Girl Crazy, the first Encores! production of the New York City Center season, will star Ana Gasteyer, Wayne Knight and Marc Kudisch and will run November 19 - 22. Girl Crazy, directed by Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Warren Carlyle with Guest Music Director Rob Fisher, has music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan.
Girl Crazy, the Gershwin's fanciful depression-era musical of 1930, is the tale of a sophisticated New Yorker (Chris Diamantopoulos) marooned in a dusty Western cow town with no one who understands him but the Yiddish-speaking cabbie (Wayne Knight) who brought him there and no one to love but the only woman (Becki Newton) within 50 miles. The show gave birth to one of the all-time flashiest Broadway scores, featuring "I Got Rhythm," "Embraceable You," "But Not for Me" and "Bidin' My Time," among others. Girl Crazy opened at the Alvin Theatre on October 14, 1930 and ran for 272 performances.
The Girl Crazy cast features Jeremy Beck, Chris Diamantopoulos, Ana Gasteyer, Mylinda Hull, Wayne Knight, Marc Kudisch, Becki Newton, Richard Poe, Daniel Stewart Sherman and Gregory Wooddell.
Jeremy Beck (Pete Howell) has appeared Off Broadway in Bury the Dead, Betrayed, The Second Tosca, Pink, Bang Big and The Dog in the Manger. His regional credits include Love's Labour's Lost, The Cherry Orchard, Quartermaine's Terms, She Loves Me and A Flea in Her Ear (Williamstown). In London, he appeared in the West End production of Shakespeare's R&J. He appeared in the film Gods and Generals.
Chris Diamantopoulos (Danny Churchill) has appeared on and off Broadway, as Marius in Les Miserables, in The Full Monty, and in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Music of the Night and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, in which he understudied Donny Osmond in the title role. He stars as Rodney in USA Network's "The Starter Wife" and has appeared on numerous television shows, including "Third Watch," "Frasier," "Nip/Tuck," and "The Sopranos." He received a Gemini Award nomination and a Prism Award for his portrayal of Robin Williams in the NBC movie "Behind the Camera: Mork & Mindy." Recently, Mr. Diamantopoulos starred opposite Lili Taylor in the Lifetime series "State Of Mind." He is married to co-star Becki Newton.
Ana Gasteyer (Frisco Kate Fothergill) is currently appearing on Broadway in The Royal Family. Her other Broadway credits include Elphaba in Wicked, Mrs. Peachum in The Threepenny Opera and Columbia in The Rocky Horror Show. Her off Broadway credits include Kimberly Akimbo, The Vagina Monologues, Cinderella (NYC Opera), Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (Pittsburgh CLO), Fosca in Passion (Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Jefferson Award nomination), Elphaba in Wicked (Chicago's Oriental Theatre, Jefferson Award nomination). She was a cast member of "Saturday Night Live" from 1998 - 2002 and played Lindsay Lohan's mother in the feature film Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey.
Mylinda Hull (Patsy West) appeared on Broadway in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sweet Charity and the 2001 Broadway revival of 42nd Street. Her off Broadway credits include Road Show at the Public Theater, I Love You, You're Perfect..., and the 2004 premiere of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, directed by Walter Bobbie. She made her Encores! debut in Face the Music.
Wayne Knight (Gieber Goldfarb) has appeared on Broadway in the plays Gemini, Mastergate, Art and Sweet Charity with Christina Applegate. Knight is well known for his role as Newman in "Seinfeld" and his appearances on "3rd Rock from the Sun." His film roles include Jurassic Park, Toy Story 2, JFK, Basic Instinct, Dirty Dancing and Tarzan. Currently, Mr. Knight can be seen regularly on the web series, "Woke Up Dead," and in guest appearances on "CSI," "Nip/Tuck" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
Marc Kudisch (Slick Fothergill) garnered critical acclaim as well as his third Tony and fourth Drama Desk Award nominations, respectively, in his role as Franklin Hart in 9 to 5. On Broadway, Marc was seen in The Apple Tree, while doing double duty and performing as the Pirate King in New York City Opera's The Pirates of Penzance. Marc had previously been nominated for the Tony Award first for the role of Trevor Graydon in Thoroughly Modern Millie (Drama Desk and Outer Critics nominations as well), and then for Baron Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Outer Critics nomination as well). His other Broadway roles include The Proprietor in Assassins (Drama Desk nomination), Jeff Moss in Bells Are Ringing, Jackie in the Public Theatre's The Wild Party and Gaston in Beauty and the Beast. His previous Encores! credits include No Strings.
