New York City Center Will Extend Encores! Runs to 2 Weeks

NEW YORK CITY CENTER today announced that the 2024 Encores! series will feature special two-week runs of all three productions for the first time in the series’ history, celebrating 30 years of the Tony-honored series. A centerpiece of City Center’s 80th Season at the Center of the Arts, the 30th Encores! series opens January 24 (through February 4) with Once Upon a Mattress starring Sutton Foster, directed by Encores! Artistic Director Lear deBessonet and with a new concert adaptation by Amy Sherman-Palladino. Following is Jelly’s Last Jam directed by Robert O’Hara from February 21 through March 3, and closing out the season is Titanic directed by Anne Kauffman from June 12 through 23. Encores! Music Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell will lead The Encores! Orchestra for Once Upon a Mattress and Titanic. The music director for Jelly’s Last Jam will be announced later.

President & CEO Michael S. Rosenberg said, “For this season of milestone anniversaries, these special two week runs celebrating 30 years of Encores! provide added opportunities to welcome even more New Yorkers to experience City Center’s world-class performances and to join in the celebration.”

Encores! Artistic Director Lear deBessonet said, “It’s been 30 years since Encores! first began its mission of reviving American musicals and this year we’re celebrating the dedicated audiences and newcomers who’ve helped build this community with us and welcoming the next generation of musical theater audiences thanks to our first-ever Encores! student matinees.”

Vice President, Education & Community Engagement Tia Powell Harris said, “Inviting more students to experience and be inspired by the performing arts is what access is all about. This season we're working

even harder to open our doors to new communities by offering American Sign Language interpreted performances for Encores! and hosting Community Nights for all three productions.”

Lynne & Richard Pasculano Student Matinees provide access to school groups from across New York City, offering subsidized tickets to performances that enrich student’s learning experiences. Students and teachers receive Behind the Curtain guides that include information about the production, performers, historical and cultural context, and engaging activities. With these resources, teachers can lead dynamic in-class conversations with students both before and after the show. Student Matinees for the 30th Encores! series will be held on Wednesday, January 31 at 11am (Once Upon a Mattress) for Grades 3 – 8 and Wednesday February 28 at 11am (Jelly’s Last Jam) for Grades 7 – 12. Additional student matinees for City Center’s 80th season include Ailey II (Tue Dec 5 and Thu Dec 7 at 11am; Grades 3 – 12), and Flamenco Festival Olga Pericet (Fri Mar 15 at 11am; Grades 3 – 12). For more information on attending a Lynne & Richard Pasculano Student Matinee, please email Education@NYCityCenter.org or call 212.763.1221.

Expanding City Center’s mission to make the arts accessible to everyone, all three productions of the 30th Encores! series will host Community Nights. These free pre-show events on Friday evenings invite City Center audiences and New York City community members to meet and mingle with artists, guest speakers, and each other. Building common bonds around the power of performance, events range from panel discussions to interactive learning experiences. Community Nights for the 30th Encores! series will take place January 26 at 6:30pm (Once Upon a Mattress), February 23 at 6:30pm (Jelly’s Last Jam), and June 14 at 6:30pm (Titanic). In addition, ASL Interpreted Performances will be held Thursday, February 1 (Once Upon a Mattress), Thursday, February 29 (Jelly’s Last Jam), and Thursday, June 20 (Titanic). For additional information, visit NYCityCenter.org.

Tickets and General Information

New Encores! subscriptions are currently on sale. Encores! single tickets starting at $35 (plus a $3 facility fee and $7 handling fee) go on sale to members October 10 and to the general public on October 17. Access City Center Club is available to those 35 years of age and under and offers a limited number of $25 tickets (plus a $3 facility fee and no handling fees) to City Center productions. For more information and to sign up, visit NYCityCenter.org/Access Subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased online at NYCityCenter.org, by calling 212.581.1212, or in person at the City Center Box Office (reopening Aug 28). New York City Center is located at 131 W 55th St between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

Programming and casting subject to change.

Leadership Support for Encores! provided by the Stacey and Eric Mindich Fund for Musical Theater.

Encores! Season is sponsored by The Shubert Foundation and the Stephanie and Fred Shuman Fund for Encores!.

Major Support for Encores! is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and Luigi Caiola.

Major Support for Once Upon a Mattress is provided by Royal Bank of Canada, Thomas and Maren Hood, Robbie Moray and Scott Dunn, and Eleanor and Howard Morgan.

Additional Support for Encores! is provided by Margot and John Ernst, The Marta Heflin Foundation, The Kaplen Brothers Fund, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Frederick Loewe Foundation, Daryl and Steven Roth, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., The SHS Foundation, and The Ted Snowdon Foundation.

Leadership Support for Encores! Student Matinees is provided by Judy Taub Gold.
Major Support for Encores! Student Matinees is provided by the RBC Foundation, Jeanette Loeb, and Kevin Ryan.

Community Nights at New York City Center are made possible by the Jerome L. Greene Foundation Fund in the New York Community Trust.

ASL Interpreted Performances at New York City Center are made possible by the Howard Gilman Foundation.

Support for the Ann Reinking Encores! Choreography Fellowship is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Peter Talbert in honor of Ann Reinking.

NEW YORK CITY CENTER (Michael S. Rosenberg, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city since 1943. The distinctive Neo-Moorish building was founded by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia as Manhattan’s first performing arts center with the mission of making the best in theater, dance, and music accessible to all audiences. This commitment continues today through celebrated dance and musical theater series like the Fall for Dance Festival and the Tony-honored Encores! series; the annual season by Principal Dance Company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and new dance series Artists at the Center. City Center welcomes audiences to experience internationally acclaimed artists including Kyle Abraham, Matthew Bourne, Ayodele Casel, Manhattan Theatre Club, Nederlands Dans Theater, and Twyla Tharp, on the same stage where legends made their mark. Dedicated to a culture built on the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, City Center’s dynamic programming, art exhibitions, and studio events are complemented by education and community engagement programs that bring the performing arts to thousands of New York City students, teachers, and families every year, in all five boroughs.