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YANK!, Starring Kreeger, Runs Sept. 14-21 at NYMF

By: Aug. 29, 2005
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YANK!, a new musical exploring the gay experience during WWII, will run from September 14th through September 21st at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street) as part of The New York Musical Theatre Festival. This will be the New York premiere of the show after a run at Philadelphia's Arden Theatre in June 2005.

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Doug Kreeger (Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story) will play Stu, a war photographer for Yank magazine. According to production notes, it "was a real WWII-era publication, written by army servicemen themselves and distributed among the troops – and the central character of the musical YANK! (the character is in every scene and never leaves the stage!) The show takes the form of a memory play, as an elderly Stu in a nursing home remembers his experiences during the WW2 in the Pacific, most especially his romance with fellow soldier Mitch."

Directed by Igor Goldin, "YANK! takes a look at the often overlooked gay men who fought and loved in the ranks during WWII. The show pays loving homage to both Hollywood's "it takes one of every kind to make a platoon" war flicks as well as the 1940's Broadway lyricism of Rodgers and Hammerstein (the show even features a Dream Ballet). In addition to being suffused with songs (swing, big band, boogie-woogie) YANK! explores what stories get told in wartime, what gets remembered, and how WWII became the great catalyst in bringing gay men and women together."

The show, which is written by brothers Joseph Zellnik (music) and David Zellnik (book and lyrics), also features Ken Alan (Fosse), Jeffrey J. Bateman (Peter Pan), Jeffry Denman (The Producers), Joey Dudding (La Cage aux Folles), Julie Foldesi (Little Women: The Musical), Ivan Hernandez (The Mambo Kings), Daniel Frank Kelley (Footloose), James Patterson (Beauty and the Beast) and Tally Sessions (The Joys of Sex).

The rest of the artistic team includes: choreographer Chase Brock (On Broadway: an assistant to choreographer Kathleen Marshall on Wonderful Town and Ann Reinking on The Look of Love), music director Rob Berman (Wonderful Town, The Music Man, By Jeeves), costume designer by Wade Laboissonniere (Zanna Don't!), sound designer Lawrence Manchester, and set designer Ray Klausen (Brooklyn, Big River) and lighting designer Ken Lapham.

The show will run for 7 performances: September 16th at 8 PM, September 17th at 1 PM, September 18th at 1 PM and 4:30 PM, and September 21st at 4:30 PM and 8 PM. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by going online to www.nymf.org (also good for more information) or by calling theatermania.com at 212.352.3101




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