The U.S. premiere of It Happened in Key West the Musical begins at Pennsylvania's Fulton Theatre January 24. Opening night is January 26, with the limited run set to continue through February 11.
Shereen Pimentel (West Side Story, The Lion King) stars as Elena Hoyos, with Travis Kent (Disaster!) as Carl Tanzler Von Cosel. They're joined by Karmine Alers as Mama and Grandma, Valeria Ceballos as Nurse, Rubén Flores as Papa and Sheriff, Shea Gomez as Celia, Brian Gonzalez as Enrique and Judge, Andrew Mayer as Mario, Alan Mendez as Lombard and Troubadour, Jonathan Mousset as Luis and Troubadour, Sara Ornelas as Nana, and Anson Woodin as Tom and Troubadour. Rounding out the company as swings are Melissa Faraci and Nolen Petrosky. Casting is by Paul Hardt.
It Happened in Key West is inspired by the true story of eccentric scientist Carl Tansler Von Cosel in 1930s Key West. After decades of searching for his dream woman, Von Cosel finds Elena, only to lose her to tuberculosis. But for Von Cosel, Elena's death is only the beginning. The musical had its world premiere at Charing Cross Theatre in London and released a cast album in 2022.
The musical features a book by Jill Santoriello (A Tale of Two Cities), Jason Huza, and Jeremiah James; music and lyrics by Santoriello; additional lyrics by Huza; and an original concept by James. Rebecca Martínez directs.
The production also features choreography by Brianna Mercado, music supervision by Ben McNaboe, music direction by Laura Bergquist, orchestrations by Robert Felstein, set design by Raul Abrego, costume design by Harry Nadal, lighting design by Dawn Chiang, sound design by Josh Allamon, and video design by Luis Garcia. Sarah Ackerman is production stage manager, and Duane McDevitt is assistant stage manager.
Visit TheFultonTheatre.org.