Looks like we're at the fountain! Manhattan community choir ensemble MasterVoices will produce a three-performance concert version of Marvin Hamlisch, Craig Carnelia, and John Guare's seldom-produced musical Sweet Smell of Success, adapted from the 1957 film by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman. Performances will run November 21-22 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall.
And starring will be Raúl Esparza (Company) as J.J. Hunsecker and Lizzy McAlpine (Floyd Collins) as Susan, with additional casting to be announced. MasterVoices Artistic Director (and Tony winner) Ted Sperling will direct and conduct.
The gritty musical—which features music by the late Hamlisch, lyrics by Carnelia, and a book by Guare—follows ambitious press agent Sidney Falco who develops an unlikely friendship with gossip columnist J.J. Hunsecker, whose daily column is the primary target for all of Falco's clients. When Hunsecker enlists Falco to break off a relationship between his sister, Susan, and a young jazz musician, Falco gets all tangled up in Hunsecker's web. The work played a brief Broadway run in 2002, its dark source material somewhat less appealing to audiences still reeling from the attacks of 9/11. Guare and Carnelia are revising their work for the upcoming MasterVoices staging.
The performances will also feature choreography by Andrew Palermo, scenic design by Ryan Howell, costume design by Tracy Christensen, and sound design by Scott Lehrer. The musical features orchestrations by William David Brohn and dance arrangements by Ron Melrose. The production is being presented by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
Sweet Smell of Success is part of the ensembles newly announced 2025-2026 season, which also includes Sins and Grace, to be performed at Alice Tully Hall's Starr Theater at Lincoln Center March 23-24, 2026. The performance will match Fauré's Requiem in D minor with Seven: A Cycle of Sins. The latter is a new work being created by MasterVoices, which has commissioned seven writers from the theatre and concert worlds (to be announced) to each write a song inspired by one of the seven deadline sins: greed, sloth, gluttony, lust, pride, envy, and wrath. The song cycle will be written for soprano, baritone, chorus, and orchestra.
Tickets and further season details are at MasterVoices.org.
