Full Cast Revealed for PAL JOEY at New York City Center Featuring Glover, Ashmanskas, Devine & More

NEW YORK CITY CENTER has unveiled the complete cast for the Annual Gala Presentation Pal Joey. The production opens with a benefit performance on November 1 (through 5), celebrating 80 years at the center or the arts, followed by a gala dinner at the Ziegfeld Ballroom. Funds raised by all seven performances help to ensure the future of City Center’s founding mission: to provide all New Yorkers affordable access to world-class performing arts.

Joining the cast are ensemble members Mary Antonini, Taylor Marie Daniel, Leandra Ellis-Gaston, Jodeci Milhouse, NaTonia Monét, Rory Shirley, and Allysa Shorte. As dance plays an essential role in storytelling for this adaptation, the ensemble also includes Krystina M. Burton, Marshall L. Davis Jr., Dormeisha, Savion Glover, Jarvis Manning, and Brittany Nicole Parks, who appear as descendants of ancestral spirits that speak in the language of dance. Previously announced, the cast is led by Brooks Ashmanskas (Melvin), Jeb Brown (Tony), Loretta Devine (Lucille), Aisha Jackson (Linda), Elizabeth Stanley (Vera), and Ephraim Sykes (Joey).

In this revival, reconceived by co-director and choreographer Savion Glover and co-director Tony Goldwyn, Joey Evans (Ephraim Sykes) is a Black jazz singer who refuses to compromise on his craft as he struggles to make it big on the Chicago nightclub circuit. With a new book by Richard LaGravenese and Daniel “Koa” Beaty, the production reimagines Linda English (Aisha Jackson) as a radio chanteuse trying to find her authentic voice, and Vera Simpson (Elizabeth Stanley) as a liberated white socialite following her passions. Rodgers and Hart classics like “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” “Do It the Hard Way,” “I Could Write a Book,” and “That Terrific Rainbow” are joined by gems like “I Wish I Were in Love
  
Again,” “Falling In Love With Love,” “My Heart Stood Still,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” and “This Funny World.”

Tickets from $35 can be purchased online at NYCityCenter.org, by calling 212.581.1212, or in person at the City Center Box Office. Gala packages for the opening performance on Wednesday, November 1 at 6pm, which include dinner and dancing at the Ziegfeld Ballroom, start at $2,500. For additional details, contact SpecialEvents@NYCityCenter.org. New York City Center is located at 131 W 55th St between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

Performance Details: 

Pal Joey
Nov 1 – 5, 2023
Wed 6pm, Gala Performance | Thu & Fri 7:30pm | Sat 2 & 8pm | Sun 2 & 7pm
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart
New Book by Richard LaGravenese and Daniel “Koa” Beaty
Based on the Original Book by John O'Hara
Music Director Alvin Hough, Jr.
Choreographed by Savion Glover
Co-directed by Savion Glover and Tony Goldwyn
Featuring Brooks Ashmanskas, Jeb Brown, Loretta Devine, Aisha Jackson, Elizabeth Stanley, and Ephraim Sykes
Mary Antonini, Krystina M. Burton, Taylor Marie Daniel, Marshall L. Davis Jr., Dormeshia, Leandra Ellis-Gaston, Savion Glover, Jarvis Manning, Jodeci Milhouse, NaTonia Monét, Brittany Nicole Parks, Rory Shirley, and Allysa Shorte.