Madison Square Garden Entertainment announced on Wednesday that its $25 million extravaganza “Heart and Lights,” a Rockettes show that was in development for Radio City Music Hall, is being reconceived by Tony Award-winning Broadway artists with input from the producer Harvey Weinstein.
The new show, “New York Spring Spectacular,” is Madison Square Garden Entertainment’s latest attempt at a long-held goal: To create an annual springtime attraction for tourists with the drawing power of its popular “Radio City Christmas Spectacular.” The show will begin seven weeks of performances on March 12.
Mr. Weinstein, an Academy Award-winning film producer, has been a key behind-the-scenes player on the shakeup of the spring spectacular, reflecting his growing involvement in New York theater. He is close friends with James L. Dolan, executive chairman of the Madison Square Garden Company, and was among those joining Mr. Dolan at rehearsals for “Heart and Lights” last spring, when that production was initially supposed to begin performances. Mr. Weinstein and others raised concerns with Mr. Dolan that the show’s script needed more work, leading Mr. Dolan to postpone the show – less than a week before its first performance.
Mr. Weinstein is now helping to oversee the reshaping of the show, along with, among others, the Tony-winning director Diane Paulus, who was named Wednesday as co-creative director. Ms. Paulus is directing Mr. Weinstein’s coming Broadway musical, “Finding Neverland,” in which Mr. Dolan is an investor.
In a statement, Mr. Weinstein said he was looking forward to collaborating on “an experience that families from around the world will love” and that he hoped would be “another New York tradition for generations to come.”
The original creative team on “Heart and Lights” has been replaced. Its director, Linda Haberman, is out, and is also no longer artistic director of the Rockettes, after 20 years of working with the dancers and their various shows, a Madison Square Garden spokeswoman confirmed. It was not clear on Wednesday if Ms. Haberman was fired or if she resigned after “Heart and Lights” collapsed. The spokeswoman declined to comment, citing employee confidentiality, but added, “Linda’s creativity and dedication were important parts of two decades of Christmas Spectacular success, and we wish her well in her future endeavors.” Ms. Haberman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The “Heart and Lights” script, by the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright, has also been scrapped. The playwright Joshua Harmon (“Bad Jews”) has written a new story for the show, about an old-fashioned New York tour guide named Bernie who tries to save his job by taking his techie-oriented new boss on a whirlwind tour of city landmarks. The show will include a 26-foot-tall, electronically operated puppet model of the Statue of Liberty (which was created for “Heart and Lights”), and will feature original songs, classics and pop hits.
The spring show will be directed and choreographed by the Tony winner Warren Carlyle (“After Midnight”), while Ms. Paulus (“Pippin”) will be joined as creative director by the entertainment producer Randy Weiner (“Sleep No More”). Ms. Paulus and Mr. Weiner, who are married, have a long history of creating spectacle through lavish effects, puppetry and immersive techniques in which performers interact with audience members.
The show will be produced by Madison Square Garden Entertainment and Weinstein Live Entertainment. The Madison Square Garden spokeswoman said that details about the latest budget for the show were not being disclosed. Variety first reported the news about the new creative and producing team for the show on Wednesday.