Sachin Bhatt will star as Akaash with Sandra Allen as Rani and Reshma Shetty as Priya in the upcoming tour, which will be directed by Baayork Lee, whose many Broadway performance credits include the original cast of A Chorus Line. The cast will also feature Deep Katdare as Vikram, Aneesh Sheth as Sweetie, Suresh John as Madan and Christine Toy Johnson as Kitty DeSousa.
The Bombay Dreams ensemble comprises Enrique Acevedo, Tia Altinay, Nita Baxani, Shane Bland, Wendy Calio, Sujana Chand, Tiffany Michelle Cooper, Aaron Coulson, Diane Angela Fong, Monica Kapoor, Namita Kapoor, Stephanie Crain Klemons, Jeremy Leiner, Garrick Macatangay, Kenneth Maharaj, Anil Margsahayam, Skie Ocasio, Desmond Osborne, Christopher Quiban, Kristian Richards, Rommy Sandhu and Marie Kelly.
The tour — which will feature musical direction by Kevin Farrell, choreography by Lisa Stevens, scenic design by Ken Foy, lighting design by John McLain and sound design by Peter Fitzgerald — begins performances Feb. 21 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, CA.
The complete tour schedule follows:
Feb. 21-March 5 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, CA
March 10-12 at the Broadway Theatre League in Huntsville, AL
March 14-19 at the Palace Theatre in Columbus, OH
March 21-April 2 at the Playhouse Square Center in Cleveland, OH
April 4-16 at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, MO
April 18-23 at the Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, FL
May 9-21 at the Sacramento Community Center Theater in Sacramento, CA
May 23-June 4 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston, TX
June 6-18 at Dallas Summer Musicals in Dallas, TX
July 11-23 at the Buell Theatre in Denver, CO
July 25-30 at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, NC
Aug. 1-6 at the Pittsburgh CLO in Pittsburgh, PA
Aug. 8-13 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA
Aug. 15-20 at the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, Canada
Sept. 12-Oct. 1 at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, WA
Bombay Dreams — featuring a score by A R Rahman and Don Black and a book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan — was based on an idea by Shekhar Kapur and Lloyd Webber, who co-produced the London mounting. The New York production at the Broadway Theatre played 31 previews and 284 regular performances before closing Jan. 1, 2005. Bombay Dreams tells the story of Akaash, a brash young slum dweller who dreams of becoming a Bollywood movie star and meeting his idol, the voluptuous screen siren Rani. And wouldn't you know it, his dreams come true—but not without some personal costs and a good dousing in an on-stage dancing fountain.
The production mirrors many a Bollywood musical in its lavish and plentiful production numbers, which find a good portion of the grinning Bombay population joyously dancing in unison to a propulsive beat. The show's centerpiece is perhaps the disco-ish "Shakalaka Baby," in which Rani and Akaash dance in and around a growing fountain.
The show, which brought East Indian-flavored music and dance to the West End and later to Broadway, had its world premiere at London's Apollo Victoria Theatre on June 19, 2002.
Song titles include "Salaa'm Bombay," "Bollywood," "Love's Never Easy," "Lovely, Lovely Ladies," "Bhangra," "Shakalaka Baby," "I Could Live Here," "Is This Love?," "Famous," "Chaiyya Chaiyya," "How Many Stars?," "Hero," "Ganesh Procession," "The Journey Home" and "Wedding Qawali."
Sachin Batt is making his American touring debut in Bombay Dreams. He played Chino in Joey McKneeley's Asian/European tour of West Side Story and was part of Matt Lenz's production of Aida at the Gateway Playhouse. Sandra Allen made her Broadway debut in Sunset Boulevard and played Linda Low in the revival of Flower Drum Song. Reshma Shetty has been seen in productions of West Side Story, La Boheme, A Little Night Music and the recent benefit concert of The Secret Garden.
Producers for the upcoming tour include Atlanta's Theater of the Stars, Bucephalus Touring LLC and The Independent Producers Network.
