Tony winner Kathleen Marshall will direct and choreograph Nice Work, which is scheduled to begin previews at a Broadway theatre to be announced in February 2009 with an official opening the following month. Connick, Jr. stars as a "Long Island playboy in this new musical comedy filled with bootleggers, golddiggers, and some of the greatest songs from the legendary Gershwin hit list," according to press notes.
Marshall also directed Connick, Jr. in the Pajama Game revival.
Nice Work — which boasts songs from the George and Ira Gershwin catalogue and a book by I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change's Joe DiPietro — will play a pre-Broadway engagement at Boston's Colonial Theatre Dec. 16, 2008-Jan. 11, 2009.
The creative team also includes Rob Fisher (music arranger/supervisor), Derek McLane (scenic designer), Martin Pakledinaz (costume designer), Kenneth Posner (lighting designer) and Acme Sound Partners (sound designers). Additional casting will be announced shortly.
Producers are Scott Landis, Broadway Across America, Ira Pittleman, Tom Hulce, Roy Furman, Maberry Theatricals, Ann Marie Wilkins, and Emanuel Azenberg. Harry Connick, Jr. made his Broadway acting debut in the revival of The Pajama Game, earning a Tony nomination for his work. He also provided the Tony-nominated score for Thou Shalt Not. A winner of three Grammy Awards, Connick has also appeared in the films "Hope Floats" and "Independence Day," and he received an Emmy nomination for his performance as Dr. Leo Markus on "Will and Grace" and an Emmy Award for the PBS special and "Harry Connick, Jr.: Only You in Concert." A New Orleans native, Connick has been active in the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
Kathleen Marshall is currently represented on Broadway with the revival of Grease. She directed and choreographed the recent revivals of The Pajama Game and Wonderful Town, winning Tony Awards for her choreography for both productions. She also choreographed the Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors as well as the revivals of Follies; Kiss Me, Kate; Ring Round the Moon; and 1776. Marshall choreographed the Lynn Ahrens-Stephen Flaherty musical Seussical and the original revue Swinging on a Star. Her other Broadway credits — as creative associate or assistant choreographer — include Victor/Victoria, Damn Yankees, She Loves Me and Kiss of the Spider Woman. Marshall served as artistic director of City Center's acclaimed Encores! series for several seasons.
Joe DiPietro penned the books for Broadway's All Shook Up and Off-Broadway's I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change; and The Thing About Men (the latter two with Jimmy Roberts). His other theatre credits include Over the River and Through the Woods, Memphis, O. Henry's Lovers, The Kiss at City Hall and The Art of Murder.
