York Theatre Company presents a concert revival of Kurt Weill's Johnny Johnson Oct. 20-22, with Perry Laylon Ojeda in the title role.
Michael Montel directs the dress-casual concert ("mufti" means in civilian clothes) of the first Broadway show by the composer known for The Three Penny Opera, Street Scene and Lady in the Dark. Jeffrey Smith is music director; Mufti shows are piano-and-voice affairs, with actors reading from scripts.
The 1936 anti-war musical had book and lyrics by Paul Green and ran 68 performances — enough time for Weill to earn a good reputation as a composer. The Group Theatre produced, and Lee Strasberg directed.
The York cast includes Mark Aldrich, Sherry Boone, Kenneth Cavett, Miguel Cervantes, Peter Flynn, Aaron Lazar, Steve Pacek, Janelle Anne Robinson, J. Brandon Savage, Erik Stein and Deborah Jean Templin. Ojeda is remembered for playing Gabey in The Public Theater's On the Town.
York performs in the Theatre at St. Peters, located in the Citicorp Center, 619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street. For tickets, call (212) 935-5820. — By Kenneth Jones