Dear Napoleonic Enthusiasts: Last night we attended a private preview of the new musical Napoleon, scheduled to premiere at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London this coming Fall. We met the leads playing Napoleon and Josephine, and the Director, Francesca Zambello, who recently directed "War and Peace" at the Opera Bastille in Paris to rave reviews. We were very impressed and excited by the opportunities this presents our members. Napoleon The Musical is about the love story between Napoleon and Josephine, with a cast of 32 and an orchestra of 26. The total capitalization of the production is 4.25 million pounds (about $6.37 million), which will make it the largest musical theater production to open anywhere in the world next year. To summarize the show, Napoleon's visual world is opulent, rich and extravagant. The drama of the piece focuses on the rise and fall of Napoleon's power, the passionate love story of Napoleon and Josephine, his turbulent relationship with his patriotic brother Lucien, and Talleyrand, the manipulative French Foreign Minister. The personal and political clashes are all surrounded by the grandeur of post-revolutionary France. The locations move from palace ballrooms to the cathedral of Notre Dame to the battlefield of Waterloo. The producers have spared no expense to recreate the splendor and grandeur of the French First Empire. We have worked hard to establish a close working relationship with the production company and as a result will be offering you a number of opportunities to participate in Napoleon's long awaited invasion of England. This will include opening week tour/show packages, music and merchandising discounts, posters, etc. We heartily encourage you to support Napoleon The Musical as this lends greater visibility to the period that we all love so much. If it is a success in London, who knows, maybe we will see the Grande Armee invading the Great White Way! Note: Napoleon the Musical closed after a short run.--RL Back to Table of Contents -- Napoleon #16 Back to Napoleon List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Napoleon LLC. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. The full text and graphics from other military history magazines and gaming magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com Order Napoleon magazine direct