Belles On Broadway and Beyond” (BOBAB) is a theatrical production company formed to bring global expansion and attention to the English-language musical adaptation of Michel Tremblay’s iconic Quebec play, Les Belles-soeurs. Sold out across Canada, Les Belles-soeurs has won numerous awards, and has been unanimously acclaimed by critics. Belles On Broadway and Beyond is a partnership formed by Canadian show businesses veterans Allan Sandler and Andy Nulman. As founder of Copa De Oro Productions, Sandler is renowned for producing high-end, highly successful theatrical productions in both English and French in Canada and Europe. Some of his many award-winning hits include Chicago, Grease, Sherlock Holmes, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Forever Plaid, Boom, The Mahalia Jackson Musical and of course, The Belles Soeurs Musical. Nulman is best known as the co-founder of the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, which he helped grow into one of the world’s biggest and most successful cultural events, producing over 150 of its TV shows in Canada, the USA and around the globe. He is also co-founder of Airborne Mobile, a pioneer in the field of mobile entertainment, which he sold in 2005.
Les Belles-soeurs was written by Michel Tremblay in 1965. It was his first professionally produced play and remains his most popular and most translated work. More importantly, it marked a hallmark of change in Quebec culture; the language, the form of theatre, and the displacing of the guard because it dared to portray working class women doing working class things. In 2010, it was developed into a French-language musical by René Richard Cyr (book, lyrics and direction) and Daniel Belanger (composer). In 2014, Copa De Oro Productions led its conversion into an English-language musical, with Brian Hill adapting the book and Neil Bartram adapting music and lyrics.