NEW YORK -- "Vanities" has found a new home off-Broadway. Second Stage Theatre said Wednesday it will present the New York premiere of the three-character musical that had been set for Broadway this season but then postponed because of the uncertain economic climate. The show, based on Jack Heifner's hit play, opens July 16 and will star Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles and Anneliese van der Pol as best friends who go from high-school cheerleaders to adulthood. Preview performances begin June 30. The musical features a book by Heifner and a score by David Kirshenbaum. The director is Judith Ivey. Musical staging is by Dan Knechtges. A $5 million production had been scheduled to open at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre in February but was delayed after funding for the show could not be fully raised. At the time, lead producer Sue Frost said, "We just have to regroup and figure it out. The reason it was so challenging to raise the money was because people (investors) were afraid about selling tickets. If you get the show up, will there be anybody to buy tickets to see it?" That shouldn't be a problem at the nonprofit Second Stage, which has a subscription audience of more than 9,000 theatergoers. The three actresses in the musical had starred in a production of the show last summer at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. The original stage version of "Vanities," whose cast included Kathy Bates, ran for more than 1,300 performances, from 1976 to 1979, in New York.
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