Encores! sets 2024-25 season of musical revivals

As in past years, the annual series of limited-run productions at New York City Center will feature four musicals that do not play in New York often.

New York City Center has announced its 2024-25 season of Encores!, a program that annually presents limited-run productions of rarely revived musicals from decades past.

The season will kick off with a gala presentation of Ragtime, which is not technically a part of Encores! but is a similarly limited revival. The show by Terrence McNally (book), Stephen Flaherty (music), and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) is set in early-1900s New York, tracing a rapid period of societal change by way of three main stories: that of an upper-class white mother, a Jewish immigrant, and a Black musician, plus their respective families.

Joshua Henry stars as Coalhouse Walker Jr. alongside Caissie Levy as Mother and Tony Award winner Brandon Uranowitz as Tateh. Additional cast members include Colin Donnell as Father, Ben Levi Ross as Younger Brother, Shaina Taub as Emma Goldman, Joaquina Kalukango as Sarah, John Clay III as Booker T. Washington, Rodd Cyrus as Harry Houdini, Matthew Lamb as The Little Boy, Tabitha Lawing as The Little Girl, Stephanie Styles as Evelyn Nesbit, Tom Nelis as Grandfather, John Rapson as J.P. Morgan, Jacob Keith Watson as Willie Conklin, Jeff Kready as Henry Ford, Olivia Hernandez as Kathleen, and Tiffany Mann as Sarah’s Friend.

The ensemble includes Nicholas Barrón, Briana Carlson-Goodman, Billy Cohen, Aerina DeBoer, Ta’Nika Gibson, Marina Kondo, Morgan Marcell, Ramone Nelson, Kent Overshown, Destinee Rea, Deandre Sevon, Kathy Voytko, Alan Wiggins, and Henry Witcher.

Ragtime premiered on Broadway in 1998, and its only New York revivals since have been concert versions staged at Ellis Island, Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, and at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre for one night only.

The New York City Center production will run from October 30 to November 10, directed by Lear deBessonet and music directed by James Moore.

The official Encores! season will begin in 2025 with Urinetown by Mark Hollmann (music and lyrics) and Greg Kotis (book and lyrics). The musical's only Broadway production was in 2001, and it appeared off Broadway in 2001 and 2015. The show satirizes government, politics, business, and musicals themselves with the story of a town whose residents have to pay to use the bathroom.

The cast includes Jordan Fisher as Bobby Strong, Taran Killam as Officer Lockstock, Keala Settle as Penelope Pennywise, and Stephanie Styles as Hope Cladwell.

Teddy Bergman directs, and Mary‐Mitchell Campbell is the music director. Performances will run from February 5-16.

Next up, from March 26-30, is Love Life, which was originally scheduled to go up in March 2020. As was planned back then, two-time Tony Award-winning actress Victoria Clark (Kimberly Akimbo, The Light in the Piazza) will direct the show from March 26-30. Rob Berman is the musical director.

Written by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Kurt Weill (music), Love Life follows a married couple who live from 1791 to 1948, never aging. As time goes on, they have to adapt to changing social norms, which repeatedly tests their marriage.

Tony nominee Kate Baldwin stars as Susan Cooper opposite Nicholas Christopher as Sam Cooper. The cast also includes John Edwards as Hobo, Sara Jean Ford as Miss Ideal Man, and Clarke Thorell as Mr. Cynic plus ensemble members Adam Bashian, Jonathan Christopher, Kerry Conte, Daniel Everidge, Maria Failla, Mary Illes, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Cory Lingner, John-Michael Lyles, Renni Anthony Magee, Tiffany Mann, Kristin Piro, Arianna Rosario, Heath Saunders, Daniel Schwait, Allyson Tucker, Vishal Vaidya, and Minami Yusui.

The final show in the Encores! 2024-25 season is The Wild Party by Michael John LaChiusa (book, music, and lyrics) and George C. Wolfe (book). Based on Joseph Moncure March's 1928 poem of the same name, the musical follows a couple, Queenie and Burrs, who throw a party in an attempt to fix their romantic troubles, but the event soon gets out of control as newfound desires and tensions bubble up.

The show ran on Broadway in 2000, and it will play at New York City Center from April 30 to May 11 under the direction of Saheem Ali. Campbell is the music director.

Additional cast and creative team members for all the Encores! productions have yet to be announced. This article will be continually updated with new information.

Learn more about Encores! and New York City Center in our guide.

Last updated: September 26, 2024

Photo credit: Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, and Brandon Uranowitz.