Shuler Hensley, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Emily Padgett & More Join Sutton Foster in New Group's SWEET CHARITY

The New Group has announced additional casting for Sweet Charity, the production launching the company's 2016-2017 Season. Choreographed by Joshua Bergasse and directed by Leigh Silverman, this production features Yesenia Ayala, Darius Barnes, James Brown III, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Shuler Hensley, Sasha Hutchings, Donald Jones, Jr., Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Emily Padgett and Joel Perez, and as previously announced, two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster as Charity Hope Valentine. A limited Off-Broadway engagement plays November 2 - December 11 at The Pershing Square Signature Center (The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre, 480 West 42nd Street), with Official Opening Night set for Sunday, November 20.

This production of the classic musical Sweet Charity (Book by Neil Simon; Music by Cy Coleman; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields), stars two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster ("Younger," Violet, Anything Goes) as Charity Hope Valentine, the sassy, diehard romantic dancehall hostess whose naivety and overeager embrace of every man she meets keeps getting her in hot water. Performed in an intimate setting with original choreography by Joshua Bergasse (On the Town), this production of Sweet Charity will be given a fresh, modern perspective by director Leigh Silverman (Violet, Well).

The company of Sweet Charity includes Yesenia Ayala (Ensemble), Darius Barnes (Ensemble), JAmes Brown III (Ensemble), Lori Ann Ferreri (Swing), Sutton Foster (Charity Hope Valentine), Asmeret Ghebremichael (Nickie), Shuler Hensley (Oscar), Sasha Hutchings (Rosie / Ensemble), Donald Jones, Jr. (Ensemble), Nikka Graff Lanzarone (Ursula / Ensemble), Emily Padgett (Helene), Joel Perez (Herman / Vittorio / Daddy Brubeck) and Ryan Worsing (Swing). Additional casting to be announced.

This production features Scenic Design by Derek McLane (at The New Group: Buried Child, Mercury Fur, and many others; 33 Variations - Tony Award), Costume Design by Clint Ramos (Eclipsed - Tony Award; Violet), Lighting Design by Jeff Croiter (Peter and the Starcatcher - Tony Award; Mercury Fur at The New Group), Sound Design by Leon Rothenberg (The Nance - Tony Award; Violet), Orchestrations by Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Finding Neverland, Company) and Music Direction by Georgia Stitt (Broadway: Avenue Q, Sweet Smell of Success, The Music Man, Titanic, Annie). Production Supervisor is Production Core. Production Stage Manager is Valerie A. Peterson. Casting is by Judy Henderson, CSA.

Sweet Charity is presented by The New Group in association with Kevin McCollum.

Sweet Charity premiered January 29, 1966 at the Palace Theatre; it was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning one for Bob Fosse's choreography. The film adaptation, directed by Fosse, premiered in 1969; it was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Music, Score of a Musical Picture (Original or Adaptation). A Broadway revival opened at the Minskoff Theatre on April 27, 1986; it won four Tony Awards, including Best Revival. The 2005 Broadway revival opened at the Al Hirschfield Theatre on May 4 of that year; it was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. A London revival opened at the Menier Chocolate Factory on November 21, 2009 before opening at the West End's Haymarket Theatre on May 4, 2010; it received three Olivier nominations, including Best Musical Revival. The most recent major revival took place in 2014 in Sydney, Australia, as the first production of the Hayes Theatre Co.; this critically-acclaimed production transferred to Playhouse in the Sydney Opera House, where it opened January 15, 2015.

Sweet Charity is based on an original screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Plaiano. Originally produced for the Broadway stage by Fryer, Carr and Harris. Conceived, Staged and Choreographed by Bob Fosse.

As announced, following Sweet Charity in The New Group's 2016-2017 season is the U.S. premiere of Wallace Shawn's Evening at the Talk House, directed by Scott Elliott (January 2017); the world premiere of All the Fine Boys, a new play from writer and director Erica Schmidt (February 2017); and the world premiere of The Whirligig, by Hamish Linklater, directed by Scott Elliott, featuring Zosia Mamet (HBO's "Girls") and Golden Globe winner and Emmy Award nominee Maura Tierney (May 2017).

Productions in The New Group's 2016-2017 Season take place at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street).

Subscriptions and memberships for The New Group's 2016-2017 season are available now. For subscription purchases and season info, please visit www.thenewgroup.org. Subscriptions can also be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, or in person at 416 West 42nd Street (12-8pm daily).

Tickets for Sweet Charity are currently available for subscribers of The New Group and tickets go on sale to the general public on August 22 at 10am. For single ticket purchases, please visit www.thenewgroup.org. Subscriptions and single tickets can also be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, or in person at 416 West 42nd Street (12-8pm daily).

American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Monday, August 8 at 10am (EST) through Monday, August 15 at 9:59am (EST).

Audience Rewards members will be able to purchase tickets from August 15 at 10amthrough August 22 at 9:59am as part of a special pre-sale.

Support for Sweet Charity is provided by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.

The New Group is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The New Group's productions are made possible, in part, by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

The New Group (Scott Elliott, Artistic Director; Adam Bernstein, Executive Director) is an award-winning, artist-driven company with a commitment to developing and producing powerful, contemporary theater. While constantly evolving, the company strives to maintain an ensemble approach to all its work and an articulated style of emotional immediacy in its productions. In this way, The New Group seeks a theater that is adventurous, stimulating and most importantly "now," a true forum for the present culture.

The New Group's 2015-2016 Season featured the Off-Broadway premiere of Philip Ridley's Mercury Fur, directed by Scott Elliott, a Critics' Pick in The New York Times; Steve, the critically-acclaimed world premiere of a new play by Mark Gerrard, directed by Cynthia Nixon, which enjoyed an extended run; the twice-extended hit production of Sam Shepard's Buried Child, directed by Scott Elliott, with Taissa Farmiga, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Larry Pine, Rich Sommer, Paul Sparks and Nat Wolff; and the New York premiere of Justin Kuritzkes' The Sensuality Party, developed through The New Group's New Group/New Works play development program and performed at college campuses across all five boroughs on New York City. The New Group is currently represented in London by the critically-acclaimed production of Jesse Eisenberg's The Spoils, directed by Scott Elliott, at Trafalgar Studios throughAugust 13.

The New Group celebrated its 20th Anniversary during the 2014-2015 Season, which included David Rabe's Sticks and Bones, directed by Scott Elliott, featuring Richard Chamberlain, Nadia Gan, Holly Hunter, Morocco Omari, Bill Pullman, Ben Schnetzer and Raviv Ullman; Joel Drake Johnson's Rasheeda Speaking, featuring Patricia Conolly, Darren Goldstein, Tonya Pinkins and Dianne Wiest, helmed by Cynthia Nixon; and the world premiere of Jesse Eisenberg's The Spoils, directed by Scott Elliott, featuring Erin Darke, Jesse Eisenberg, Kunal Nayyar, Annapurna Sriram and Michael Zegen.

Other notable productions include Ecstasy, This is Our Youth, Aunt Dan and Lemon, Hurlyburly, Abigail's Party, Rafta, Rafta..., The Starry Messenger, A Lie of the Mind, Blood From a Stone, Marie and Bruce, The Jacksonian, Intimacy and many more. The company has received nearly 100 awards and nominations for excellence. The New Group is a recipient of the 2004 Tony® Award for Best Musical (Avenue Q). In 2011, The Kid received five Drama Desk nominations and the Outer Critics Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. That year, The New Group and Scott Elliott were honored with a Drama Desk Special Award "for presenting contemporary new voices, and for uncompromisingly raw and powerful productions."

The Pershing Square Signature Center, the permanent home of Signature Theatre, is a three-theatre facility on West 42nd Street designed by Frank Gehry Architects to host Signature's three distinct playwrights' residencies and foster a cultural community. The Center is a major contribution to New York City's cultural landscape and provides a venue for cultural organizations that supports and encourages collaboration among artists throughout the space. In addition to its three intimate theatres, the Center features a Studio Theatre, rehearsal studio, a bookstore, and Signature Café and Bar, open to public from noon-midnight Tuesdays-Sundays. For more information on renting the Center, please visit www.signaturetheatre.org/rentals.