Edward Watts Set to Lead Encores! IT'S A BIRD... IT'S A PLANE... IT'S SUPERMAN, 3/20-24

Joshua Bergasseis the 2012 Emmy Award-winning choreographer for NBC's musical drama "Smash," now in its second season. Joshua has choreographed Fox-TV's "So You Think You Can Dance" as well as The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall. His choreography credits include the off-Broadway productions of Bomb-Itty of Errors and Captain Louie, as well as many national and international tours.

Since its founding in 1994,Encores! (Artistic Director Jack Viertel and Music Director Rob Berman), has presented 58 musical productions for an audience of more than half a million people. The series celebrates the rarely heard works of America's most important composers and lyricists. Each season, Encores! gives three glorious scores the chance to be heard as their creators originally intended. Each production is a whirlwind, with just nine days of rehearsals, one day of dress rehearsal and seven performances. The cast is backed by The Encores! Orchestra, often more than 30 players strong.The program received a special 2000 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, as well as an Outer Critics Circle Award, Lucille Lortel Award and Jujamcyn Theaters Award.

Over the years, Encores! has presented the works of Harold Arlen, Burt Bacharach, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern, John Kander and Fred Ebb, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, Kurt Weill and many others. Past productions have included Christine Baranski, Kristin Chenoweth, Tyne Daly, Charles Dutton, Christine Ebersole, Sutton Foster, Anne Hathaway, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Nathan Lane, Patti LuPone, Donna McKechnie, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Robert Morse, Donna Murphy, James Naughton, Bebe Neuwirth, Rosie O'Donnell, Kelli O'Hara, Lynn Redgrave, Ann Reinking, Martin Short, Jock Soto, Vanessa L. Williams, Patrick Wilson and Jerry Zaks.

The 2013 Encores! season is made possible, in part, by the Stephanie and Fred Shuman Fund for Encores!, Stacey and Eric Mindich, Newman's Own Foundation, Nathalie and Pablo Salame, Roz and Jerry Meyer, Joseph S. & Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust, and Martin E. Segal.

New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city for nearly 70 years. It was Manhattan's first performing arts center, dedicated by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1943 with a mission to make the best in music, theater and dance accessible to all audiences. Today, City Center is home to many distinguished companies, including City Center's Principal Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as well as New York City Opera and Manhattan Theatre Club; a roster of renowned national and international visiting artists; and its own critically acclaimed and popular programs. The Tony-honored Encores! musical theater series has been hailed as "one of the very best reasons to be alive in New York." Dance has been integral to the theater's mission from the start, and dance programs, including the annual Fall for Dance Festival, remain central to City Center's identity. City Center is dedicated to providing educational opportunities to New York City students and teachers with programs such as Encores! In Schools and the Young People's Dance Series. Last year, City Center completed an extensive renovation to revitalize and modernize its historic theater.

City Center is located on 55th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues. It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Supermanwill run for seven performances, January 30 - February 3, according to the following schedule: Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix at 212-581-1212, or online at www.NYCityCenter.org. Tickets start at $25.

More Articles by This Author...