TORONTO - Garth Drabinsky, still appealing his fraud conviction last August for manipulating Livent financial statements, is planning a comeback in Toronto theatre, two newspapers in the city reported Friday.
The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star both reported he has been retained as creative consultant to two New Jersey-based producers for a remount of "Barrymore," a one-man show starring actor Christopher Plummer.
Drabinsky was also reportedly in talks for productions of "Finian's Rainbow" starring Colm Wilkinson and an all-black revival of "Kiss of the Spider Woman."
"Barrymore" is expected to be a limited engagement, early in 2011 at Toronto's Elgin Theatre. The production would also be filmed for subsequent commercial release in cinemas.
One of Drabinsky's partners is New Jersey tycoon Steve Kalafer, who made his money running a group of auto dealerships and has made a number of films.
Kalafer's producer, Peter LeDonne, said they approached Drabinsky about the Plummer project.
"We believe there should be a film of Plummer's Barrymore. Our plan is for him to remount it onstage so that we could tape it," LeDonne told the Star.
LeDonne says he and Kalafer are not involved in the other two shows.
Drabinsky was sentenced in April to seven years in prison for fraud and forgery in connection with the 1998 collapse of Livent Inc.. His longtime partner, Myron Gottlieb, was sentenced to six years.
They are free on bail pending appeals not expected to be heard until spring 2010 at the earliest.
