Photo Coverage: York Theatre Presents Musicals in Mufti's 'THE GRAND TOUR'

The Grand Tour features James Barbour (A Tale of Two Cities) as Colonel Stjerbinsky, Nancy Anderson (Wonderful Town) as Marianne and Jason Graae (A Grand Night for Singing) as S.L. Jacobowsky, the role originated by Joel Grey in the 1979 Broadway premiere. The Cast also includes Edwin Cahill (LoveMusik), Roger DeWitt (The Woman in White), William Thomas Evans (A Tale of Two Cities), Nicholas Galbraith ("As the World Turns"), Cynthia Leigh Heim (The Music Man), Lorinda Lisitza (ReWrite), Daniel Stewart (Not About Nightingales) and Sasha Weiss (Jerry Springer, The Opera at Carnegie Hall). The concerts are directed by Michael Montel with music direction by James Bassi.

The Grand Tour, featuring music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble (based on the original play Jacobowski and the Colonel by Franz Werfel), is a bittersweet comic tale featuring love triangles, mistaken identity and a wedding at sea. At the onset of the Nazi invasion, two strangers with nothing in common travel from France to England and unexpectedly become the best of friends. Jerry Herman's sweeping music and lyrics complement Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble's acclaimed, period-perfect script. Originally starring Joel Grey and admired by many, The Grand Tour's life on Broadway in 1979 was regrettably short-lived and was hailed by Joel Siegel as "a first-class musical!"

The performances will be presented at the Theatre at Saint Peter's (54th Street, just East of Lexington Ave) on Saturday, May 30 at 2:30 & 8 PM, and Sunday, May 31 at 2:30 & 7:30 PM. Audience talkbacks will follow both matinees. Tickets are priced at $37.50. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.yorktheatre.org or call the York's Box Office at 212-935-5820.

‘Mufti' (pronounced MUFF' tee) means "in street clothes; without the usual trappings" and each show in the Series is presented script-in-hand, with minimal staging. To date, the York has presented over 70 Mufti concert revivals of musical theatre gems from Broadway, Off-Broadway and London, celebrating such writers as Richard Rodgers, George Abbott and Joseph Stein. The 2009 Spring Series continues with High Spirits (June 12-14) and Knickerbocker Holiday (June 26-28).

Notable Musicals in Mufti productions have included Enter Laughing, The Musical (which inspired The York's record-breaking Off-Broadway production), Take Me Along, Beggar's Holiday, Mirette, The Grass Harp, Carmelina, Wish You Were Here, Fanny, Plain and Fancy, Lucky Stiff, Darling of the Day, Celebration, Mata Hari, Weird Romance, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, The Girl Who Came to Supper, Carmen Jones, Theda Bara and the Frontier Rabbi, Johnny Johnson, Rex, Billion Dollar Baby and 70, Girls, 70. TIME Magazine listed York's Mufti version of Darling of the Day as one of the Top Ten Theatrical Events of 2005, and AM New York referred to the Mufti Series as "increasingly essential" in its Best of 2007 list.

For ticket information visit www.yorktheatre.org or call 212-935-5820. THE York Theatre Company in Saint Peter's Theatre 54th Street Just East of Lexington E or V train to Lexington Avenue or 6 train to 51st Street.

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