical
depression."
But
there
was
a
silver
lining
to
be
found
amid
Clear
Day's
cloud
of
negative
reviews.
Jessie
Mueller's
portrayal
of
Melinda
(right)
managed
to
be
the
break-out
moment
of
the
show.
Her
performance
was
noticed
and
hailed
by
some
of
those
same
critics
who
otherwise panned
this
new
production.
The
same
phenomenon
happened
to
Barbara
Harris
in
the
1965
production.
Harris'
performance
as
Daisy/Melinda
actually
helped
launch
her
career
despite
the
original
show's
lackluster
reviews.
Flashback ...
Barbra Harris gave a similar break-out performance as Daisy/Melinda in the original 1965 Broadway version of "Clear Day."
Harris and John Cullem performed this medley for TV viewers during the show's run.
Cast
Announced for Clear Day
October 11, 2011
More
information
about
the
upcoming
Broadway
revival
of
On A
Clear
Day
You
Can
See
Forever
has
been
announced.
Joining
Harry
Connick,
Jr.
in
the
show
will
be
David
Turner
(as
David
Gamble),
Jessie
Mueller
(as
Melinda
Wells)
and
Drew Gehling
(as
Warren).
Turner
returns
to the role of
David
Gamble
following
his performances during
the Vassar
College
workshop
readings
in
2010.
Fans
of
the
original
show
and
the
Barbra
Streisand
film
version
will
be
delighted
by
the
material
included
in
this
new
staging.
In
addition
to
the
original
Lerner
and
Lane
Broadway
score,
the
two
numbers
exclusively
performed
by
Streisand
in
the
film
will
be
featured
("Go
to
Sleep"
and
"Love
With
All
the
Trimmings").
And
if
you're
familiar
with
the
Lerner
and
Lane
score
from
the
film
Royal
Wedding,
you'll
also
enjoy the
inclusion
of
four
trunk
songs:
"Ev'ry
Night
at
Seven,"
"You're
All
the
World
to
Me,"
"Open
Your
Eyes"
and
"Too
Late
Now."
Tickets
for
On A
Clear
Day
You
Can
See
Forever
are
available
now.
The
show
begins
previews
at
the
St.
James
Theatre
on
November
12.
Opening
night
is
December
11.
Visit
the
newly
updated
Clear
Day
web
site
for
all
the
latest
information.
Connick
Premieres his "Clear Day"
September 20, 2011 This
evening,
music
took
center
stage
on
Dancing with the Stars
as Harry Connick, Jr.
offered a preview of his
upcoming performance in
On
A
Clear
Day
You
Can
See
Forever.
He
performed
a
live
rendition
the
title
song
with
a
lively
and
jazz
inspired
rendition.
Connick told Dancing host Tom Bergeron that this was the first
time he performed the number (presumably before an audience) and that
he was looking forward to doing it 8 times a week on Broadway.
You can see
his
performance
at
broadwayworld.com.
Connick
begins
his
Broadway
run
in
Clear
Day
this November.
Tickets
On Sale for "Clear Day"
July 3, 2011
Previews
for the revival of "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" will begin on
Nov. 12 at Broadway's St. James Theatre. Opening night is scheduled
for December 11. Tickets are now on sale.
Harry Connick, Jr. stars in a reinvented version of the classic 1966
Broadway musical. This will also mark the first time songs originally
sung by Barbra Streisand in the 1970
film will be a performed on a New York stage.
The music has been expanded. Not only will the new version include
those original "Clear Day" numbers from the film, but several
songs from Lerner's 1951 film "Royal Wedding" will also be
incorporated into the reworked score.
The announcement of additional cast members is expected shortly.
Harry
Connick, Jr. Discusses "Clear
Day"
March 2, 2011 In an appearance on NBC's
"Today" show this morning,
Harry Connick, Jr. told
Hoda and Kathie Lee all
about his upcoming role on
Broadway in "On A Clear
Day You Can See Forever":
"I'm
really
excited
about
it.
In
the
original
show,
and
in
the
movie
that
Barbra
Streisand
and
Yves
Montand
did,
the
character
that
I
play
is a
psychiatrist
that's
very
interested
in
hypnosis
back
in
the
60s.
And
there's
a
girl,
played
by
Barbra
Streisand,
that
goes
through
life
kind
of
hum-drum.
The
psychiatrist
starts
to
hypnotize
her
and
she
channels
another
person.
That's
the
person
that
the
psychiatrist
falls
in
love
with.
In
this
case,
it's
a
young
man
as
opposed
to a
young
woman,
and
he
channels
a
woman
from
20
years
ago
that
I
fall
in
love
with.
So
the
only
way
to
get
to
her
is
to
hypnotize
him.
It's
the
same
great
songs
and
there
are
some
other
great
songs
that
they
took
from
the
trunk.
I'm
really
excited.
It's
a
great
role.
It
opens
in
the
fall."
Harry
Connick, Jr. Joins "Clear
Day" Cast - Heading Straight
to Broadway
February
3, 2011 Last
July,
the
New
York
Times
reported
that
a
new
staging
of
"On
A
Clear
Day
You
Can
See
Forever"
was
scheduled
for
an
off-Broadway
run
in
late
2011.
This
week,
The
Times
revealed
that
a
big
star
has
been
cast.
Harry
Connick,
Jr.
(right)
will play the role
of
Dr. Bruckner,
the
psychiatrist.
With
Connick
on
board,
the
show
will
be
heading
straight
to
Broadway.
Opening
night
is
still
scheduled
for
this
fall.
Additional
casting
has
not
been
announced.
Connick appeared in the
2006 Broadway revival of
"The Pajama Game" for
which he received a Tony
nomination.
Spoiler
Alert:
The
Vassar
College
Preview
August 2, 2010
The
newly
revised
stage
version
of
"On
A
Clear
Day
You
Can
See
Forever"
was
presented
during
a
series
of
workshop
readings
this
past
weekend
at
Vassar
College
in
Upstate
NY.
Songs
from the Barbra
Streisand film have
been incorporated into
the new stage version,
side-by-side with the
original Broadway score
and some interesting new
source material. Though
the new show hasn't yet
been "frozen" for it's
planned New York City
revival next year, here
are some of the dramatic
changes to "Clear Day" as
performed this past
weekend,
according
to
Playbill.com:
Dr. Mark Bruckner, a
psychiatrist, is no longer
treating a neurotic
chain-smoking woman named
Daisy Gamble. This
time, his patient is David
Gamble, a gay man who works
in a Greenwich Village
flower shop (he sings
“Hurry! It’s Lovely Up
Here”). Under hypnosis (an
effort to curb his smoking),
it is revealed that his past
life was as Melinda Wells, a
1940s jazz singer.
Dr. Bruckner, struggling
with the death of his wife,
falls in love with Melinda
through his sessions with
David.
David is confused by Dr.
Bruckner’s attention, and it
causes tension in David’s
relationship with his
boyfriend Warren. David
sings all of the songs that
were assigned to Daisy in
the original (including
“What Do I Have That I Don’t
Have”) plus “Go to Sleep”
from the film version.
The musical is set in
Nixon-era America, 30 years
after Melinda’s World War
II-era heyday. David is 30
years old. ESP and magic
powers (such as Daisy’s
ability to make flowers grow
before your eyes) are no
longer prominent in the
plot, though “Come Back to
Me” is a psychic attempt (by
both Dr. Bruckner and
Warren) to reach an absent
David.
“Love With All the
Trimmings” (from the film
version) is now assigned to
boyfriend Warren.
Brian D'Arcy James,
Anika Noni Rose and David Turner
The Vasser College performances (July 30
- Aug 1) starred Brian D'Arcy James (as Dr. Bruckner), Anika Noni
Rose (as Melinda Wells), and
David Turner (as David
Gamble).
The 13 member cast was supported by 4
musicians. No word on whether these same performers will be involved
in the New York City production.
New
Concept,
Plot
Twists,
and
Elements
from
the
Film
July 2, 2010
Following
recent
news
of a
planned
revival
of
"Funny
Girl"
on Broadway, the New
York Times' Patrick Healy is
reporting that "On A Clear Day You
Can See Forever" will also return to the New York boards.
Michael Mayer ("Spring Awakening" and "American Idiot") will direct
the show in a new 2011 off-Broadway production.
Barbra Streisand, of course,
starred in the 1970 film version of the
Lerner and Lane musical.
"Clear
Day" originally opened on Broadway in 1965 with Barbara Harris playing
Daisy Gamble (left). Despite the show's lukewarm reviews, Harris
received a Tony
nomination for her performance in a role that ignited her career.
In 2000, Broadway phenom Kristen Chenoweth (right) starred in a traditional
staging of the musical during a limited run at New York's City Center.
The new 2011 revival is planned as an off-Broadway production that
will have fans of the show stunned, but certainly not appalled by
one of the major changes that are proposed. The book has been
reworked by Peter Parnell (and sanctioned by the estate of
original author, Alan Jay Lerner) and will present the story with
a most intriguing twist: A related report at Playbill.com offers
insight into the rewrite:
Mayer has kept
mostly mum about
the changes in
the tale, but
gender and
sexuality issues
are now
apparently a
part of the love
story. An
earlier draft of
Mayer's version
had the
psychoanalyst
character
treating a gay
man and
uncovering the
patient's past
life — a woman.
The doctor falls
for the past
incarnation,
causing comic
and romantic
confusion, all
wrapped in rich
show music.
Mayer told
Playbill.com on
July 5, "I can't
really discuss
all the new
writing on Clear
Day, as we're
still very much
in process. I
can say that the
basic construct
of the original
story is the
same, but the
rest of it is
being explored
in new ways."
According to The
Times, material from both the stage and film versions of the show
will be incorporated in the new production, including, we assume, some of the music
Barbra Streisand sang exclusively in the movie.
"On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" is scheduled to open at New
York's Vineyard Theatre in the fall of 2011. The cast has not been announced.
Lerner
and Lane's profound lyrics
seem to sum up the latest
breaking news from
Broadway:
More
information
about
the
upcoming
Broadway
revival
of
On A
Clear
Day
You
Can
See
Forever
has
been
announced.
Joining
Harry
Connick,
Jr.
in
the
show
will
be
David
Turner
(as
David
Gamble),
Jessie
Mueller
(as
Melinda
Wells)
and
Drew Gehling
(as
Warren).
Turner
returns
to the role of
David
Gamble
following
his performances during
the Vassar
College
workshop
readings
in
2010.
This
evening,
music
took
center
stage
on
Dancing with the Stars
as Harry Connick, Jr.
offered a preview of his
upcoming performance in
On
A
Clear
Day
You
Can
See
Forever.
He
performed
a
live
rendition
the
title
song
with
a
lively
and
jazz
inspired
rendition.
In an appearance on NBC's
"Today" show this morning,
Harry Connick, Jr. told
Hoda and Kathie Lee all
about his upcoming role on
Broadway in "On A Clear
Day You Can See Forever":
Last
July,
the
New
York
Times
reported
that
a
new
staging
of
"On
A
Clear
Day
You
Can
See
Forever"
was
scheduled
for
an
off-Broadway
run
in
late
2011.
This
week,
The
Times
revealed
that
a
big
star
has
been
cast.
Harry
Connick,
Jr.
(right)
will play the role
of
Dr. Bruckner,
the
psychiatrist.
With
Connick
on
board,
the
show
will
be
heading
straight
to
Broadway.
Opening
night
is
still
scheduled
for
this
fall.
Additional
casting
has
not
been
announced.
Barbra Streisand, of course,
starred in the 1970 film version of the
Lerner and Lane musical.