The Ford Center in New York City

The show premiered at the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto in 1996, and went on to play at the Schubert Theatre in Los Angeles. It opened on Broadway in December of 1997, and won 4 Tony Awards in 1998, and *should* have won Best Musical, which it lost to the Lion King. I suppose that depends on your definition of "best musical" though. But I won't get into that. :-) The Broadway production closed on Jan. 16, 2000, and a touring production also played across the U.S. A London production *finally* opened on March 19, 2003 at the Picadilly Theatre! This production starred Maria Friedman, Dave Willetts, Graham Bickley, and Kevyn Morrow, and closed on June 14, 2003. I also interned in the press office for this show for two months in 1999, so I got to know quite a bit about it. I greatly respect everyone involved in it, and think it is an ambitious, moving show.