Lee Roy Reams, Lauren Molina, and More Lead THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ENTIRE WORLD AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF COLE PORTER
By: Julie Musbach Oct. 02, 2019
Celebrating Broadway's legendary Cole Porter, The York Theatre Company continues their 50th Anniversary Season with its acclaimed Musicals in Mufti series celebrating the legendary Broadway composer. The series honors the illustrious songwriter behind such classics as Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate, Gay Divorce, Silk Stockings, Red, Hot and Blue, and Can-Can.
The second production in the Fall 2019 series is the 1965 musical revue The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter, originally created and directed by Ben Bagley. This irreverent musical journey, conceived by Bagley in 1965, travels the globe through an array of gems from the vast Porter canon, both familiar and forgotten. The "world" under scrutiny is that between 1919 and 1945 when, indeed, some considerable declining and falling went on. Unfortunately (but fortunately for us), it's just as relevant now as it was over fifty years ago-"times have changed, and we've often rewound the clock," as Porter wrote, and now we're rewinding it again. The New York Times, in its original review, said the revue "relishes Cole Porter, feasting on his lively and lilting tunes, tunes that are so marked by the Porter dash and swagger that they are immediately recognizable even though one may never have heard them before." In times of great turmoil, Porter created a world of his own through his songs and made ours richer in the process.
Performances begin Saturday afternoon, October 12, 2019 and continue for 11 performances only through October 20, 2019 at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Opening Night is set for Sunday evening, October 13, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Pamela Hunt (Jerry's Girls, The Musical of Musicals), choreography by Trent Kidd (Fifty Million Frenchmen), and with music direction by Eric Svejcar (Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill), the four-member cast will feature Danny Gardner (Dames at Sea), Lauren Molina (Desperate Measures), Diane Phelan (The King and I), and Tony Award nominee Lee Roy Reams (42nd Street).
The York Theatre Company's acclaimed Musicals in Mufti series of musical theatre gems, performed in a simply-staged, book-in-hand concert format, is currently in its twenty-sixth historic year of presenting shows from the past that deserve a second look. Mufti means "in street clothes, without the trappings of a full production."
The production team includes Production Manager George Xenos, Production Stage Manager Kimothy Cruse, and Assistant Stage Manager Kirsten Leigh Williams. Casting for The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter is by Binder Casting: Chad Eric Murnane, CSA.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos
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