Harvey Keitel is Jerry Springer in Opera at Carnegie Hall

Academy Award nominated actor Harvey Keitel will star in the title role in Jerry Springer – The Opera in Concert.  The smash hit musical and historic four-time winner of London's Best Musical prizes will play Carnegie Hall (57th Street & 7th Avenue) for two nights only on Tuesday, January 29 and Wednesday, January 30, 2008. 

Directed by Tony Award nominee Jason Moore (Avenue Q) and with musical direction by Stephen Oremus (Wicked), Jerry Springer – The Opera in Concert features music by Richard Thomas and book and lyrics by Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas.  Tickets go on sale Monday, October 29, 2007.

Harvey Keitel's stage work includes the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of Hurlyburly directed by Mike Nichols, George C. Scott's staging of Death of a Salesman and Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind.  As a young actor in NYC, Keitel studied under Frank Corsaro, Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler eventually leading him to roles Off-Off and Off-Broadway before meeting a young filmmaker namEd Martin Scorsese who cast him in his student film Who's That Knocking at My Door?.  Since then, the duo has worked on numerous films together including Mean Streets, Taxi Driver and The Last Temptation of Christ.  In 1991, Keitel appeared in Bugsy, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of "Mickey Cohen." He followed his much lauded performance in Bugsy with another gritty, acclaimed performance as the titular role in Bad Lieutenant, for which he was awarded Best Actor by The Independent Spirit Awards.  In 1996, he was awarded the prestigious Italian David di Donatello award for Best Foreign Actor for his role in Smoke.  Keitel also appeared in director Quentin Tarantino's debut feature film, Reservoir Dogs followed by riveting performances in the Academy Award winning films The Piano and Pulp Fiction as well as.  All four iconic films had a major impact on popular culture and filmmaking.  Mr. Keitel is co-president of the Actor's Studio.

Jerry Springer – The Opera in Concert is inspired by America's most lurid TV talk show host who brought worldwide television audiences episodes including "Pregnant by a Transsexual," "Here Come the Hookers" and "I Refuse to Wear Clothes."

Jerry Springer – The Opera in Concert will be produced in the US by David J. Foster, Jared Geller and Avalon Promotions.

Jerry Springer – The Opera in Concert go on sale Monday, October 29, 2007 and will be available through CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800 or www.carnegiehall.org or by visiting the Carnegie Hall box office (57^th Street & 7th Avenue).

Further casting will be announced shortly.

Photo of Harvey Keitel (2007) by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.