Brooks Ashmanskas, Andréa Burns, Christopher Fitzgerald, Ann Harada,
Phillip Johnson Richardson, Samantha Williams, and more join cast
New York City Center today announced principal casting for Encores! Dear World(March 15 – 19), music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. Joining previously announced Donna Murphy as Countess Aurelia are Brooks Ashmanskas (President), Andréa Burns (Constance), Christopher Fitzgerald (Sewerman), Ann Harada (Gabrielle), Kody Jauron (Artiste), Phillip Johnson Richardson (Julian), Samantha Williams (Nina).
Complete casting for Dear World will be announced at a later date.
With its premiere in 1969, Dear World made Jerry Herman the first composer-lyricist in history to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway, each centered around a uniquely larger-than-life leading lady. A true hidden gem of the Broadway canon, this madcap fable follows a motley band of outcasts who must rally together to save their picturesque neighborhood in Paris from a greedy cabal of oil-hungry bankers. Two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy takes on the story’s lovable heroine Countess Aurelia, performing some of Herman’s sweetest and most sumptuous songs, including “I Don’t Want to Know,” “Kiss Her Now,” and “Each Tomorrow Morning.” This madcap romp is directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, who helmed Herman’s Mack & Mabel (2019 Encores!), with new Encores! Music Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell leading The Encores! Orchestra.
Dear World opens the 2023 Encores! season which includes a special two-week run of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! May 3 – 14 and The Light in the Piazza starring Ruthie Ann Miles from June 21 – 25.
Tickets starting at $35 can be purchased online at NYCityCenter.org, by calling 212.581.1212, or in person at the City Center Box Office. Access City Center Club is available to those 35 years of age and under and offers a limited number of $25 tickets (plus a $3 facility fee and no handling fees) to City Center productions. For more information and to sign up, visit NYCityCenter.org/AccessClub. New York City Center is located at 131 W 55th St between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
Encores!
Dear World
Mar 15 – 19, 2023
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman
Book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Based on The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux as adapted by Maurice Valency
Scenic Designer Paul Tate dePoo III
Costume Designer Toni Leslie James
Lighting Designer Amith Chandrashaker
Sound Designer Scott Lehrer
Casting by The Telsey Office
Production Stage Manager Cynthia Cahill
Music Coordinator Kimberlee Wertz
Concert Adaptation Sandy Rustin
Orchestrations by Philip J. Lang
Featuring The Encores! Orchestra
Music Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell
Directed and Choreographed by Josh Rhodes
Dear World is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.com
Leadership support for Encores! provided by the Stacey and Eric Mindich Fund for Musical Theater.
Major support for Encores! is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
Encores! Season sponsors include Roz and Jerry Meyer, The Shubert Foundation, and the Stephanie and Fred Shuman Fund for Encores!
Major Support for Dear World provided by the Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust.
Additional Support for Encores! is provided by Margot and John Ernst, The Kaplen Brothers Fund, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, The Fredrick Loewe Foundation, Daryl and Steven Roth, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., The SHS Foundation, and The Ted Snowdon Foundation.
NEW YORK CITY CENTER (Michael S. Rosenberg, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city since 1943. The distinctive Neo-Moorish building was founded by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia as Manhattan’s first performing arts center with the mission of making the best in theater, dance, and music accessible to all audiences. This commitment continues today through celebrated dance and musical theater series like the Fall for Dance Festival and the Tony-honored Encores! series; the annual season by Principal Dance Company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and new series Artists at the Center and the City Center Dance Festival. City Center welcomes audiences to experience internationally acclaimed artists including Kyle Abraham, Matthew Bourne, Ayodele Casel, Manhattan Theatre Club, Nederlands Dans Theater, and Twyla Tharp, on the same stage where legends made their mark. Dedicated to a culture built on the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, City Center’s dynamic programming, art exhibitions, and studio events are complemented by education and community engagement programs that bring the performing arts to thousands of New York City students, teachers, and families every year, in all five boroughs. NYCityCenter.org
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