Lincoln Center Theater commissioned the new musical, which features a score by the Tony-nominated Grey Gardens songwriting team of Michael Korie and Scott Frankel. The production reunites Tony-nominated Contact book writer John Weidman and Tony-winning director/choreographer Stroman.
The musical will play a 14-week Off-Broadway engagement at the Newhouse beginning Feb. 27.
The starry cast of the Manhattan-set Happiness comprises Fred Applegate (Young Frankenstein, The Producers), Sebastian Arcelus (Jersey Boys, Wicked), Miguel Cervantes (Spelling Bee, The Nightingale) Hunter Foster (Dust, Urinetown), Joanna Gleason (Into the Woods, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Ken Page (It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues), Robert Petkoff (Spamalot), Jenny Powers (Dangerous Beauty, Little Women), Phyllis Somerville (Over Here, 'Night Mother), Pearl Sun (How the Grinch Stole Christmas), Ana Maria Andricain, Holly Ann Butler, Patrick Cummings, Janet Dickinson (Forbidden Broadway), Alan H. Green (Play On!), Samantha Maza, James Moye (Tale of Two Cities), Alessa Neeck (White Christmas), Eric Santagata (The Apple Tree), Rob Sapp (Zanna, Don't!), Alexander Scheitinger (Damn Yankees), Lina Silver (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Idara Victor (Show Boat) and Matt Wall (The Drowsy Chaperone).
According to Lincoln Center Theater, "Happiness unfolds the stories of a dozen or so New Yorkers stuck in the morning rush of a stalled subway car and required by the spectral trainman to recall and re-enact the happiest moment in their lives before they can continue their travels... and travails. Happiness celebrates those fleeting moments in everyday lives — typically unanticipated, largely overlooked, always ephemeral — that upon reflection become people's fondest memories."
The design team includes Thomas Lynch (set design), William Ivey Long (costume design), Donald Holder (lighting design) and Scott Lehrer (sound design). Tickets are currently available to Lincoln Center Theater members and will go on sale to the general public beginning Jan. 25. For tickets and information visit LCT.org.
