Clark and Keenan-Bolger, who co-starred in the out-of-town tryouts of The Light in the Piazza, will again play mother (Juno Boyle) and daughter (Mary Boyle) in the March 27-30 production of Juno. Playbill.com has also learned that the cast will feature Conrad John Schuck as Clark's husband, "Captain" Jack Boyle, with Michael Arden as Mary's suitor. Additional casting is expected shortly.
Celia Keenan-Bolger has been seen on Broadway in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and the recent revival of Les Misérables. Michael Arden's Main Stem credits include the revival of Big River and The Times They Are A-Changin'. Conrad John Schuck was seen in both the original and revival casts of Annie and the revival of Annie Get Your Gun.
Juno, which will feature music direction by Eric Stern and musical staging by Warren Carlyle, will boast the show's original orchestrations, penned by Blitzstein, Hershey Kay and Robert Russell Bennett.
Juno is based on Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock and features a score by Blitzstein and a book by Stein. The musical opened at Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre on March 9, 1959. The cast featured Shirley Booth and Melvyn Douglas.
Juno, according to press notes, "chronicles the disintegration of an Irish family in Dublin in the early 1920s during the confrontation between the Irish Republican Army and the British. Juno Boyle [Victoria Clark] is the hardworking matriarch who struggles heroically to hold her family together in the face of war, betrayal, and her husband's drinking." Songs include "I Wish It So," "We're Alive" and "One Kind World." Victoria Clark received a 2005 Tony Award for her performance in The Light in the Piazza. Her other Broadway credits include Cabaret, Urinetown, Titanic, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Guys and Dolls and A Grand Night for Singing. Among Clark's screen credits are "Cradle Will Rock," "Law & Order," "Law & Order: SVU" and "Sweeney Todd in Concert." As a director, she helmed the 92nd Street Y's "Lyrics & Lyricists" series Serenade in Blue: The Mack Gordon Song Cavalcade. PS Classics released Clark's debut solo recording, "Fifteen Seconds of Grace," in November 2007. The actress, who co-starred in the City Center Encores! production of Follies, will also be seen in M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening," which is due in movie theatres in June.
Show times are March 27 and 28 at 8 PM, March 29 at 2 and 8 PM and March 30 at 6:30 PM.
City Center is located in Manhattan at West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Tickets are available by calling (212) 581-1212 or by visiting www.nycitycenter.org.
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The Encores! season will kick off with Applause (Feb. 7-10, 2008) starring Tony winner Christine Ebersole and Erin Davie; following Juno will be No, No, Nanette (May 8-12) starring Mara Davi, Sandy Duncan, Beth Leavel, Rosie O'Donnell, Shonn Wiley and Fred Willard.
