Francesca Zambello, who directed the first production of the Broadway-bound musical The First Wives Club at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in July 2009, “has withdrawn from that production due to scheduling conflicts,” according to a November 11 news release. No replacement was announced, although producers Paul Lambert and Jonas Nielson were quoted as saying, “We are now in the process of speaking to a select group of talented individuals interested in joining the creative team, and when the time is right, we will be making an announcement about future plans. We wish Francesca the absolute very best in all of her future projects, but we are moving forward on the development of our new musical.”
"While other longstanding directing commitments prevent me from continuing on with the show at this time, I certainly want to wish the entire First Wives team success as it moves forward,” Zambello said in a statement. An internationally known director of operas, Zambello made her Broadway debut with Disney's The Little Mermaid and directed a musical adaptation of Little House on the Prairie that is currently on tour.
Based on the hit 1996 movie, Zambello’s production of The First Wives Club starred Barbara Walsh, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Karen Ziemba and was set to a score by the Motown team of Brian and Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier, with a book by Rupert Holmes. The press release, featuring the subhead “new artistic team to join the Broadway-bound project,” doesn’t specify whether any of these creative elements will be retained in future productions.
“Big musicals take time, and we have every intention of giving this one all the support and energy it needs,” producers Lambert and Nielson said in their statement. “Like the three woman at the center of The First Wives Club, we are moving on, getting on with our lives and not stopping until we get what we want. And that means Broadway!”