Jessica Vosk, Lesli Margherita, Ethan Slater, and More Join CLASSICS GONE MAD!

Classic Stage Company will present the 2025 iteration of Classics Gone Mad!, a benefit event hosted by stage and screen star Nina West (Hairspray, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 11 Miss Congeniality title winner) and directed by CSC Associate Board members Cara Akselrad and Eric Ulloa. With songs, scenes, and a fabulous queen, you’ve never seen CSC quite like this. Highlighting the work of the legendary John Kander and Fred Ebb, this year’s Classics Gone Mad! will be held at CSC’s Lynn F. Angelson Theater on Monday April 7 at 7pm. Tickets and sponsorship packages are on sale now.
 
“Classics Gone Mad!  is one of my favorite events we produce each year. The show gives us a chance to appreciate the legends of our artform in such a fun way. Audiences in years past have enjoyed an unforgettable experience, and we know the songs of Kander and Ebb will be prime material for antics to ensue,” said Producing Artistic Director Jill Rafson. “I’m also delighted to have the fabulous Nina West leading this evening, in her Off-Broadway hosting debut—this is going to be a night you won’t want to miss!”
 
Join CSC for an event that is part show, part party, all unscripted, created with the help of the audience…and all that jazz. This year, the “mad” event concludes with an afterparty and singalong led by pianist Brandon James Gwinn at a local speakeasy.
 
Classics Gone Mad! will feature Tony Award nominee Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Spamalot), Olivier Award winner Lesli Margherita (Gypsy), John Riddle (Frozen), The Skivvies (Nick Cearley and Lauren Molina), Tony Award nominee Ethan Slater (CSC’s Assassins, “Wicked”), Tonatiuh (“Kiss of the Spiderwoman”), Jessica Vosk (Hell’s Kitchen), and more to be announced.
 
Tickets start at $100 with a range of packages available at multiple levels of giving. Classics Gone Mad! raises funds to support CSC’s mission, from creating thought-provoking theater to introducing the power of the classics to thousands of students in New York City every year.
 
CSC will begin performances for Alice Childress’s Wine in the Wilderness, directed by Tony Award winner LaChanze, on March 6. Starring Olivia Washington and Grantham Coleman, the production will open on March 24 for a limited run through April 13. Tickets are on sale now at www.classicstage.org. In May, CSC will present William Inge’s Bus Stop, directed by Jack Cummings III, in a co-production with The National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) and Transport Group. CSC memberships are available, starting at $50, and include guaranteed access to purchase discounted tickets to Wine in the Wilderness and Bus Stop.