Look Out, New York! ON THE TOWN Opens Tonight on Broadway

The new Broadway revival of On The Town, directed by John Rando (Tony Award for Urinetown) and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse (Emmy Award winner for "Smash") officially opens tonight, October 16, 2014 at Broadway's Lyric Theatre (213 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036).

The Bronx is up, the Battery's down, and three sailors are hoping to get just a little bit lucky on their one day of leave in the Big Apple. From the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Coney Island to Times Square and Carnegie Hall, On The Town zigzags through New York City as the sailors and the three high-spirited young women they meet chase love, dreams, and each other during an unforgettable day in the city that never sleeps. The classic score features the standards "New York, New York," "I Can Cook Too," "Lonely Town," and "Some Other Time" and is played in this production with their original orchestrations, performed by the largest orchestra on Broadway, with 28 musicians led by musical director James Moore (Follies, Ragtime).

The cast is led by Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line), Jay Armstrong Johnson (The New York Philharmonic's Sweeney Todd, Hands On A Hardbody, Hair), and Clyde Alves (Bullets Over Broadway, Nice Work If You Can Get It) as the sailors on 24-hour shore leave who take on the Big Apple; Megan Fairchild (New York City Ballet Principal Dancer), Alysha Umphress (American Idiot) and Elizabeth Stanley (Company) as the women who steal their hearts; and Jackie Hoffman(Hairspray, Xanadu) in the role of "Madame Dilly". Tony Award winner Michael Rupert (Legally Blonde: The Musical, Ragtime, Falsettos, Sweet Charity) plays "Judge Pitkin" alongside Allison Guinn (Hair) as "Lucy Schmeeler", Tony Award nominee Phillip Boykin (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess) and Stephen DeRosa(Hairspray, The Nance, Into The Woods).

Created by the legendary creative team of Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Jerome Robbins, On The Town grew out of the Jerome Robbins ballet Fancy Free, about three sailors on leave in New York, which debuted in 1944 with the American Ballet Theatre. The musical opened at Broadway's Adelphi Theater later that year, directed by George Abbott, and played through February 2, 1946 for a total of 462 performances, transferring to the 44th Street Theatre and Martin Beck Theatre along the way.

The production features scenic and projection design by Tony nominee Beowulf Boritt (Act One, Chaplin, Rock of Ages), lighting design by Drama Desk nominee Jason Lyons (Bring it On, Rock of Ages), costume design by Tony Award winner Jess Goldstein (Newsies, Jersey Boys, The Rivals), and sound design by Tony nominee Kai Harada(Follies, Million Dollar Quarter), and hair and makeup design byLeah Loukas (A Night with Janis Joplin, Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike).

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus