In the summer of 1996, I faced a very enviable problem.<\/p>\n
In the same week, I received two offers: Alan Ayckbourn offered me the role of \u201cJeeves\u201d in the very first production of his new musical, \u201cBY JEEVES<\/u><\/strong>!\u201d And Hal Prince called to offer me \u201cWhistle Down the Wind<\/u><\/strong><\/em>,\u201d his latest collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lloyd Webber had composed the score and also co-written its book (with Patricia Knop and Gale Edwards); lyrics were by the renowned Jim Steinman.<\/p>\n I agonized over this decision, but the Prince-Lloyd Webber collaborations had always been successful, and \u201cWhistle\u201d seemed more like a sure thing. Certainly this new Hal Prince show would be going to Broadway after its try-out run in at Washington, D.C.\u2019s National Theatre. The Broadway theatre had been secured, and the opening date had even been set. Our contracts included all terms for the Broadway run.<\/p>\n[aesop_image force_fullwidth=”off” lightbox=”off” captionposition=”left” captionsrc=”custom” align=”center” imgwidth=”100%” img=”https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/fitzpatrickallen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/206\/2024\/09\/1996-WHISTLE-DOWN-THE-WIND-aaa.jpg” panorama=”off”]\n And thus we began. It was thrilling, of course, to be directed by the legendary Mr. Prince. Our paths had crossed previously on another show which he\u2019d mentored (\u201cEliot Ness in Cleveland<\/em><\/strong>\u201d), and we\u2019d met socially as well. The excitement for the entire cast was palpable.<\/p>\n[aesop_image force_fullwidth=”off” lightbox=”off” captionposition=”left” captionsrc=”custom” align=”center” imgwidth=”90%” img=”https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/fitzpatrickallen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/206\/2024\/09\/1996-Whistle-Down-the-Wind-PHOTO-Pastor.jpg” panorama=”off”]\n While we were putting the show together at the National, the Broadway house into which we would be moving had put our marquee up. The parents of all the many children in the show signed leases on apartments in New York City, and enrolled their kids in schools there. I still believed with all my heart that this was a sure thing.<\/p>\n[aesop_image force_fullwidth=”off” lightbox=”off” captionposition=”left” captionsrc=”custom” align=”center” imgwidth=”100%” img=”https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/fitzpatrickallen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/206\/2024\/09\/1996-WHISTLE-DOWN-THE-WIND-Lloyd-Webber-and-is-that-George-H.W.-Bush.jpg” panorama=”off”]\n It became clear, however, that things were not going well between Mr. Prince and Mr. Lloyd Webber. They \u201cbroke up\u201d during that show, never to collaborate again.<\/p>\n[aesop_image force_fullwidth=”off” lightbox=”off” captionposition=”left” captionsrc=”custom” align=”center” imgwidth=”100%” img=”https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/fitzpatrickallen\/wp-content\/plugins\/editus\/public\/assets\/img\/empty-img.png” panorama=”off”]\n On a freezing, gray day, the 9th of February, 1997, following our final performance in D.C., an associate producer met with us on the stage and announced that we would not be going to Broadway. Everyone was plunged into a state of shock.<\/p>\n My contract stated that I\u2019d be playing an ensemble role in D.C., but that on Broadway I\u2019d be playing a large principal role, \u201cBoone,\u201d the father. Now I had nothing. And \u201cBy Jeeves!\u201d would have ended up being a year of work in various venues.<\/p>\n I had learned an important lesson: Nothing\u2013 nothing\u2013 is a sure thing.<\/p>\n[aesop_image force_fullwidth=”off” lightbox=”off” captionposition=”left” captionsrc=”custom” align=”center” imgwidth=”90%” img=”https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/fitzpatrickallen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/206\/2024\/09\/1996-WHISTLE-DOWN-THE-WIND-006B.png” panorama=”off”]\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the summer of 1996, I faced a very enviable problem. In the same week, I received two offers: Alan Ayckbourn offered me the role of \u201cJeeves\u201d in the very first production of his new musical, \u201cBY JEEVES!\u201d And Hal Prince called to offer me \u201cWhistle Down the Wind,\u201d his latest collaboration with Andrew Lloyd […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-highlight"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1725589809:218"],"_edit_last":["295"],"_wpac_members_redirect_to":[""],"_wpac_show_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_show_excerpt_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_nonmembers_redirect_to":[""],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"],"ase_mapbox_style":["openstreet"]},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n