The producers of the new Broadway musical High Fidelity have announced that the show will begin previews November 20 prior to opening December 7 on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45 Street). High Fidelity will transfer to Broadway following its world premiere engagement in Boston at the Colonial Theatre (106 Boylston Street), where it begins previews September 26 prior to opening night on October 5.
A first time collaboration between composer
Tom Kitt, lyricist
Amanda Green and Tony-nominated book writer
David Lindsay-Abaire (
Rabbit Hole, Fuddy Meers),
High Fidelity is a romantic musical comedy based on best-selling novel by Nick Hornby (later a popular film by Touchstone Pictures).
High Fidelity is directed by Tony Award-winner
Walter Bobbie (
Chicago), and is produced by
Jeffrey Seller, Robyn Goodman and
Kevin McCollum (the team that produced the Tony Award-winning musical
Avenue Q), along with producers Live Nation,
Roy Miller, Dan Markley, Jam Theatricals and Ruth Hendel.
The musical "tells the story of Rob, a record store owner who knows almost everything there is to know about pop music, but almost nothing about how to hold on to a girl. Rob's love life, already a broken record of heartache, falls off the charts completely when he gets dumped by Laura….but that just sets him up for one of the top 5 romantic comebacks ever," according to press notes.
Will Chase, best known for his roles in Broadway's
Lennon, Rent and
Aida, and
Jenn Colella, who starred in Broadway's
Urban Cowboy, will respectively portray Rob and Laura. They will be joined by
Christian Anderson (Dick), Jay Klaitz (Barry),
Jeb Brown (Ian), Katy Mixon (Liz),
Emily Swallow (Marie/Charlie),
Jon Patrick Walker (Johnny the Drunk),
Kirsten Wyatt (Anna/Alison), ensemble members
Justin Brill, Andrew C. Call, Matt Caplan and Anne Warren, and swings
Paul Castree, George Merrick, Tom Plotkin,
Rachel Stern and
J.B. Wing.
According to the songwriters Kitt and Green, it was "the wit, humor and humanity of Nick Hornby's characters and story," that attracted them to do a stage adaptation of
High Fidelity, a tale that "naturally lends itself to musical treatment. It is a socially acute contemporary love story about people who are obsessed with, and define themselves by pop music and culture. The hero's life is a soundtrack and the big moments are songs."
High Fidelity will be choreographed by
Christopher Gattelli (
Altar Boyz, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me), with set design by Anna Louizos (
Avenue Q), costume design by Theresa Squire (
The Lieutenant of Inishmore), lighting design by Tony-winner Ken Billington (
Chicago) and sound design by Acme Sound Partners (
Avenue Q).
Sonny Everett and Mariano Tolentino, Jr. are associate producers.
While in Boston,
High Fidelity will perform at the Colonial Theatre in Boston from September 26 to October 22, 2006. Tickets for the Boston engagement of are available through the Broadway Across America - Boston Subscription and Member programs 1-866-523-7469. For groups of 20 or more, call Broadway Across America - Boston Groups at 617-482-8616. For further information regarding Broadway in Boston, call 617-880-2400 or visit www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com.
On Broadway,
High Fidelity will perform Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets will range in price from $41.25 to $111.25, and can be reserved by calling Tele Charge at 212-239-6200, or online at
www.telecharge.com.
For more information about
High Fidelity, visit the show's website at
www.topfivebreakups.com.
