The new-fashioned libretto by two-time Tony winner Joe DiPietro (Memphis) is suggested by the classic Jazz Age Gershwin musical Oh, Kay!, set on Long Island. That earlier 1926 show premiered (coincidentally?) at the Imperial (currently home to the final weeks of Billy Elliot).
According to the producers, "This new musical features a veritable hit parade of iconic George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin songs as well as some unknown gems in their catalog. Nice Work If You Can Get It follows Billie Bendix (Kelli O'Hara), a tough-as-nails bootlegger who meets wealthy playboy Jimmy Winter (Matthew Broderick) on the weekend of his nuptials. Mayhem ensues."
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| Kelli O'Hara |
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| photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN |
The production features scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski and sound design by Brian Ronan. The music supervisor is David Chase.
The show will be produced by Roger Berlind, Sonia Friedman, Roy Furman and Scott Landis. Additional casting will be announced shortly.
Broderick is a two-time Tony Award-winner, for Brighton Beach Memoirs and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. This will be his first Broadway musical since he was Tony-nominated for The Producers.
O'Hara, a three-time Tony nominee for South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza and The Pajama Game), reunites with her Pajama Game director choreographer Marshall (who turned old into gold earlier this year by staging the Tony-winning Best Revival Anything Goes, for which she won a choreography Tony).
