Cerveris will entertain audience members of the kid-friendly musical by reading portions of the book upon which the Stephen Schwartz musical is based. Captain Louie, which plays the York Theatre Company through June 12, is based on Ezra Jack Keats' "The Trip," a 1978 children's picture book.
Cerveris, who won a Tony Award in the revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Weidman's Assassins, was also Tony-nominated for his performance in the title role of The Who's Tommy, a part he also played for two years in Germany. Cerveris originated the role of architect Thomas Andrews in the Tony-winning musical Titanic and also appeared onstage in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Total Eclipse, Abingdon Square, Life Is a Dream and the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and Ravinia Festival mountings of Passion.
Presented by the York Theatre Company in association with Meridee Stein, Pam Koslow and Kurt Peterson, Captain Louie features a score by Schwartz and a book by Anthony Stein. Meridee Stein directs the musical with musical direction by Edward Barnes. Joshua Bergasse choreographs with multi-media design by Joshua Light Show. The remainder of the creative team features Elizabeth Flauto (costume design, based on the drawings of Ezra Jack Keats), Jeff Subik (set design, also based on Keats' drawings), Annmarie Duggan (lighting design) and Samone Weissman (production stage manager).
The cast of Captain Louie comprises Brandon M. Arrington, Alex Barboza, Jodie Bentley, Jimmy Dieffenbach, Kelsey Fatebene, Sara Kapner, Ronnie Mercedes, Sarah Stiles and Mark Whitten.
Captain Louie, according to production notes, "revolves around young Louie, alone and sad without having found any friends in his new neighborhood. To cheer himself up, he returns to his old friends in an imaginative journey on the wings of his favorite toy, a little red plane." The musical, which celebrates the importance of friends, both old and new, runs 65 minutes. Captain Louie plays Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM, Fridays at 6:30 PM, Saturdays at 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM and Sundays at 1 and 3 PM.
The York Theatre Company is located at 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street. Tickets, priced at $35, are available by calling (212) 868-4444 or by visiting www.smarttix.com.
