Mitchell Jarvis, Jay Klaitz, Paul Whitty & Sawyer Nunes

Initial casting announced for Gettin' the Band Back Together

Mitchell Jarvis is set to lead the Broadway cast of Gettin' the Band Back Together as Mitch Papadopolous.

Tom Millward
Tom Millward

Producers have now revealed initial casting for the upcoming Broadway premiere of Gettin' The Band Back Together, directed by Tony Award winner John Rando, which is set to begin previews at the Belasco Theatre on July 18, 2018, before an official opening on August 13.

Four out of the five members of the band have now been confirmed, led by Mitchell Jarvis (as lead singer Mitch Papadopolous - an out-of-work investment banker livin' with his Mom in New Jersey), alongside Jay Klaitz (as bass player Bart Vickers - a math teacher who isn't any good at math), Paul Whitty (as drummer Michael "Sully" Sullivan - an Irish cop who dreams about being an actor), and Sawyer Nunes (as guitarist Ricky "Bling" Goldstein - a 16-year-old Jewish rapper who makes Vanilla Ice look cool). Casting for the fifth band member - keyboard player, Dr. Rummesh "Robbie" Patel - will be announced shortly.

In addition, Brandon Williams has been cast as Tygen Billows, Mitch's high school arch nemesis with a 20-year-old grudge and a tangerine spray tan, and Tamika Lawrence will play Roxanne Velasco, Sully's partner on the Sayreville Police force and wanna-be partner for life.

Gettin' the Band Back Together features a book by Ken Davenport and The Grundleshotz (with additional material by Sarah Saltzberg), with music and lyrics by Mark Allen.

Synopsis: "Mitch Papadopolous always dreamed about being the next Bon Jovi, but he chose security over stardom and left those daydreams behind for a day job. For a while he thought he had everything - the high paying job, the high-rise apartment - until his 40th birthday when he got handed a pink slip and had to move back in with his Mom in Sayreville, New Jersey.
And when his high school arch nemesis (with a 20-year-old grudge and a tangerine spray tan) threatens to foreclose on their house, this big-shot banker must save his small-town home the only way he can... by winning The Battle of the Bands.
So he dusts off his guitar, gathers his old gang (the math teacher who isn't good at math, the Irish cop who dreams about being on Broadway, the dermatologist who can't get a date, and a 16-year-old Jewish rapper who makes Vanilla Ice look cool), and sets out to win the battle... and maybe even win back the high school sweetheart he left behind... proving it's never too late to give your dreams one last shot."

The creative team behind Gettin' the Band Back Together features scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Ken Billington, and sound design by John Shivers.

Gettin' the Band Back Together is produced on Broadway by Hunter Arnold, Roy Putrino, Carl Daikeler, Rob Kolson, Richard Roth, H. Richard Hopper, Diego Kolankowsky, Judith Manocherian, and Ken Davenport. The Associate Producers for the production are Kayla Greenspan, Valerie Novakoff and Brian Cromwell Smith.

The musical comedy was previously staged as a developmental production at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse in 2013, which also starred Mitchell Jarvis and Jay Klaitz.

Gettin' the Band Back Together Tickets are available now for performances through to July 14, 2019.

Originally published on

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