Tony winner Casey Nicholaw directs the limited engagement with music direction by Rob Berman.
The cast is headed by Tony winner Laura Benanti as Rosabella, Cheyenne Jackson as Joe and Tony winner Shuler Hensley as Tony with Heidi Blickenstaff as Cleo, Brian Cali as Ciccio, Bradley Dean as Guiseppe, Zachary James as Pasquale, Jay Armstrong Johnson as Herman, Jessica Molaskey as Marie and Kevin Vortmann as Doctor.
Read the Playbill.com Brief Encounter with Cheyenne Jackson.
The ensemble includes Ryan Bauer-Walsh, Joseph Beutel, Ward Billeisen, Tanya Birl, Callie Carter, Daniel Curran, Kevin Grace, Steven Trumon Gray, Arlo Hill, Leah Horowitz, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Anne Kanengieser, Lizzie Klemperer, Eloise Kropp, Shina Ann Morris, Patricia Noonan, Lindsay O'Neil, Jessica Lea Patty, Aleks Pevec, Wayne Pretlow, Rachel Rhodes-Devey, Christopher Rice, Daniel Schwait, Manuel Stark, Sam Strasfeld, Kathryn Terza, Clay Thomson and Kathy Voytko. Loesser’s ambitious and romantic musical, according to press notes, "tells the heart-stopping story of a love triangle between an aging Napa Valley farmer (Shuler Hensley), a young waitress (Laura Benanti) and a handsome, restless ranch hand (Cheyenne Jackson)."
The Most Happy Fella is based on the play They Knew What They Wanted by Sidney Howard. It has a book, music and lyrics by Loesser. Song titles include “Somebody Somewhere,” “My Heart Is So Full of You,” “Big D” and “Standing on the Corner.”
The musical opened at the Imperial Theatre May 3, 1956, and ran for 676 performances. (The Most Happy Fella was revived by the New York City Center Light Opera at City Center for a limited run of 16 performances Feb. 10-22, 1959.) Broadway revivals were presented in 1979 and 1992.
Tickets can be purchased online and at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix at (212) 581-1212, or online at NYCityCenter.org.
