In news that was not entirely unexpected, three-time Tony nominee Marin Mazzie was officially cast in the coveted role of Helen Sinclair, the tippling and scene-stealing diva in the much-anticipated musical version of Woody Allen’s “Bullets Over Broadway.” Mazzie had been playing the role that won Dianne Wiest an Oscar in 1994 in the readings and workshops leading up to the full production, which opens at the St. James Theatre this spring. But there was plenty of competition, especially from Broadway leading ladies such as Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, and Betty Buckley, all of whom made no secret about their lust to play one of juiciest roles of the season.
In this tale about Broadway in the ’20s, a young playwright, David Shayne, makes a Faustian bargain with the gangster Nick Valenti in order to have his play produced. The hitch? His talentless girlfriend Olive Neal must have a featured role, a condition that the playwright feels may be ameliorated when La Sinclair descends from her Olympian perch to star in the drama. Another hitch: she seduces Shayne, compelling him to cheat on his girlfriend.
The announcement of Mazzie completes the casting, which includes Zach Braff (“Scrubs”) as Shayne, Vincent Pastore (“The Sopranos”) as Nick Valenti, Helene York as Olive, and Nick Cordero as Cheech, the henchman who discovers a love of the theater and talent for dramaturgy that leads to murder. Allen himself is adapting the libretto for the show, which will feature songs from the period and which will be directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman (“The Producers”). While Mazzie is not a box-office star — and this show doesn’t need one given the Allen pedigree — she is one of the theater’s most accomplished and versatile performers, having proved her chops as the lead in “Passion,” “Ragtime,” and “Kiss Me Kate.” This time out, she may well win that Tony Award which has previously eluded her. By all accounts, the show is looming as the juggernaut of the season. Get your tickets now.
Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for Dramatists Guild Fund