Kathleen Marshall Will Direct The World Premiere Of MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING At Ogunquit Playhouse

Ogunquit Playhouse, in association with Crossroads Live, announced today that three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall will direct the World Premiere of the new musical, My Best Friend's Wedding, with a book by Ron Bass and Jonathan Harvey, based on the hit TriStar Pictures' film with a screenplay by Ron Bass and featuring the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

The production will run September 26 – October 27 at the Ogunquit Playhouse.

“We're thrilled that the incredible Kathleen Marshall has joined the spectacular team bringing My Best Friend's Wedding to Ogunquit for its World Premiere,” said Ogunquit Playhouse Executive Artistic Director Bradford Kenney. “We're honored to welcome her back to our Playhouse and can't wait to share her vision with our audiences this fall.”

Kathleen Marshall is an award-winning theatre, film and television director and choreographer.  A nine-time Tony Award nominee, she has won the award three times for Best Choreography for the Broadway revivals of Wonderful Town, The Pajama Game and Anything Goes.  She has worked on more than twenty Broadway shows and she is the first woman to have directed a play, directed a musical and choreographed a musical on Broadway.

My Best Friend's Wedding is based on the wickedly funny film of the same name and features some of the most iconic pop anthems ever written by the legendary Burt Bacharach and Hal David, including I'll Never Fall in Love Again, I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, Walk on By, I Say A Little Prayer and What's New Pussycat?.

Fiery food critic Julianne Potter has always turned her nose up at romance. It's the reason she broke up with her sweetheart Michael O'Neal.  When she hears he's about to be married, she vows to win him back for good, but with perfect Kimmy in the way, it's not as easy as she first thought. Can she derail her best friend's wedding in time and keep Michael all for herself?

The cast and creative team of My Best Friend's Wedding will be announced in the coming weeks.

Kathleen Marshall's Broadway credits include Nice Work If You Can Get It, Anything Goes, The Pajama Game, Wonderful Town, In Transit, Living on Love, Grease, Little Shop of Horrors, Follies, Seussical, Kiss Me, Kate, 1776 and Swinging on a Star.  She directed and choreographed Anything Goes in the West End for which she received an Olivier Award for Best Choreography.  Off-Broadway and regional credits include The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Transport Group), Two Gentlemen of Verona (New York Shakespeare Festival), Saturday Night (Second Stage), Mamma Mia! (Hollywood Bowl), Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing and Love's Labor's Lost (Old Globe), On the Town (Boston Pops), My Paris (Long Wharf), Ever After (Paper Mill) and Diner (Signature Theatre).

Most recently, she directed and choreographed the world premiere of Sinatra, The Musical at the Birmingham Rep in the UK, produced in association with Universal Music Group and Frank Sinatra Enterprises.

Her film and television credits include My Week with Marilyn (choreographer), “Once Upon a Mattress” starring Carol Burnett and Tracey Ullman, “The Music Man” starring Matthew Broderick (choreographer) and multiple episodes of “2 Broke Girls,” including the series finale.

Kathleen served as the Artistic Director for City Center Encores! for four seasons, during which time Encores! received a special Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre.  Her credits for Encores! include The Band Wagon, I'm Getting My Act Together…, Bells Are Ringing, Carnival and Babes in Arms, among many others. 

In addition to her Tonys and Olivier Awards, she has received three Drama Desk Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, an Emmy nomination, the Astaire Award, the George Abbott Award, the Smith College Medal (her alma mater), the Pennsylvania Governor's Award for the Arts and she has been named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania.  She is a member of the Executive Board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. 

ASL performances and open captioning will be available for every production at Ogunquit Playhouse. These performances are made possible thanks to a partnership with Pine Tree Society and underwritten by a generous grant from The Roger R. and Theresa S. Thompson Endowment Fund, with additional support by the Margaret Burnham Charitable Trust.

Tickets can be purchased online at tickets.ogunquitplayhouse.org, by phone (207.646.5511), and in person (10 Main St, Ogunquit, ME) daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

For 92 years, Ogunquit Playhouse has been the artistic gateway to Maine's southern seacoast, self-producing world-class Regional Theatre and inclusive Arts Education programs, nurturing a creative and communal hearth for all ages. This power coupling of The Playhouse and a quaint seaside village offers visitors and locals a wealth of fabulous experiences. Ogunquit is more than just a beach community, but a destination within a destination for vacationers from around the world. Visit ogunquitplayhouse.org and follow @ogunquitplayhouse on all social media platforms..