Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!, winner of the 2007 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event, will return to New York, producer Dan Whitten of Tiger Theatricals announced today. The one-weekend only event will play from January 8-10, 2010, at the Theatre at Saint Peters.
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! had its Broadway premiere at the Helen Hayes' Theater in September 2006, following an extended run Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre in 2004. The acclaimed show also played London's West End, and cities across America (and is currently at Los Angeles' Colony Theatre through December 13). During the Broadway season, Jay's famed partner ‘Bob' was inducted into the Smithsonian Institution where he resides today.
In his 30 plus-year career, Jay Johnson has delighted audiences with his unique blend of charm, anarchy and innovative wit. In Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! he deconstructs and demonstrates his lifelong obsession, aided by a "cast" that includes ‘Bob,' ‘Amigo,' ‘Darwin,' ‘Long John La Feat,' ‘Nethernore - the bird of Death,' ‘Spaulding,' ‘Arthur Drew,' ‘Jackie and Ga Ga,' and ‘Squeaky.'
Best known for playing the schizophrenic role of Chuck and Bob on the groundbreaking television comedy, "Soap," Jay Johnson is widely regarded as one of the world's great living ventriloquists. The ancient craft was discovered thousands of years ago and was used by early chieftains and tribesmen, who acted as mediums between men and supernatural forces. The case has also been made that diviners in many religions, including the Oracle of Delphi, were ventriloquists. With his dummy Bob, Jay Johnson follows in the footsteps of such performers as Jules Vernon, Fred Russell (and Coster Joe), The Great Lester (and Frank Byron, Jr.), Edgar Bergen (and Charlie McCarthy) and Paul Winchell, who have all helped to define ventriloquism as a bonafide modern art form.
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! is directed and co-created by Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel.
Dan Whitten is a Tony Award-winner for the Broadway engagement of Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!, and is also represented by his productions of Carousel in London's West End, 2 on the Aisle, 3 in a Van, Cougar the Musical, and the acclaimed Off-Broadway staging of Jacques Brel... . Whitten will also be presenting the musical, Enter Laughing, on Broadway next season.
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! was produced by Roger Alan Gindi, Stewart F. Lane & Bonnie Comely, Dan Whitten, Herbert Goldsmith Productions, Ken Grossman, Bob & Rhonda Silver, Michael A. Jenkins/Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. and WetRock Entertainment.
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! will play the following performance schedule: Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm, and Sunday at 2:30pm and 7:30pm.
Tickets are $45 and are available online 24/7 at www.tigertheatricals.com or by calling (212) 935-5820 Monday -Friday from 12-6PM. Student rush tickets will be $25.00 and available (cash only) at the box office; limit 2 per valid student ID, and they may be purchased any time on the day of performance. For more information visit www.thetwoandonly.com.
