Bullets Over Broadway: initial casting announced

Initial casting, preview and opening dates have been announced for the world premiere production of Bullets Over Broadway, the new Broadway musical adaptation of Woody Allen's and Douglas McGrath's screenplay of the 1994 film.

Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee Zach Braff ("Scrubs," "Garden State") will make his Broadway debut alongside Tony Award-nominee Brooks Ashmanskas ('Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me'), Vincent Pastore ('The Rascals: Once Upon A Dream,' "The Sopranos"), Betsy Wolfe ('The Mystery of Edwin Drood'), Lenny Wolpe ('The Drowsy Chaperone') and Hélene Yorke ('Grease') among an ensemble cast of 29. Additional casting will be announced shortly.

Bullets Over Broadway opens at the St. James Theatre on 10 Apr 2013, following previews from 11 Mar 2013.

The musical will be directed by five time Tony Award winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman, and feature scene design by Santo Loquasto (Fences), costume design by William Ivey Long (Don't Dress for Dinner), lighting design by Donald Holder (Annie) and musical arrangements and supervision by Glen Kelly (Young Frankenstein).

Bullets Over Broadway tells the story of aspiring young playwright 'David Shayne.' Newly arrived on Broadway in 1920's New York, Shayne is forced to cast 'Olive Neal,' the talentless girlfried of the mobster 'Cheech,' in his latest drama in order to get it produced. The one advantage to the arrangement is that the mobster has great ideas for rewrites of the play.

As opening night approaches, Shayne finds himself in trouble: The leading lady 'Helen Sinclair' is a man-obsessed alcholoic; his leading man Warner Purcell is making passes at the mobster's girlfreind; and he has plagiarized the mobster's re-writes. What could possibly go wrong!

The musical will feature a score of existing music from the period. The film's score features such songs as 'Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye ' 'When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along' and ' That Certain Feeling.'

The 1994 film, written by Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath, and directed by Woody Allen, was nominated for seven Oscars. It starred John Cusack (David Shayne), Jennifer Tilly (Olive Neal), Chazz Palminteri (Cheech), Dianne Wiest (Helen Sinclair) and Jim Broadbent (Warner Purcell).

The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning the Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Diane Wiest).