Wednesday 11th July 2007
Page 3
£3m Cost of making the film Desperately Seeking Susan
SOURCE: IMDB.COM
“One of the things I brought to rock and roll was that sort of movie-star glamour and image”
DEBBIE HARRY
BLONDIE TACKLES WEST END MUSICAL
HANNAH.SUMMERS
@thelondonpaper.com
CLASSIC Blondie tracks will provide the soundtrack to a new West End musical version of Desperately Seeking 
Susan, the 80s film that launched Madonna into the realm of superstar.
And Blondie singer Debbie Harry is to supplement such hits as Heart of Glass and Sunday Girl with new songs written for the show, which will go head to head with smashes Mamma Mia! and Dirty Dancing.
The production, which opens at London’s Novello Theatre on 12 October, is a “light-hearted” version of the 1985 Susan Seidelman film starring Madonna and Rosanna Arquette.
Speaking at the show’s launch yesterday, the 62-year-old singer said: “The story just works with the lyrics. I thought it was a good idea, really smart. I would love it to come to Broadway. Hopefully it will be a huge success.
“It’s a live show so it’s going to be different to the film, probably more light-hearted. It’s a thrill to be part of it.”
The show will star Emma Williams as Susan and Kelly Price as housewife Roberta.
Desperately Seeking Susan is the story of a bored housewife fascinated by a woman she knows about only through exchanges in personal ads in a newspaper.
The film – set in New York, where Madonna moved in 1978 to pursue a dance career – introduced the singer’s hit Into the Groove, the video for which consists of scenes from the movie.
The West End production looks set to confirm the film’s cult status, although show producer Susan Gallin admitted she had been unsure about a revival until it was suggested Blondie’s music be used.
She added: “It’s almost as though her songs were written for the movie.”
Picture caption: BLONDES ON BLONDIE | Debbie Harry with Price, left, and Williams
