Ken Jennings to Lead Reading of THE PAPARAZZI

Broadway veteran Ken Jennings will be portraying legendary newspaper columnist and radio personality Walter Winchell in the upcoming reading of the Broadway bound musical The Paparazzi, September 18th 3pm at The Davenport Theatre (354 West 45th Street). The Paparazzi has a book by Tony Sportiello, music and lyrics by Al Tapper, with music direction by David Wolfson. It is produced by Algonquin Theater Productions.

Jennings stars as the ghost of Winchell, America's first gossip columnist, whose career spanned several decades. Here he narrates the cautionary tale of Christie Barnes (Erica Lustig), an ambitious young journalist who yearns to write for The New York Times but instead finds herself at The New York Beacon, a tabloid run by the mercurial Mike Peterson (Spencer Plachy). It's a high energy world of secrets and lies, where truth is less important than speed and accuracy less important than notoriety. The Paparazzi turns the spotlight on the people who turn the spotlight on celebrities, and examines America's fascination with the rich and famous. Jennings has been in the Broadway productions of Urinetown, Sweeney Todd, Sideshow, A Christmas Carol, Grand Hotel, London Assurance, Present Laughter and All God's Chilean Got Wings, the last two being directed by the immortal George C. Scott. He won the 1979 Drama Desk Award as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Tobias in Sweeney Todd.

Also in the cast are Abe Goldfarb, Brian Demar Jones, Laura Kaldis, Lindsay Lavin, Michael Linden, Kelli Maguire, Michael McIntyre and Nathan Oesterle. Casting by Wojcik/Seay,

Since 2004 Algonquin Theater Productions has developed and produced several long running Off Broadway shows, including Sessions, Same Train, The Devil and Billy Markham, An Evening at the Carlyle, The Chosen Wife, LOL, All Aboard and National Pastime.

The goal for The Paparazzi is to be on the Broadway calendar for 2018.