In Another Marilyn Monroe Role! SMASH Star Megan Hilty to Star in GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES at Encores!
By: Robert Diamond Feb. 01, 2012
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Megan Hilty has been cast as Lorelei Lee, the diamond-loving blonde made famous by Carol Channing, in the Encores! production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, opening May 9 at New York City Center. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes will be directed by John Rando with music direction by Rob Berman and choreography by Randy Skinner and will play for seven performances, May 9 – 13, at New York City Center, 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.
Megan Hilty will star in the highly anticipated musical drama, "Smash," premiering on NBC on Monday, February 6. She made her Broadway debut as Glinda in Wicked, a role she repeated on the national tour and in Los Angeles. She played Doralee, the Dolly Parton role, in the Broadway production of 9 to 5: The Musical, (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League Award nominations) and starred in Two by Two opposite Jason Alexander and Faith Prince as part of the reprise series in Los Angeles. She is currently in production on the animated film Dorothy of Oz with Kelsey Grammer, Hugh Dancy and Lea Michele.
Set in the Roaring Twenties, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes follows the madcap adventures of the original "dumb blonde," Lorelei Lee, as she sets sail for Europe with her best friend Dorothy Shaw. Based on Anita Loos's bestselling novel, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes has a book by Anita Loos and Joseph Fields, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Leo Robin. The show made a star of Carol Channing on Broadway and later cemented Marilyn Monroe's status as an American film icon and sex symbol in the 1953 screen version. "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is the crown jewel in a score that sparkles with songs like "Bye, Bye, Baby," "A Little Girl from Little Rock" and "I Love What I'm Doing (When I'm Doing it for Love)." The original production, directed by John C. Wilson and choreographed by Agnes De Mille, opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 8, 1949, and played a total of 740 performances. The show was revived by Tony Randall's National Actors Theater in 1995 and ran for 24 performances.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is generously supported by The Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust and Roz and Jerry Meyer.
John Rando (Director)'s Broadway credits include The Wedding Singer, Urinetown (Tony Award for Best Director), The Dinner Party and A Thousand Clowns. His other credits include The Toxic Avenger at New World Stages and Polish Joke at Manhattan Theatre Club. His previous Encores! credits include On the Town, Damn Yankees, Face the Music, Strike Up the Band, Do Re Mi, The Pajama Game and Of Thee I Sing.
Randy Skinner (Choreographer) is an award-winning director, choreographer and performer whose work has encompassed Broadway, National and International tours, and regional theatres. He received Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, and Astaire nominations for his choreography for 42nd Street. His many credits include the Broadway productions of State Fair (Outer Critics nomination), Ain't Broadway Grand (Tony, Outer Critics nominations), After The Night and The Music (MTC/Biltmore), Irving Berlin's White Christmas, and the Encores! productions of Do Re Mi, Of Thee I Sing, Face the Music and No, No Nanette.
Rob Berman (Music Director) is entering his fifth season as music director of Encores!, where he has conducted Where's Charley?, Lost in the Stars, Bells Are Ringing, Anyone Can Whistle, Fanny, Finian's Rainbow, Music in the Air, Damn Yankees, Applause and Stairway to Paradise, as well as several gala concerts. Broadway conducting credits include Finian's Rainbow, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, The Pajama Game, The Apple Tree, Wonderful Town and Promises, Promises, among others. He is a three-time Emmy nominee for his work as music director of the Kennedy Center Honors and a winner of the Helen Hayes Award for Best Musical Direction for his work on the Kennedy Center's production of Sunday in the Park with George. He was also music director for A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House.
New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city for more than 60 years. It was Manhattan's first performing arts center, dedicated by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1943 with a mission to make the best in music, theater and dance accessible to all audiences. Today, City Center is home to many distinguished companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Manhattan Theatre Club; a roster of renowned national and international visiting artists; and its own critically acclaimed and popular programs. The Tony-honored Encores! musical theater series has been hailed as "one of the very best reasons to be alive in New York." Dance has been integral to the theater's mission from the start, and dance programs, including the annual Fall for Dance Festival and a partnership with London's Sadler's Wells Theatre, remain central to City Center's identity. City Center is dedicated to providing educational opportunities to New York City students and teachers with programs such as Encores! In Schools and the Young People's Dance Series. Special workshops cater to families, seniors and other groups, while events such as the Fall for Dance DanceTalk series offer learning opportunities to the general public. City Center recently completed an extensive renovation project to revitalize and modernize its historic theater.
City Center is located on 55th Street, between 6th and 7th avenues. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes will run for seven performances, May 9 – 13, according to the following schedule: Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or online at www.NYCityCenter.org.
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