THE FLAMINGO KID's Ben Fankhauser Takes Over Instagram Today!

It's time to head to the El Flamingo because Ben Fankhauser is taking over BroadwayWorld's Instagram Story today, May 26th, at Hartford Stage's production of The Flamingo Kid! Be sure to tune in all throughout the day to get a look behind the scenes of a two-show day of this brand new musical!

Ben is currently making his Hartford Stage debut as Steve in The Flamingo Kid. He appeared as Davey in the original Broadway cast of Newsies, as well as the filmed version of the hit show. He has also been seen Off-Broadway in Saturday Night and Bar-Mitzvah, as well as on the national tours of Beautiful and Spring Awakening. His regional credits include Newsies, Big River, I Hate Hamlet, and Next to Normal. Ben is also a frequent guest performer at Feinstein's/54 Below, where he has performed a sold-out run of his solo show "Ben's Fank'd Up Broadway." He can also be heard on the OBC album of Newsies and numerous albums of new works and popular songwriters.

The Flamingo Kid, inspired by the 1984 Garry Marshall coming-of-age film starring Matt Dillon, reunites Tresnjak with A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder's Tony Award-winning book writer and lyricist Robert L. Freedman. They are collaborating for the first time with the Tony Award-nominated composer Scott Frankel (Grey Gardens, War Paint).

In the summer of '63, against the wishes of his father, Brooklyn teenager Jeffrey Winnick leaves behind his blue-collar roots for an exciting job working as a cabana boy at the colorful El Flamingo - a posh private club on Long Island. There, Jeffrey meets Karla, a forward-thinking young woman from California. The music, the romance, and the beach are magical - until tensions grow between father and son when a slick club member takes Jeffrey under his wing.

Jimmy Brewer (Motherfreakinghood, Playwrights Horizon; The Black Suits, Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre) was cast in the leading role of Jeffrey Winnick in The Flamingo Kid last year while still a student at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama.

Broadway veterans Adam Heller (Elf and Victor/Victoria) and Liz Larsen(Tony Award nominee for The Most Happy Fella and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) play Arthur and Ruth, Jeffrey's parents. Three-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch (9-5, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,and Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Olivier Award winner and Drama Desk Award nominee Lesli Margherita (Matilda the Musical, Zorro the Musical) play Phil and Phyllis Brody, the affluent couple who frequent the El Flamingo Club. Samantha Massell (Fiddler on the Roof-Revival, Broadway; Rags, Goodspeed Opera House-Winner, CT Critics Circle Best Actress) plays their niece, Karla.

The cast also includes young Broadway talents Lindsey Brett Carothers (Gettin' the Band Back Together) as Joyce; Ben Fankhauser (Newsies the Musical) as Steve; and Alex Wyse (Waitress) as Hawk.

The Ensemble of The Flamingo Kid includes Ben Bogen (Frozen, Broadway); Michael Hartung (Hello, Dolly!-Revival, Broadway); Jean Kauffman (Cats-National Tour); Ken Krugman (Anastasia, Hartford Stage and Broadway); Omar Lopez-Cepero (On Your Feet!, Broadway); Anna Noble (Carousel-Revival, Broadway); Erin Leigh Peck (Grease!, Broadway); Steve Routman (The Underpants, Hartford Stage and Long Wharf Theatre); William Squier (Rear Window, Hartford Stage); Kathy Voytko (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Broadway); Price Waldman (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Broadway); Kelli Youngman (Anastasia, Broadway); and Stuart Zagnit (Seussical, Broadway).