Musicals Tonight!, the Off-Broadway revival series that has shed new light on some of the American musical theatre’s rarely produced and nearly-forgotten gems, will end its 20-year run this month with the New York premiere of the 1961 musical Calamity Jane.
The production will mark the organization’s 100th revival since it was founded by Mel Miller in 1998. Since its inception, the series has presented rarely-heard musicals by some of Broadway’s greatest writers, including the Gershwins’ Lady, Be Good!, Rodgers and Hart’s Chee-Chee, and Cole Porter’s Gay Divorce.
Calamity Jane, which runs March 13–25 at the Lion Theatre, is the capstone to the organization's 20th anniversary season, which included The Apple Tree and Bells Are Ringing.
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“It has been a wonderful 20 years with 100 shows and a million happy memories,” Miller said in a statement. “I had the pleasure of working with the late George S. Irving and the honor to be permitted to revive shows by Cole Porter, George & Ira Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart, Jerome Kern, and Irving Berlin. We revived deliriously silly shows that were brought back to life one last time – Chee-Chee; Theodore & Co; That’s the Ticket; Shinbone Alley; and Whoopee. The shows that still bring a tear to my eye are King of Hearts; Cabin in the Sky; Irma La Douce; Three Wishes for Jamie; and Carnival. I will always be grateful to the actors—over 1,500 of them—who were and are so devoted to their craft. I also want to thank our audiences of over 100,000 who shared your joy and generosity with one another and with Musicals Tonight! It’s been a great ride.”
Based on the 1953 Doris Day film, Calamity Jane is adapted by Ronald Hanmer and Phil Park from the stage play by Charles K. Freeman. The Musicals Tonight! revival will incorporate songs from the film written by Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) and Sammy Fain (music), including the Oscar-winning “The Secret Love.”
The Musicals Tonight! production of Calamity Jane is directed by Devin Vogel with musical direction by Nevada Lozano. Featured in the cast are Sam Beasley, Jordan Bell, Christian Brown, Rosalie Burke, Caitlin Evans, Peter Gosik, Brandon Grimes, Abby Hart, Alexis Kinney, Brian Klimowski, Emily Larger, Bart Mather, Alison McCartan, Jimmy Nicholas, Dallas Padoven, and Kristin Wetherington.
Tickets are $45 and can be purchased through telecharge.com.
