If you’re looking for the stuff
Broadway legend is made of, the new musical Lestat definitely
fits the bill. Inspired by characters and incidents from
Anne Rice’s bestselling Vampire Chronicles, Lestat
marks the first theatrical collaboration of Grammy and
Academy Award-winning composer, Sir Elton John and Golden
Globe-winning lyricist, Bernie Taupin.
In the musical, the title character Lestat, played
on screen by Tom Cruise in Interview With a Vampire,
is a man who runs from an oppressive family and finds
himself drawn to the seductive realm of vampires. The
story follows Lestat as he struggles with his morality
and his need to be immortal. Your Lestat tickets allow
you to enter the mesmerizing, sensual world of Rice’s
romantic and wicked vampires.
Lestat premiered at the Curran Theater in San Francisco
last year, breaking the box office record as the highest
grossing world premiere musical in the city’s
history, a record previously held by Wicked.
Although this is their first joint effort for Broadway,
the legendary songwriting team of Sir Elton John and
Bernie Taupin has produced dozens of hit songs, including
“Rocket Man,” “Crocodile Rock,”
“Bennie and the Jets,” and “Candle
in the Wind.” Lestat is John’s fourth musical,
having previously composed the music for Aida, Billy
Elliott, and The Lion King, which received the Tony
Award for Best Musical. John is one of the top-selling
recording artists of all time, has won multiple Grammys,
including the Grammy Legend Award, and the Academy Award
for the soundtrack to The Lion King. Taupin, a member
of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, has collaborated
with Cher, Rod Stewart and Melissa Manchester.
Tony-nominated Robert Jess Roth directs Lestat with
a book by Tony-nominated Linda Woolverton. Woolverton
and Roth previously collaborated on Disney’s Beauty
and the Beast, which is currently in hit’s twelfth
year on Broadway.
Starring in the title role is Hugh Panaro, who has
appeared in both lead male roles in the Phantom of the
Opera, and as Marius in Les Miserables. Carolee Carmello,
who received a Drama Desk Award for her role in Parade,
plays the role of Gabrielle. Carmello has also appeared
on television’s “Fraiser,” “ER,”
and “Law and Order.”
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