On The Town Broadway Revival Finds its Three Sailors

Principal casting has been announced for the Broadway revival of On The Town which will begin previews at the Lyric Theatre on 20 September 2014, with an official opening on 16 October 2014.

Tony Yazbeck, Jay Armstrong Johnson and Clyde Alves will play the lead roles of 'Gabey,' 'Chip,' and 'Ozzie', the sailors on 24-hour shore leave who take on the Big Apple in John Rando's revival of the classic Broadway musical. All three actors have previously played the roles in the Barrington Stage production during the Summer of 2013.

The production was originally seen at City Center Encores in 2008. As well as direction by John Rando it features choreography by Joshua Bergasse. It will feature scenic design by Beowulf Boritt lighting design by Jason Lyons, costume design by Jess Goldstein and sound design by Kai Harada. It is produced on Broadway by Howard & Janet Kagan.

On The Town grew out of Jerome Robbins ballet 'Fancy Free', which followed three sailors on leave in New York. The musical opened at Broadway at the Adelphi Theater in 1944, directed by George Abbott, and played through February 2, 1946 for a total of 462 performances, transferring to the 44th Street Theatre and Martin Beck Theatre.

The classic score features the standards "New York, New York," "I Can Cook Too," "Lonely Town," and "Some Other Time" and will be featured in this production with their original orchestrations, performed by what will be the largest orchestra on Broadway, with 28 musicians led by musical director James Moore.

Tony Yazbeck's Broadway credits include playing Billy Flynn in 'Chicago', Phil Davis in 'Irving Berlin's White Christmas', Tulsa in 'Gypsy' alongside Patti LuPone and Al in the revival of 'A Chorus Line'. He was also seen in NBC's "Smash," and the feature documentary Every Little Step.

Jay Armstrong Johnson has appeared on Broadway in productions of 'Hands on a Hardbody', 'Catch Me If You Can' and 'Hair'. His work for City Center's Encores! includes the recent production of 'The Most Happy Fella'.

Clyde Alves's Broadway credits include 'Bullets Over Broadway', 'Nice Work If You Can Get It', 'Anything Goes', 'Wicked', 'Hairspray', 'Oklahoma!', and 'The Music Man'.

- by Dom O'Hanlon