Delays hit Tim Minchin's Groundhog Day | Cast 'need more rehearsal time'

Delays hit Tim Minchin's Groundhog Day

Cast 'need more rehearsal time'

Tim Minchin’s stage version of Groundhog Day has been been delayed, with producers saying they need more time for rehearsals.

The musical, which Minchin wrote with Danny Rubin, had been due to open at London’s Old Vic on July 11. But now ticket-holders for the first four nights have been told those performances have been cancelled.

‘This is one of the most ambitious shows ever to have been staged at The Old Vic and we regret that we might have underestimated the time to bring it to full performance,’ an email from the theatre said.

They blamed ‘the technical requirements of the production and the need for more rehearsal time’.

Based on Bill Murray’s 1993 film, the musical is being directed by the Old Vic’s  artistic director Matthew Warchus, who also directed Minchin’s smash-hit version of Matilda.

Last year  Warchus, who took over the theatre from Kevin Spacey, said he was hoping for ‘‘an intelligent mainstream Broadway classic’, but acknowledged: ‘It needs a large audience and a large stage.’

The show is due to run at the Old Vic until September with Broadway star Andy Karl in the lead role of  weatherman Phil Connors. The show will then transfer to New York with previews from January and opening night on March 9.

When Minchin announced the project, he said: ‘Our version of Groundhog Day is going to be both instantly recognisable, and utterly different.

‘The central conceit is perfectly suited to the theatre, in my opinion. In fact, I think many of its ideas could be enhanced by the stage. It has the potential to be complex, dark, visually fascinating, and thematically rich, whilst still being a joyous romantic comedy with cool tunes and lots of gags. It’s certainly not an easy job, and I’m truly honoured – and genuinely excited – that Danny is letting me have a crack at it.’

Ticket-holders are being offered alternative performance dates or full refunds, with the Old Vic promising to make contact within 48 hours.

Published: 6 Jun 2016

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