Photos: First Look at Dan DeLuca, Elena Ricardo, and More in THE NUTTY PROFESSOR at the Ogunquit Playhouse

Production photos are now available for The Nutty Professor running through Saturday, August 6 at Ogunquit Playhouse, the jewel of the Maine Southern Seacoast. The musical adaptation of the beloved 1963 Jerry Lewis film comedy features the final score from Pulitzer Prize, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner Marvin Hamlisch.

The cast features Dan De Luca (First National Tour: Newsies, Disney's Jolly Holliday at Paper Mill Playhouse) as Julius Kelp/Buddy Love, Elena Ricardo (Broadway: Mamma Mia!; Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) as Stella Purdy, Klea Blackhurst (Ogunquit's A Very Brady Musical, Ragtime) as Miss Lemon, Mel Johnson Jr (Broadway: The Lion King; Kiss Me, Kate) as Harrington Winslow, and Jeff McCarthy (Broadway: Side Show, Urinetown) as Dr. Warfield. Rounding out the ensemble cast are Parker Aimone, Alyssa Carol, Jillian Hope Ferguson, Joseph Ryan Harrington, Fernell Hogan, Corinne Munsch, Chase Peacock, Larkin Reilly, Ethan Rogers, Vanessa Sierra, Kyra Smith, Jordan Stephens, Jake Urban, Jerome Vivona, and Blake Zelesnikar.

The Nutty Professor, a new musical adapted from the classic 1963 Jerry Lewis film, brings us the nerdy Professor Julius Kelp and his transformation into the suave and sophisticated Buddy Love. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 gothic novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the comedic film joined the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2004 and became one of AFI's 100 Funniest Films of all-time (2000).

In 2009, the Jerry Lewis film script was adapted as a musical comedy, with book and lyrics by Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and music by Marvin Hamlisch (A Chorus Line). Now The Nutty Professor has been given a new life by Ogunquit Playhouse's New Works Program.

The Nutty Professor features orchestrations by Larry Hochman, music supervision and vocal arrangements by Todd Ellison, music direction by Matt Deitchman, scenic design by Wilson Chin and Riw Rakkulchon, lighting design by Cory Pattak, costume design by Mara Blumenfeld, sound design by Kevin Heard, and wig design by Roxanne De Luna. The production stage manager is Chris Zaccardi, and the assistant stage manager is Abigail Zaccari.

After a wildly successful outdoor season in 2021, Ogunquit has moved back inside its historic Playhouse for the 90th Anniversary season, with four mainstage productions, two world premieres, and three new Arts Academy productions.

The season opened with the regional theater premiere of the Tony Award-winning bio musical The Cher Show. Following The Nutty Professor is the world premiere of BD Wong and Wayne Barker's Mr. Holland's Opus (August 12-September 10), then the regional premiere of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (September 15-October 30). Meanwhile, the Playhouse Arts Academy is offering up three new-to-Ogunquit productions of Disney's Moana Jr (July 16-17), Disney's Descendants: The Musical (July 30-31), and Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach (August 27-28).

Mainstage performances run Wednesdays and Thursdays (2:00p, 8:00p), Fridays (8:00p), Saturdays (2:00p, 8:00p), Sundays (2:00p), with occasional Tuesday and Sunday evenings. Arts Academy performances run select Saturdays (10:00a, 1:00p) and Sundays (10:00a). Visit ogunquitplayhouse.org/2022-season for the full season schedule.

Tickets are available for purchase online at tickets.ogunquitplayhouse.org, by phone Monday-Friday (10a-4p ET) at 207.646.5511, and in-person at the Playhouse Box Office Window (10 Main St, Ogunquit, ME 03907). For more information, visit ogunquitplayhouse.org.

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