Apr 12
Canceled on Broadway? Rob Madge Plans to Tell All about the 'Greatest Humbling of Their Life'
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
There is usually a back-story when a show is suddenly pulled from the Broadway schedule, but it often that one of its participants plans on-stage tell all.
Such is the case with Rob Madge, who had his Broadway transfer of his hit London show "My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?" abruptly cancelled in early February. It was set to start previews in February at the Lyceum Theatre and open in March for a limited engagement through June 16, but was cancelled with the producers saying it would open in the fall, reported Broadway.com,
There was no reason announced for the postponement, but it was announced today that Madge plans on telling the back story on a London stage in May. According to Playbill, Madge will present a new show about the experience in London. "Rob Madge's Regards to Broadway" will play two performances at the Garrick Theatre on May 26.
"It's two weeks before I'm due to make my Broadway debut," he says in a statement. "I'm midway through packing my suitcase, putting my passport in its cute little holder from Dunelm (maybe after New York I'll be able to afford a John Lewis one) and I receive a phone call. 'Hey Mr Producer!' I sing in the style of Andrea McArdle. I then see my agent is also on the line. I know what it is. They want Jinkx Monsoon to play me on matinees to get a few more bums on seats, but I have told them, she can't do a Brummie accent.
"'Rob', I hear, 'We are going to have to postpone'. White noise. Like that sound effect when someone gets diagnosed with an illness on 'Coronation Street.' My legs give way and I fall onto the bed (cos I'm dramatic like that). I look at the open suitcase, resigning myself to the fact I will never get my John Lewis passport holder. 'Four in a Bed's' on the telly.
"In the space of one phone call, I've gone from potential Broadway star and Tony Award winner to unassuming armchair critic of Seaside Shores B&B."
A press release about the new show adds: "When Rob was 12 they used to put on shows in the living room. When Rob was 26 their show about putting on shows in the living room was meant to transfer to Broadway. When Rob was 27 this Broadway transfer got postponed. Join Rob as they return to their family home in the Midlands and experience the greatest humbling of their life. "They've come home at last" – Nicole Scherzinger, 2023.
"Rob Madge's Regards To Broadway" is accompanied by Pippa Cleary. The show is produced by Lambert Jackson.
Written by and starring Madge, the play follows Madge's coming out, his love of all things Disney, and of the theater. Luke Sheppard (of Broadway's "& Juliet") was slated to direct.
"My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?)" premiered at London's Turbine Theatre in 2021 followed by a run at Edinburgh Fringe. It went on to have two West End runs, earning a 2023 Olivier Award nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.
