A Tale of Two Cities is a musical with book, music and lyrics by Jill Santoriello based on the novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. On August 19 and 20, 2004, for two performances, Tale was presented for an invitation-only workshop reading in hopes of finding more backers. The production ran at the Little Shubert Theatre in New York City. 100 fans were invited to each performance of the first New York City public presentation. It starred James Barbour as Sydney Carton, Jenny Powers as Lucie Manette, Gary Morris as Dr. Manette, Gavin Creel as Darnay, Alex Santoriello as Ernest DeFarge and Michelle Dawson as Mme. DeFarge. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, with previews beginning August 19, 2008 and official opening on September 18. The show received mostly negative notices but some positive reviews, most notably from the Huffington Post, Connecticut Post and radio stations WGCH and WMNR. Three days before the musical opened on Broadway, the U.S. stock market fell sharply. In spite of the reviews and while box office receipts for other Broadway shows were tumbling along with the world financial markets, Tale initially posted good box office receipts. But as the economy worsened, the show lost money and closed November 9, 2008, although a previous announcement of closing was posted for November 16. (Wikipedia) Awards and nominations
Drama Desk Award (2009)
Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Nomination) - James Barbour
Outer Critics Circle Award (2009)
Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Nomination) - James Barbour
Distinguished Performance by a Leading Actor (WIN) - James Barbour
Sarasota Magazine Theatre Awards (2008)
Best Actor (WIN-Tie) - James Barbour
Florida's Curtain Call Awards (2008)
Best Musical (WIN)
BroadwayWorld Fan-Choice Awards (2009)
Best Leading Actor in a Musical (Nomination) - James Barbour (Runner-Up)
TV commercial of the musical directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle featuring James Barbour,
Brandi Burkhardt, Aaron Lazar and Natalie Toro.
James Barbour talks about Tale of Two Cities with Martin Gould Cummings of Broadway Speaks OUT
Opening Night
Recording
A Tale of Two Cities: In Concert, starring James Barbour, Brandi Burkhardt, Natalie Toro and Kevin Earley of the Broadway company, with several other Americans and British ensemble and featured roles aired on television on PBS in December 2009, and is available on DVD. There is also a studio cast recording, an International Studio Cast of A Tale of Two Cities starring this cast, available here