What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling Opens Nov. 9 at New World Stages

By Kenneth Jones
November 9, 2008

The uptown transfer of David Pittu's comedy with music, What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling, officially opens Nov. 9 after performances from Nov. 1 at Off-Broadway's New World Stages.

Tony Award nominee Pittu (Is He Dead?, LoveMusik) wrote, stars in and co-directed (with Neil Pepe) the spoof of modern musical theatre personalities, which began a summer run at Atlantic Theater Company's Atlantic Stage 2 on West 16th Street. Producer Daryl Roth picked it up and plunked it down at New World Stages in the Broadway theatre district, a neighborhood where the egotistical hack title character is desperate to be.

The original music is by composer Randy Redd.

According the producers, What's That Smell "is a hilarious musical parody that charts the career of eternally up-and-coming (and fictitious) musical theater composer Jacob Sterling (Pittu). A rare, up close and personal visit with an artist of questionable gifts who performs from his songbook and shares his human struggle to keep musical theater alive and well into the 21st century."

Peter Barlett (The Frogs, The Drowsy Chaperone) plays the fawning host of a musical theatre-related talk show in which Sterling shares his trunkful of songs, and his thoughts about musicals today.

Providing backup are three fresh-faced musical theatre performers, Max Kumangai, Matt Schock and Chandra Lee Schwartz.

(No official opening night date had been announced as of the first New World performance on Nov. 1.)

New World Stages – Stage 5 is at 340 West 50th Street between Eighth & Ninth Avenues).

Visit whatsthatsmelloffbroadway.com.