THROWBACK THURSDAY: Over the years, Broadway has continued to present many incredible musicals that may have flopped but had a great cult following. Another one of those shows that still doesn’t get enough credit was a musical from 2007 called The Pirate Queen.
The musical was written by Les Miserables – Musical and Miss Saigon – Musical’s legendary composers Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil along with additional lyrics and a book by Richard Maltby Jr and John Dempsey. It was also the first time Boubil and Schonberg teamed up with Riverdream (the creative team geniuses behind the phenomenon Riverdance
THE PIRATE QUEEN tells the legendary story about the life and voyages of the rebellious Irish clan leader Grace O’Malley. It’s set during the 16th Century when women weren’t taken seriously and were trying to become independent.
The show originally premiered in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre back in the October 2006 before arriving on Broadway at the Hilton Theatre (now the Lyric) in March 2007. The show was met with negative reviews (only the talents got rave reviews) and disappointing ticket sales. It closed in June 2007 after 32 previews and 85 regular performances. The show however was nominated for several Awards but was snubbed by the Tony Awards.
The original cast of THE PIRATE QUEEN consisted of….
Future 2 time Tony nominee Stephanie J Block as “Grace O’Malley” (the title role),
Broadway veteran Linda Balgord as Queen Elizabeth I,
Acclaimed West End performer Hadley Fraser in his Broadway Debut as “Tiernan”,
Marcus Chait as “Donal”
Jeff McCarthy as “Dubhdara” (The Father of “Grace),
William Youmans as “Bingham”
?ine U? Cheallaigh as “Evleen”
Brooke Elliott as “Majella”
along with Steven Barath and Christopher Grey Misa alternating the role of Grace’s son “Eoin”.
Following Broadway, THE PIRATE QUEEN went on to have several Regional productions and recently a UK Premiere by the Hounslow Light Opera Company playing the Hampton Hill Theatre in London back in 2015.
During the time of the show gearing up for it’s Broadway run, PBS aired a 1 hour special about the making of THE PIRATE QUEEN on it’s road to NYC. Hosted by acclaimed Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, the documentary followed the cast and crew from it’s early workshops. rehearsals, it’s out of town tryout in Chicago, it’s first reactions from the audience, and heading back to NYC in rehearsals for Broadway.
Who remembers THE PIRATE QUEEN?
The making of The Pirate Queen, the 2007 flop Broadway musical by Claude-Michel Sch?nberg and Alain Boublil.
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Still mad that I did not see this but the music is beautiful
I saw it shortly before it closed and really enjoyed it. I still think it closed early because Mel Brooks wanted the theatre for Young Frankenstein.