Can an American Idol save a Bombay Dream

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Playbill.com reports that singer Tamyra Gray, who shot to stardom in the first edition of TV’s “American Idol,” will make her Broadway debut in the struggling Bombay Dreams on Nov. 9.

Gray, who placed fourth in the hit TV singing competition in 2002, will assume the role of Priya, the earnest film director in the Bollywood-themed musical, for a limited engagement of 12 weeks. Priya is currently being played by young desi actress Anisha Nagarajan.

“I have been an admirer of Tamyra Gray from the start and am thrilled she’s joined the Broadway Company of Bombay Dreams. She’s going to be wonderful”, said the composer of the show, A.R. Rahman.

Playbill.com is also referring to a Variety story that suggests Bombay Dreams is headed for celluloid. Variety reports that the musical, originally produced on the London stage by Andrew Lloyd Webber, may make the stage-to-screen leap via Really Useful Films. In fact, a motion picture is currently being developed, and shooting will most likely be done in India. Austin Shaw, the managing director of Really Useful Films, told the industry paper, “It’s effectively a Bollywood film in a Western style, so it makes sense to shoot it in India.” Farah Khan, the co-choreographer of Bombay Dreams, is in the running to helm the motion picture.

4 thoughts on “Can an American Idol save a Bombay Dream”

  1. Originally they were pitching Janet Jackson to take over the Rani role from Ayesha Dharker to pump up the star power. Gray isn’t a huge star, so maybe Anisha Nagarajan just got tired, or wants to finish off her NYU degree.

  2. I think it was more than Anishia Nagarajan wanting to take a break. Gray may not be the mega-star that Jackson is, but I think she is more of a star than any other member of the current cast, Dharker and Madhu Jaffrey notwithstanding. I think the point is though, the show needs some fresh blood to stay alive. I think Gray will be a nice, and interesting addition to the cast. She is going to need to work on her Bambaiyya English accent though.

  3. Gray may also bring in some black theater-goers who might otherwise not be interested in an Indian-themed show.

  4. 4th place in the 2002 American Idol…Oh, my cup runneth over…next thing you know they’ll replace Raj with Michael Dudikoff (American Ninja I,II,IV – not sure why he wasn’t in #3) or Jeff Speakman (The Perfect Weapon)…