Composer Paul Scott Goodman told Playbill On-Line that Norm Lewis, Gavin Creel and Maya Days will head the cast of his musical, which will be performed 8 PM Sept. 14 and 15 at the Guggenheim's Peter Lewis Auditorium. Part of the Guggenheim's "Works and Process" series, the company will also include The Most Happy Fella's Liz Larsen, Brooklyn's Eden Espinosa and recent Amour star Sarah Litzsinger.
AnnMarie Milazzo will also be part of the cast, re-creating the role of the mother that she played in the Off-Broadway production at New York Theatre Workshop. That 1999 production also cast a then-unknown Patrick Wilson in the lead role; Wilson was originally scheduled to be part of the concerts but withdrew in order to film the movie of The Phantom of the Opera. His BLBC role has yet to be cast. Although Goodman was part of the Off-Broadway company, he will not perform in the concerts.
Kurt Deutsch — of Sh-K-Boom Records fame — will direct the Guggenheim evenings with musical direction by Roger Butterley. Following the performances, there will be a short discussion with Goodman and the author of the original best-selling 1984 novel, Jay McInerney.
Bright Lights Big City concerns the life of young New Yorker Jamie, who seems to have it all: good looks, a successful model wife, a job at a prestigious magazine and many friends. During one week, however, his life spins out of control and his search for his true self begins anew. The Off Broadway production was directed by Rent's Michael Grief. Composer Paul Scott Goodman was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. Bright Lights was the first major production of his work.
Tickets for Bright Lights Big City are priced at $18 and will go on sale Aug. 14. The box office — open Monday-Friday, 1-5 PM — can be reached by calling (212) 423-3587. The Peter Lewis Auditorium is located within the Guggenheim Museum, 107 Fifth Avenue, between 88th and 89th Streets.
