Full Cast Announced for HITS! THE MUSICAL Featuring 29 Young Singers and Dancers
The 50-plus city tour launches in February 2023 with stops in cities across the country from coast-to-coast.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Dec. 07, 2022
"HITS! The Musical" has announced the cast of 29 singers and dancers who will deliver an unforgettable 90 minutes of non-stop, foot-tapping fun and excitement for music lovers young and old. Hailing from the East Coast to the West-and numerous places between-the budding young superstars, ranging in age from 10 to 22, will take audiences on a musical journey, performing medleys of nearly 100 of America's most iconic songs. The 50-plus city tour launches in February 2023 with stops in cities across the country from coast-to-coast. Tickets and tour dates are available at www.thehitstour.com.
Destined to be America's next great musical, "HITS! The Musical" is a fast paced production recreating the biggest hits in Pop, Rock and Broadway from the 1960's to the present-including such well-known classics as "Hero," "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," "I Will Always Love You," "Singing in The Rain" and more.
Preview the show
To preview this action packed production, watch! And for a great example of the caliber of singing in the show, here is a recent TikTok cover of "This Is Me" (from "The Greatest Showman"), which has already received more than 1 million views.
Nineteen singers are featured in "HITS! The Musical" including two from New Jersey: Connor Closs and Mia Leberknight. Four are from the New York area: Belle Bongiorno, Julia Davo, Lili Greenberg and Matthew Jost. Four are from Pennsylvania: Nella Hilden, Colin Mash, Nasir Butler and Loren Prisuta. Assata Sun hails from Ohio, and Jaleel Battles Jr. is from North Carolina. Three are from Florida: Alyssa Raghu, Josef Wright and Kassidy Gavagan. Two are from Kentucky: D'Corey Johnson and Karsen Taylor. And Jacob Vella is from Arizona, while Jaaziah Vallano is from New Mexico.
Ten dancers are featured in "HITS! The Musical" including two from New Jersey: Genevieve Godlesky and Brooke Neuman. Two are from Maryland: Jacob Rassi and Shawn Taylor. While Kaylie Molina is from Florida, Mckenzie Lewis is from Georgia, and Madeline Underwood is from North Carolina. The cast is rounded out by three Californians: JJ Carandang, Jaedon Diaz and Kaitlin Yamano.
"We held nationwide auditions with more than 7,000 individuals and from those auditions we pulled together an electrifying cast of budding young superstars who sing and dance with unstoppable high energy and talent," says Bob Gries, founder and executive producer of HITS! THE MUSICAL. "This show will not only give the audience an unforgettable musical experience, but it will give these exceptionally talented young performers the opportunity to take center stage and showcase their individual talents."
Adds Cynthia Nekvasil, director of HITS! THE MUSICAL, "In addition to the singing and dancing extravaganza showcased in HITS! The Musical, there will be hundreds of costume changes highlighting each era, and state-of-the-art lighting and sound. Altogether, this show will be an unforgettable experience for the entire family."
For more information about the tour, go to www.thehitstour.com.
HITS! The Musical 2023 SCHEDULE
February 23 & 25 Asheville, NC The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts
March 1 Concord, NH Chubb Theater at Capital Center for The Arts
March 2 Albany, NY The Egg
March 3 Rochester, NY Kodak Theater
March 4 Boston, MA Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre
March 7 New Haven, CT Shubert Theater
March 8 Englewood, NJ Bergen Performing Arts Center
March 9 New York City, NY Town Hall
March 10 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
March 11 Harrisburg, PA The Whitaker Center
March 12 Pittsburgh, PA Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
March 15 Cleveland, OH Mimi Ohio Theater
March 16 Columbus, OH Southern Theater
March 17 Dayton, OH Victoria Theater
March 18 Easton, PA State Theater
March 19 Baltimore, MD Lyric Theater
March 22 Washington, DC Warner Theater
March 23 Durham, NC Carolina Theater
March 24 Charlotte, NC Knight Theater
March 25 Norfolk, VA Harrison Opera House
March 26 Charleston, SC Charleston Music Hall
March 28 Atlanta, GA Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
March 29 Orlando, FL Dr. Philips Center for Performing Arts
March 30 Jacksonville, FL Times Union Performing Arts Center
April 1 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Parker Playhouse
April 2 Tampa, FL Straz Center for Performing Arts
April 5 Birmingham, AL Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
April 6 Huntsville, AL Von Braun Center
April 7 Nashville, TN Tennessee Performing Arts Center
April 8 Louisville, KY Brown Theater
April 12 Lexington, KY Lexington Opera House
April 13 St. Louis, MO Touhill Performing Arts Center
April 14 Chicago, IL Harris Theater for Music and Dance
April 15 Detroit, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
April 16 South Bend, IN Morris Center
April 19 Appleton, WI Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
April 20 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
April 21 Minneapolis, MN Pantages Theatre
April 22 Des Moines, IA Hoyt Sherman
April 23 Cedar Rapids, IA Paramount Theater
April 25 Kansas City, MO Folly Theater
April 27 San Antonio, TX Tobin Center
April 28 Dallas, TX Strauss Square
April 30 Houston, TX Cullen Theater
May 3 Phoenix, AZ Herberger Theater Center
May 4 Tucson, AZ Fox Tucson Theater
May 6 Los Angeles, CA Theater at the Ace Hotel
May 8 San Francisco, CA Palace of Fine Arts
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM FOR HITS! THE MUSICAL:
Cynthia Nekvasil, Director
Cynthia Nekvasil is the founder of Entertainment Revue based in the Tampa Bay area, serving as its artistic director for 26 years until retiring in 2015. Over the years, Entertainment Revue has grown in size and popularity. ER girls have been featured on shows such as "American Idol," "America's Got Talent" and "The Voice," three have landed leading roles in Broadway productions and eight have signed major record deals.
Bob Gries, Executive Producer
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Robert Gries is CEO and founder of the Gries Investment Funds. Gries has more than twenty-five years of investment experience and has assisted many charitable organizations. Philanthropy and helping young people are passions of his. He created Hits! The Musical to help young aspiring artists nurture their talent and further their careers nation-wide.
Tony Bruno, Musical Arranger/Composer
Over the past twelve years Tony Bruno has worked with Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, K'naan, Karmin, Delta Goodrem and many others. His television credits include the GRAMMY Awards®, "America's Got Talent," "X-Factor," the American Music Awards and the MTV Music Awards, among many others. Bruno has written and produced songs for top artists including Mandy Moore, Donna Summer, INXS, Colin Hay and Enrique Iglesias.
Grady Bowman, Choreographer
Grady Bowman has worked on Broadway, off-Broadway, television and many other genres. Most recently, he was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for his choreography of "Singing in the Rain" at the Olney Theatre Center (DC). Among his many other credits are "The Cher Show" (Broadway) and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show" (off-Broadway). Bowman has also created four original dance pieces commissioned by NC School of the Arts.
Camille Trust, Musical Director
Camille Trust is a New York City-based singer/songwriter who has established herself as a strong female force in the music scene, garnering praise from "Billboard," "Nylon," "DuJour," "Popdust" and more. Her singles "Scandalous" and "Lavender" were each named one of TIME Magazine's '5 Songs You Need to Listen To This Week.' Her YouTube channel has more than 500,000 views, and her Spotify channel has more than 2 million streams.
Courtney Lopez, Assistant Director
A cast member of the prestigious Entertainment Revue for 13 years, Lopez has performed in hundreds of shows across the Southeastern U.S. She has expanded her creative talents, becoming an Assistant Director of Entertainment Revue, in which capacity she has served for four years under the direction of Cynthia Nekvasil, the founder of the group.
Barry Lather, Set and Lighting Designer
Barry Lather has had an award winning career with 35 years of experience with both small and large-scale entertainment. He has worked on television, video, film and arena spectaculars. He has conceived, directed, or choreographed world tours for such artists as Usher, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood, Miguel, John Fogerty, Ciara and the Pussycat Dolls. Most recently, Lather directed Carrie Underwood's "The Cry Pretty Tour 360."
Cynthia Nordstrom, Costume Designer
Cynthia Nordstrom's range of design is a blend of fashion and costume and has been seen worldwide on stage, tour, ice, theme parks and Broadway. She designed "One the Musical" in Amsterdam and was an opening designer for Universal Studios' Beijing resort. Among the many current tours she has worked on are the Marvel Universe Live Arena tour, "Blippi the Musical," "Evil Dead the Musical," "Silent Laughter," "That Championship Season."
Comments
Join Team BroadwayWorld
Are you an avid theatergoer? We're looking for people like you to share your thoughts and insights with our readers. Team BroadwayWorld members get access to shows to review, conduct interviews with artists, and the opportunity to meet and network with fellow theatre lovers and arts workers.
Videos