Broadway’s ‘Rebecca’ Hit with Latest Postponement

Just one day before rehearsals were set to begin, the Broadway musical “Rebecca” has been postponed. The show already was postponed once last month.

The announcement, which was first reported by the New York Times yesterday, is just the latest in a line of strange events that have surrounded the Broadway production of the musical in recent weeks. The Times reports that an unnamed “executive” involved in the production said that the show would be postponed because producers were unable to find $4.5 million in funding to meet the show’s $12 million budget.

After the Times piece was published, lead producers Ben Sprecher and Louise Forlenza publicly announced the postponement of the show.

Last month, reports surfaced that a “mystery investor” known as Paul Abrams had made a $4.5 million commitment to the production, but later died of malaria, leaving the hole in funding. The Times notes that “no obituaries, death notices or other records for him have been found.”

A new press release sent out by the musical’s publicity team states that a “malicious email” was sent to a new investor, causing him to back away from giving money to the production.

“On Friday September 24 at approximately 1PM, Sprecher and Forlenza were informed that an extremely malicious email, filled with lies and innuendo, had been sent directly to the new investor that morning from an anonymous third party,” read the statement. “The email was designed to scare this investor away and it succeeded. The investor withdrew.”

“Why anyone would be so hateful and cruel,” he later continued, “and would go to such a huge amount of effort to uncover confidential information, including the details of a private transaction and the identities of an individual and his attorneys, and send such an email with the goal of being to shut down a production that involves the jobs of over a hundred people and their families, is something I am having a terrible time grasping.”

He did go on to say that he hopes the musical will eventually come to Broadway.

“We will not stop our efforts to mount this show and alternatives are already unfolding,” he said in the statement. “We have provided a copy of this email to the proper authorities and a criminal investigation is under way.”