Casting Complete For Starry DANCE A LITTLE CLOSER Concert

As previously announced, the acclaimed Second Act Series, which has presented an array of lesser-known musicals in concert, will celebrate the short-lived Charles Strouse and Alan Jay Lerner musical Dance A Little Closer at New York's Green Room 42 on Monday, April 16th at 7:00pm. Three-time Tony Award-winning composer Charles Strouse will be on hand to meet fans and sign copies of his memoir, Put On A Happy Face, following the performance. Part of a lifelong celebration of composer Charles Strouse's 90th birthday, this special event gives audiences the rare opportunity to hear this enchanting score. Michael Osso (The Broadway Four) joins a starry ensemble that features Beautiful's Julia Knitel (Bye, Bye, Birdie), currently starring in A Letter to Harvey Milk as Cynthia and Drama Desk Award-winner Ed Dixon (Georgie, Sunday In The Park With George, Les Miserables) in the role created by his lifelong friend and colleague George Rose. Also featured in the one-night-only concert is Cheryl Howard, who returns to the role she originated in the original 1983 production.

In this abridged version highlighting Strouse's sweeping score, audiences will have the rare opportunity to turn back the clocks and relive this little-known musical. Additionally, audiences will have the chance to hear never-before-heard songs cut during the show's workshop period.

It is New Year's Eve at The Alpine Barclay Palace Hotel and the guests have found themselves on the brink of a nuclear armageddon. And thus begins Alan Jay Lerner and Charles Strouse's short-lived musical Dance A Little Closer, inspired by Robert E. Sherwood's Idiot's Delight. Featuring an outstanding score by the composer of Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Rags and more, Dance A Little Closer struggled to find its footwork and closed on its opening night after twenty-five previews and one performance. Musical theater lovers, however, have never forgotten Strouse's remarkable score and Lerner's clever lyrics. Now, just in time for the musical's 35th anniversary, The Alpine Barclay Palace Hotel and its guests will return to the New York Stage for one night only. Also featured in the cast are PJ Adzima (National Tour of The Book of Mormon), Thomas Dieter, Janet Fanale (Forbidden Broadway), Kimberly Faye Greenberg (Danny and Sylvia, One Night With Fanny Brice, Ghostlight), Christine Knitel, Eric Knitel, Stearns Matthews (MAC and Bistro Award-winner), Paul Thomas Ryan (What Was Lost) and Kenneth Tigar (Broadway: Translations, Fish In The Dark, TV/Film: Alpha House, The Avengers, and more).

Through a career that spanned three decades, lyricist/librettist Alan Jay Lerner and his partner, composer Frederick Loewe, became virtually synonymous with the blockbuster Broadway musical. A list of their hits all but defines the genre: Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, Camelot, the movie musical Gigi, and their biggest triumph, My Fair Lady. Dance a Little Closer, his only collaboration with legendary composer Charles Strouse closed on its opening night, but lived on through a cast recording preserving their wonderful score.

Best known for his Tony Award-winning score for Annie, there may be no other living composer whose work is as integrated into the popular culture. A three-time Tony Award-winner, Charles Strouse's music has touched the life of almost every American in the last half century. From the classic "Once Upon a Time" to the rocking score of Bye, Bye, Birdie (Tony Award), his celebrated songs are an essential part of the American songbook. A graduate of The Eastman School of Music, Charles studied composition with Aaron Copland, and Nadia Boulanger. Like most composers, he found himself playing in bar rooms and strip-clubs (a particular boon for one who was to write the music for the film The Night They Raided Minsky's). Having previously composed chamber music, two piano concertos, a string quartet and two operas, Charles met Lee Adams, with whom he would collaborate on more than ten musicals including It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman, (Tony nomination), Golden Boy (Tony nomination) and the Tony-winning Applause. Charles has received the Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, and Leonard Bernstein awards for musical achievement. In addition to Adams, Charles has collaborated with an array of celebrated songwriters such as Alan Jay Lerner (Dance A Little Closer), Sammy Cahn (Bojangles), Stephen Schwartz (Rags), Hal David (Lady For A Day), Richard Maltby, Jr. (Nick and Nora) and more. On June 7, 2018 Charles Strouse will turn 90, but as the song goes, he's "got a lotta livin' to do." Strouse is looking ahead to new projects including a revival of Rags. http://www.charlesstrouse.com.

The evening is presented by the team behind the popular Second Act Series, Steven Carl McCasland and James Horan, who brought Onward Victoria, Charlie and Algernon, 70, Girls, 70, Nick & Nora, Shelter starring Jon Cryer, Charlotte Sweet, Bring Back Birdie, Henry, Sweet Henry, Eating Raoul and more back to New York's cabaret stages. The evening features Musical Direction by Horan and Direction by McCasland.

Located in the heart of the theatre district, The Green Room 42 is Broadway's newest, most spacious, and funkiest entertainment hall. Featuring a wide variety of performances by your favorite Broadway stars, and a delicious menu of food and drink, our club opens the doors of hospitality to the small stage while providing you value. Tickets, beginning at $30,are on sale now at http://www.onfournyc.com. There is no food and beverage minimum.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi

To post a comment, you must register and login.