Star abruptly leaves Broadway's Cirque du Soleil show

NEW YORK (AP) - Things have gotten much more complicated for the upcoming high-octane Cirque du Soleil show on Broadway: One of the leading actors has left only 16 days until previews begin.

Producers for "Paramour," the first Cirque production created specifically for Broadway, said Friday that Bradley Dean had departed over "creative differences." He will be replaced by Jeremy Kushnier.

The move came a day after a somewhat underwhelming press presentation of a few of the musical's numbers and an introduction to the performers at the Lyric Theatre. The change will not push back the beginning of previews or the May 25 opening.

The show, which includes classic Cirque touches like aerial acts and acrobats on teeterboards, has chosen - somewhat puzzlingly for Cirque's maiden voyage to Broadway - to celebrate classic Hollywood.

The plot centers on a romantic triangle that includes a beautiful actress, a celebrated movie director and a young composer. The trio goes from movie set to movie set, allowing acrobats to spice up the musical numbers. Dean was to play the director opposite Ruby Lewis as the actress and Ryan Vona as the composer.

Dean is a Broadway veteran with such credits as "Doctor Zhivago," ''The Last Ship," and the 2012 revival of "Evita." The overwhelming majority of the cast is making their Broadway debuts.

Losing a key performer so close to the beginning of previews is not unprecedented, but it is usually due to an injury not internal differences in a show that has been developed for many months like "Paramour." The show is directed by French stage director and choreographer Philippe Decouflé.

___

Online: http://www.ParamourOnBroadway.com

___

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits