Breaking: Another Op'nin'! Kelli O'Hara Will Lead Roundabout's KISS ME, KATE Revival in 2019

Broadway is going to get hot in 2019.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) just announced a new Broadway production of the Tony Award-winning musical comedy Kiss Me, Kate starring Kelli O'Hara in the hilarious duo leading roles of "Kate" and "Lilli Vanessi."

BroadwayWorld was there first to report this news back in March, when O'Hara hinted to a Virginia concert audience that she might return to Broadway in the role.

Kiss Me, Kate features a book by Sam and Bella Spewack, music and lyrics by Cole Porter, direction by eight-time Tony nominee and Roundabout's Associate Artistic Director Scott Ellis and choreography by Tony winner Warren Carlyle.

Kiss Me, Kate will return to Broadway in February 2019 at a venue to be announced.

"Kelli O'Hara is inarguably one of the best actresses in the American theater and a dear friend to Roundabout," said Artistic Director Todd Haimes. "We have been talking about projects for years and it is particularly thrilling to celebrate her return to Roundabout in a role that will showcase her impeccable range and virtuosic talent as a singer, actress and comedienne, just as she did in our production of The Pajama Game a decade ago. Putting together a season is always a puzzle of timing and availability, with Roundabout's particular pendulum swinging among revivals, a commitment to new work and when it's right, musicals. The stars aligned on Kiss Me, Kate - and we are honored to have my beloved colleagues Scott Ellis, Warren Carlyle and Kelli O'Hara back at Roundabout."

Roundabout welcomes back a longtime friend of the theater, Tony winner Kelli O'Hara who was nominated for her role in the 2006 revival of The Pajama Game opposite Harry Connick, Jr. O'Hara participated in a sold-out benefit concert reading of Kiss Me, Kate in 2016 also directed by Scott Ellis.

In the constellation of musical comedy masterpieces, Kiss Me, Kate shines as perhaps Broadway's most sparkling achievement. This is the winner of the first-ever Tony Award for Best Musical, alive with onstage romance, backstage passion, comedy high and low, a hilarious dash of Shakespeare's Shrew, and the songwriting genius of Cole Porter at his stylish, sexy, sophisticated best, including "Too Darn Hot," "So In Love" and "Always True To You In My Fashion." Once again, Roundabout catapults you to musical comedy heaven, with a brand-new Kiss Me, Kate.

Additional cast members and creative team will be announced soon.

Kelli O'Hara (Kate/Lilli Vanessi). Kelli O'Hara has unequivocally established herself as one of Broadway's great leading ladies. Her portrayal of Anna Leonowens in the critically acclaimed revival of The King and I garnered her the 2015 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, along with Drama League and Outer Critics nominations. She is currently appearing as Jackie in the second season of Netflix's hit 13 Reasons Why and recently completed shooting the upcoming series of The Accidental Wolf. Last year, she joined Showtime's Master of Sex as Michael Sheen's long-lost love, Dodie, and can be seen in CBS All Access' The Good Fight. Other Broadway credits include The Bridges of Madison County (Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, OCC nominations), Nice Work If You Can Get It (Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, OCC nominations), South Pacific (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC nominations), The Pajama Game (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC nominations), The Light in the Piazza (Tony & Drama Desk nominations), Sweet Smell of Success, Follies, Dracula, and Jekyll & Hyde. Regional/Off Broadway credits include Far From Heaven (Playwrights Horizons and WTF), King Lear (Public Theater), Bells Are Ringing (City Center Encores), Sunday in the Park with George (Reprise), and My Life With Albertine (Playwright's Horizons). Concerts span from Carnegie Hall to Capitol Hill. Ms. O'Hara starred as Mrs. Darling in NBC's live telecast of "Peter Pan" alongside Allison Williams and Christian Borle and made her Metropolitan Opera debut in The Merry Widow with Renee Fleming. Other film and television credits include Sex & The City 2, Martin Scorsese's The Key to Reserva, Blue Bloods, Alexander Hamilton, N3mbers, and the animated series Car Talk. She is a frequent performer on PBS's live telecasts and the Kennedy Center Honors. Her solo albums, Always and Wonder in the World are available on Ghostlight Records. Upcoming, Kelli will star in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Cosi? fan tutte as Despina, and will reprise her Tony Award winning role as Anna Leonowens in the highly anticipated West End transfer of The King and I, Summer 2018.

Scott Ellis (Director). Broadway: She Loves Me (Tony Award nomination, Outer Critics Circle nomination), You Can't Take It With You (Tony Award nomination, Outer Critics Circle nomination), On the Twentieth Century (Outer Critics Circle nomination), The Elephant Man (Outer Critics Circle nomination), The Mystery Of Edwin Drood (Tony nomination), Harvey, Curtains (Tony nomination), The Little Dog Laughed (Lortel nomination), Twelve Angry Men (Tony nomination), The Man Who Had All The Luck, The Rainmaker, 1776 (Drama Desk, Tony nomination), Company, Steel Pier (Tony nomination), She Loves Me (Tony nomination), Picnic, A Month In The Country. Off-Broadway: Dada Wolf, Papa Hot (LCT), Tom Durin, Gruesome Playground Inuries, Streamers, Good Boys And True, The Waverly Gallery, Flora, The Red Menace (DD nom), and The World Goes 'Round (Drama Desk Award). TV: "Weeds" (EP), "30 Rock" (Emmy nomination, Best Director), "Modern Family," HBO's "Divorce." Associate Artistic Director, Roundabout Theatre Company. Upcoming TV: "A Christmas Story Live!" on FOX.

Warren Carlyle (Choreographer). Roundabout: She Loves Me, On the Twentieth Century, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Broadway: Director/Choreographer: After Midnight, Chaplin, Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway, Finian's Rainbow and A Tale of Two Cities; Choreographer for Hello, Dolly!, A Christmas Story, Follies. For City Center Encores!: On Your Toes, Girl Crazy, On the Town, Juno and Stairway to Paradise. Choreographer for Carousel (New York Philharmonic). Regional: Produced, directed and choreographed the pre-Broadway tour of Hugh Jackman: In Performance; directed and/or choreographed Camelot, Harps and Angels, Limelight, Buddy's Tavern, Lucky Guy, Mame, Dancing in the Dark, The Pirates of Penzance and The Baker's Wife. Film/TV: "The 68th and 69th Annual Tony Awards" and "SYTYCD." Warren received a 2013 Emmy nomination for his work on Carousel and the 2014 Tony Award for his work on After Midnight. @carlylewarren

Tickets for Kiss Me, Kate are first made available to subscribers and donors. Whether you are interested in the best value or VIP experiences, Roundabout has a package option for you. Visit roundabouttheatre.org or call 212-719-1300 for more info. Sign up for Roundabout's email club at roundabouttheatre.org to be notified when tickets go on sale to the public.

Kiss Me Kate benefits from Roundabout's Musical Theatre Fund with lead gifts from the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Perry and Marty Granoff, and Michael Kors and Lance Le Pere.

Roundabout Theatre Company is committed to producing the highest quality theatre with the finest artists, sharing stories that endure, and providing accessibility to all audiences. A not-for-profit company, Roundabout fulfills its mission each season through the production of classic plays and musicals; development and production of new works by established and emerging writers; educational initiatives that enrich the lives of children and adults; and a subscription model and audience outreach programs that cultivate and engage all audiences.

Roundabout Theatre Company presents a variety of plays, musicals, and new works on its five stages, each of which is specifically designed to enhance the needs of Roundabout's mission. Off-Broadway, the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre, with its simple sophisticated design, is perfectly suited to showcasing new plays. The grandeur of its Broadway home on 42nd Street, American Airlines Theatre, sets the ideal stage for the classics. Roundabout's Studio 54 provides an exciting and intimate Broadway venue for its musical and special event productions. The Stephen Sondheim Theatre offers a state of the art LEED certified Broadway theatre in which to stage major large-scale musical revivals. Together these distinctive homes serve to enhance Roundabout's work on each of its stages.

American Airlines is the official airline of Roundabout Theatre Company. Roundabout productions are supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

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