Pasquale (also of Off-Broadway's A Man of No Importance and The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide) replaces the previously announced Cheyenne Jackson in the role of philandering co-worker Kodaly. Jackson had to withdraw due to a filming conflict with a USA network television pilot.
Peter Bartlett (The Frogs) will play the imperious Headwaiter. Bartlett, Jane Brockman, Catch Me If You Can's Rachel de Benedet, Rebecca Eichenberger, Gina Ferrall, Rob Lorey, A Chorus Line's Jeffrey Schecter (as the bumbling Busboy), Jessica Vosk and Merrily We Roll Along's Jim Walton were announced as additional cast members on Nov. 10.
As announced, the benefit that supports the not-for-profit Roundabout Theatre Company programs will star Tony Award winner Jane Krakowski (Nine, Grand Hotel, "30 Rock") as jaded co-worker Miss Ritter, Tony nominee Michael McGrath (Memphis) as practical co-worker Sipos, Tony nominee Rory O'Malley (The Book of Mormon) as apprentice/delivery boy Arpad, and four-time Tony nominee Victor Garber as rueful employer Mr. Maraczek.
Scott Ellis (Twelve Angry Men, Curtains) will again direct the romantic musical comedy (as he did in 1993) by Joe Masteroff (book), Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics). The 7:30 PM performance will play the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, the home of Roundabout's Anything Goes.
Paul Gemignani, a regular Roundabout artist, will serve as musical director of a 15-member orchestra using the original orchestrations of Don Walker. Tony Award nominee O'Hara (South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza, The Pajama Game) will star as Amalia Balash, who takes a job at a parfumerie without knowing that her co-worker, Georg, played by Radnor (star of TV's "How I Met Your Mother"), is her secret pen pal in a lonely-hearts club.
Musical staging will be by JoAnn M. Hunter. The design team includes Derek McLane (sets), Jeff Mahshie (costumes), Peter Kaczorowski (lights) and Brian Ronan (sound).
Proceeds from the concert benefit not-for-profit Roundabout Theatre Company and all its programs and activities.
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| Sheldon Harnick | ||
| photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN |
The charm-bomb score by Bock & Harnick includes "Dear Friend," "I Resolve," "Tonight at Eight," "Will He Like Me?," "Vanilla Ice Cream," "Days Gones By," "Grand Knowing You," "Try Me" and the title song, among other tunes. Barbara Cook originally played Amalia, and her soprano was preserved on an original cast album. Harold Prince directed and produced the original production, which was nominated for a 1964 Tony as Best Musical.
The She Loves Me evening is billed as a celebration of Roundabout's 20th anniversary of producing on Broadway, which began in 1991 at the Criterion Center in Times Square. Roundabout's 1993 Broadway revival of She Loves Me began life at the Criterion Center and launched Roundabout's Musical Theatre program.
The production (which also spawned a cast album, featuring replacement Diane Fratantoni as Amalia) was nominated for nine Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Director and Best Choreography (Rob Marshall) and the four major acting awards. It also won the 1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Revival.
With She Loves Me, Roundabout began the process of becoming a major producer of Broadway revivals, including Cabaret, 1776, Nine, Assassins, The Pajama Game, Sunday in the Park with George and the current 2011 Tony Award-winning production of Anything Goes.
VIP, Premium and Reception tickets (ranging $1,000-$5,000 per person), which include admission to an exclusive cast party following the performance, are available. The co-chairs for the evening are Roundabout board member Michael T. Cohen and Amanda and Gary Wolf.
Tax-deductible benefit tickets are now available by calling Roundabout's Development Office at (212) 719-9393.
Select orchestra and mezzanine tickets ($150-$500) will be available to the general public by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212) 719-1300, visiting any Roundabout box office (Stephen Sondheim Theatre, American Airlines Theatre or the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre) or online at www.roundabouttheatre.org.
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Roundabout Theatre Company is a not-for-profit theatre "dedicated to providing a nurturing artistic home for theatre artists at all stages of their careers where the widest possible audience can experience their work at affordable prices." Roundabout fulfills its mission each season "through the revival of classic plays and musicals; development and production of new works by established playwrights and emerging writers; educational initiatives that enrich the lives of children and adults; and a subscription model and audience outreach programs that cultivate loyal audiences."
Roundabout Theatre Company currently produces at five theatres — Off-Broadway at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre; and on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre, Studio 54 and the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (at 124 W. 43rd Street).
For more information about Roundabout's programs, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org.
