Fred Applegate, Samantha Bruce and More Will Star in York Theatre Company Concert of CELEBRATION

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and rediscovery of musical gems from the past, as part of its 50th Anniversary season, has announced the cast for the York Legacy Concerts of the 1969 Broadway musical Celebration, written by the revered songwriting team of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones. Performances are on Monday, January 27th at 2:30pm and 7:30pm at The York Theatre at Saint Peter's (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).

Directed by David Glenn Armstrong (York's recent concert of I Do! I Do! and multiple Musicals in Mufti including Plain & Fancy), with music direction by Deniz Cordell (Muftis of Panama Hattie and Lolita, My Love), the cast will feature Fred Applegate (The Producers, Sister Act) as Rich, Samantha Bruce (The Fantasticks, York's concert of I Do! I Do!) as Angela, Matt Dengler (The Visit, Mufti of Harold and Maude) as Orphan, and Nick Wyman (The Phantom of the Opera, York's Desperate Measures_) as Potemkin, with Joy Del Valle, Gabriella Mack, Noah Mogaka, and Rafael Rodriguez as The Revelers. Casting is by Carol Hanzel.

Broadway veterans Fred Applegate and Nick Wyman first performed these very same roles opposite each other forty-seven years ago in a New Jersey stock production of Celebration which Tom Jones happened to see. Applegate, Wyman, and Jones are all looking forward to their reunion and returning to the magical world of Celebration at The York Theatre, alongside longtime Fantasticks leads Samantha Bruce and Matt Dengler and an ensemble of new faces.

Celebration is set on a deserted city street in winter, where a group of ragged Revelers perform a modern version of the ancient ritual battle between Winter and Summer, the Young and the Old. Inspired by Peter Brook and Joseph Chaikin's Open Theatre, Celebration now makes its grand return to New York at The York Theatre fifty-one years (and five days) after its opening on Broadway. This newly rewritten version, first staged in 2016 by the New Line Theatre in St. Louis, was hailed by the critics. Bawdy, touching, and full of surprises, Celebration is a major milestone in Jones and Schmidt's search to find new forms for the American musical.

Tickets for the 7:30PM performance are priced at $50, $45 for York Members, $40 for York Plus! Members. Tickets for a special added preview performance at 2:30PM are priced at $40, $35 for York Members, $30 for York Plus! Members. Tickets may be purchased by calling (212) 935-5820, online at www.yorktheatre.org, or in person at the box office at The York Theatre at Saint Peter's (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue), Monday through Friday (12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.).

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos