Lonny Price (A Class Act) directs Urban Cowboy with choreography by Melinda Roy. Aaron Latham, who co-wrote the original screenplay for the movie that starred John Travolta and Debra Winger, shares credit for the book of Urban Cowboy with the late Phillip Oesterman. Chase Mishkin and Leonard Soloway produce.
Urban Cowboy follows the ups and downs of the whirlwind romance of out-of town dreamer Bud and the unlucky-in-love local Sissy. The couple instantly hit it off and marry, but when a little bit of jealousy and a lot of hubris mix in, the newlyweds find their (mobile) home is not as strong as expected.
Filling the Texas cityscape are a blend of characters including Bud's leathery aunt Corene and ailing uncle Bob, the sinister ex-con Wes, the rich flirt Pam, Gilley's rowdy manager Jesse and plenty of young dancing barflies.
The new musical features an eclectic collection of old and new music. Popular country music by Clint Black and Brooks & Dunn will be interpolated among songs from the movie — including the signature "Lookin' For Love" — as well as original works by Jeff Blumenkrantz, Bob Stillman and the production's musical director conductor Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years.)
The show stars newcomer Matt Cavenaugh as Bud, who gets seduced by the barflies in and around a honky-tonk Texas bar named Gilley's, where a mechanical bull is the center of attention. Jenn Colella is Sissy, his love interest. The cast also features Leo Burmester, Marcus Chait, Sally Mayes, Rozz Morehead and Jodi Stevens along with Michael Balderrama, Mark Bove, Gerrard Carter, Nicole Foret, Lisa Gadja, Justin Greer, Michelle Kittrell, Brian Letendre, Barrett Martin, Kimberly Dawn Neumann, Tera-Lee Pollin, Chad L. Schiro, Kelleia Sheerin and Paula Wise. The show has been in development for several years and has gone through many rewrites and reconsiderations in that time. In the last year, Jason Robert Brown was brought aboard and was signed as musical director and arranger. When co-librettist and director Phillip Oesterman died unexpectedly, Price was brought in to direct.
The Florida tryout of the Broadway-bound Urban Cowboy ended its nearly sold out run at Coconut Grove Playhouse. Seats for the show's final week were a top commodity at the Miami venue, a Coconut Grove spokesperson said.
Price told Playbill On-Line at a recent press event, "What this show really is about is: Amidst all of that cold petro-chemical world the way you survive is to find the person you love. A very simple message, but I think a profound one."
The complete songlist is as follows: (order and songs subject to change)