People in the Picture Come Into Focus With Christopher Innvar, Alexander Gemignani, Chip Zien, Nicole Parker

By Kenneth Jones
03 Feb 2011

Nicole Parker
Nicole Parker

Alexander Gemignani, Nicole Parker, Christopher Innvar, Lewis J. Stadlen, Chip Zien and more will join two-time Tony Award winner Donna Murphy in the new Broadway musical The People in the Picture, Roundabout Theatre Company announced.

Tickets for the musical — about three generations of women and a grandmother's roots in European Yiddish theatre — go on sale Feb. 4. The production begins performances at Studio 54 on April 1 toward an opening April 28.

The company will also include Rachel Resheff, Hal Robinson, Brad Bradley, Rachel Bress, Jeremy Davis, Emilee Dupre, Maya Goldman, Louis Hobson, Shannon Lewis, Jessica Lea Patty, Megan Reinking, Jeffrey Schecter, Paul Anthony Stewart and Stuart Zagnit.

Roundabout Theatre Company is producing The People in the Picture in association with Tracy Aron. Leonard Foglia (Master Class) directs the original musical, which has book and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart (who penned the bestseller "Beaches"), music by Mike Stoller (Smokey Joe's Café) and Artie Butler (who wrote the pop standard "Here's to Life"), musical direction by Paul Gemignani, orchestrations by Michael Starobin and musical staging by Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuehler (In the Heights).

Alexander Gemignani
photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

This New York City premiere production is billed this way by the producers: "Once the darling of the Yiddish Theatre in pre-war Poland, now a grandmother in New York City, Bubbie [Donna Murphy] has had quite a life. But what will it all mean if she can't pass on her stories to the next generation? Though her granddaughter [Rachel Resheff] is enchanted by her tales, her daughter Red [Nicole Parker] will do anything to keep from looking back. A fiercely funny and deeply moving new musical that spans three generations, The People in the Picture celebrates the importance of learning from our past, and the power of laughter."

Additional casting will be announced shortly. The People in the Picture is a limited engagement scheduled to run through June 19.

Murphy won Best Actress Tony Awards for The King and I and Passion. This year, her voice is heard as villainess Mother Gothel in the Disney animated feature "Tangled." She was Tony-nominated for playing Ruth in Wonderful Town and for conjuring Lotte Lenya in LoveMusik. For the Encores! concert series, she starred in Anyone Can Whistle, Wonderful Town and Follies.

The creative team also includes Riccardo Hernandez (sets), Ann Hould-Ward (costumes), James F. Ingalls (lights), Dan Moses Schreier (sound), Elaine J. McCarthy (projections), Paul Huntley (hair and wigs) and Angelina Avallone (make-up).

The People in the Picture will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM with a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2 PM.

Tickets are available beginning Feb. 4 by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212) 719-1300, going online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the Studio 54 Box Office (254 West 54th Street). Ticket prices range from $37-$122.