Aaron Sorkin, who was to make his debut as a librettist with the Broadway musical “Houdini,†has pulled his own disappearing act and dropped out of the production because of scheduling conflicts, the producers confirmed Wednesday.
Deadline.com first reported on Tuesday that scheduling conflicts led Mr. Sorkin to withdraw from the musical starring Hugh Jackman as the famed illusionist. Mr. Sorkin was writing the book with Stephen Schwartz, the composer of “Wicked†and “Pippin.â€
Mr. Sorkin was balancing “Houdini†with the writing of his HBO series €œThe Newsroom,†as well as work on a screenplay about Steve Jobs, adapted from Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography. In an interview with The New York Times last June, Mr. Sorkin was asked about juggling his various projects, noting that he had walked away from his TV series “The West Wing†before the run ended.
“I’m not good enough to be able to give any of these things less than my full attention and expect them to have a chance at being good, so the answer is that 100 percent of my attention goes to whatever’s right in front of me,†Mr. Sorkin said at the time.
In the statement released Wednesday, Mr. Sorkin said, “I was really looking forward to returning to Broadway and working with such an incredible team. I am very disappointed my schedule won’t allow that at this time.â€
The producers Scott Sander and David Rockwe! ll said, “Mr. Sorkin’s considerable talents are an asset to any project and we regret that he’s unable to remain with ‘Houdini.’â€
The musical’s projected arrival on Broadway and additional creative team announcements will be made at a future date, the statement said.
