Jeff Whitty, the Tony-winning book writer of Avenue Q, authored the original book for the musical, which is anchored in the world of competitive high school cheerleading. The dramatic setting is based on the popular film franchise.
Bring It On has music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights), music by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) and lyrics by Kitt's High Fidelity collaborator Amanda Green. All three collaborated on the score for the tuner. A three-song sampler of the score is currently available.
The Broadway engagement is the culmination of the national tour of Bring It On, which launched last fall in Los Angeles. It will officially open on Broadway Aug. 1 for a run through Oct. 7. Tony-winning In the Heights choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler directs and choreographs the musical, which has musical supervision by Tony Award winner Alex Lacamoire.
"It really is a new musical," Kitt told Playbill.com. "We're not looking at any one thing that exists that we can draw from." Miranda also pointed out that the high-school setting was especially inspiring. "It's just when you feel the most! You have the most feelings per second.... You're bursting with hormones and everything's life or death...which is great, fertile territory for a musical," he said.
Read Playbill's feature with the three songwriters. The cast includes Adrienne Warren as Danielle, Ryann Redmond as Bridget, Taylor Louderman as Campbell, Jason Gotay (Rent) as Randall, Elle McLemore as Eva, Ariana DeBose (Hairspray, "So You Think You Can Dance") as Nautica, Gregory Haney (Memphis) as La Cienega, Neil Haskell (West Side Story, 9 to 5, "So You Think You Can Dance") as Steven, Janet Krupin as Kylar, Kate Rockwell (Legally Blonde, "Grease! You're the One That We Want") as Skylar and Nick Womack as Twig.
The ensemble includes Calli Alden, Nikki Bohne, Dexter Carr, Shonica Gooden, Haley Hannah, Rod Harrelson, Casey Jamerson, Dominique Johnson, Michael Mindlin, Adrianna Parson and Bettis Richardson.
Competitive cheerleaders, who provide Bring It On with its energetic stunts, are Antwan Bethea, Danielle Carlacci, Michael Naone-Carter, Courtney Corbeille, Dahlston Delgado, Brooklyn Freitag, Melody Mills, David Ranck, Billie Sue Roe, Sheldon Tucker and Lauren Whitt.
Bring It On has scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Andrea Lauer, lighting design by Jason Lyons, sound design by Brian Ronan, video design by Jeff Sugg and hair design by Charles G. LaPointe.
The stage production is produced by Universal Pictures Stage Productions/Glenn Ross, Beacon Communications/Armyan Bernstein and Charlie Lyons, and Kristin Caskey and Mike Isaacson. Beacon and Universal also produced the "Bring It On" films.
Here's how producers bill the work: "In Bring It On: The Musical, the high-stakes world of competitive cheerleading is intertwined with cutthroat high school politics to tell the story of Campbell, the heir apparent to the head cheerleader at Truman High School. Campbell is at the top of the cheerleader pyramid and she has it all — a strong squad, a doting boyfriend and a straight path to the national championships. Her entire life has been dedicated to honing routines and staying within the strict rules and guidelines, but when a surprise letter arrives, Campbell's world is thrown upside down."
For tickets visit Telecharge.com or phone (212-239-6200). Visit bringitonmusical.com.
Check out Playbill.com's video interview with the creators:
