The York Theatre Company To Celebrate Noël Coward At I LIKE AMERICA Concert

The York Theatre Company, in association with the Noël Coward Foundation, will present I Like America, a special ONE-NIGHT-ONLY concert celebrating 125 years of Noël Coward and in particular his lifelong association with America, featuring Steve Ross, KT Sullivan and Simon Jones.

The evening, devised and directed by Barry Day, OBE and co-directed by The York Theatre Company's Associate Producing Director Joseph Hayward, will take place on Sunday evening, October 6, 2024 at 7:30pm at The Theatre at St. Jean's (150 East 76th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues).

“After something like half a century, I—like Noël—have some idea of how one creative culture nourishes another,” shares Barry Day. “I hope our show conveys something of what that fusion can produce. In 1927 Noël made his first visit to the USA and in one sense he never left it. As a Brit abroad myself I have some sense of how he encountered and combined elements of the two cultures. How that pond they call the Atlantic can make physical separation irrelevant. I've been writing about him in books—The Complete Lyrics, Coward on Film, Coward on (and in) Theatre—and in numerous cabaret shows like this one in New York, London, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Palm Beach. Over the years it became clear that he happened to like America, and America certainly liked him. This show is an attempt to capture that mutual attraction: a tribute from one Englishman to another.”

“To have all this incredible talent on our stage celebrating The Master himself is rather like being at a marvelous party,” said James Morgan, York's Producing Artistic Director. “Of course, that the partygoers all have indelible links to The York Theatre Company and the Coward shows that The York has done makes it only more perfect! Barry Day is a treasure and we are grateful for his long connection to us.”

The concert will begin at 7:30PM. Front orchestra tickets are priced at $50 and rear orchestra are $40. For additional information or to make a reservation, please call the Box Office at (212) 935-5820, Tuesday–Friday 12:00PM–5:00PM, or via email at boxoffice@yorktheatre.org.

About the Cast

Barry Day, OBE was born in Lincoln, England in 1934 and educated at Balliol College, Oxford. Then followed a 40-year career in advertising in the UK and US, where he became Worldwide Creative Director of the McCann-Erickson agency and a political communications advisor to Prime Ministers Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher. He partnered with actor Sam Wanamaker in the building of the replica of Shakespeare's Globe Playhouse. Thereafter, he retired to write full time, producing some 30 books and numerous cabaret revues in the UK and US. Apart from many books he has written on Noël Coward, he has written on the Lunts, Oscar Wilde, Dorothy Parker, and many others. Day is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and Honorary Life President of the Noël Coward Foundation, as well as a Director of the Noel Coward Archive (US) Inc. Queen Elizabeth awarded him the OBE (Order of the British Empire) "for services to British culture in the US."

Steve Ross rose to fame as a cabaret entertainer during his lengthy sojourns at New York's fabled Algonquin Hotel and Ted Hook's Backstage in the late 1970's. He has spent the ensuing decades singing and playing in smart clubs and at swank parties all over the world. The London Ritz, the Paris Ritz, the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, in addition to festivals in Hong Kong, Perth, Sydney, and Adelaide: these are but highlights of Steve's appearances on six continents. In 1997 he made his Broadway debut in the acclaimed revival of Noël Coward's Present Laughter performing at the keyboard as well as playing the role of Fred, the Cockney valet, opposite Frank Langella. On the airwaves Steve has been a performer/host for radio series for both the BBC and National Public Radio. In 1992 he made his Off-Broadway debut in his own tribute to Fred Astaire, I Won't Dance. He's performed this show in London, Brazil, Australia and on the high seas. His many songbook tribute shows include as their subjects Nöel Coward, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and several others.

KT Sullivan starred with Steve Ross in The Irish Rep's sold-out run of Love, Noël in the summer of 2019; the production was then filmed at The Players in 2020. In 2022, KT began singing and playing every Tuesday in the lobby of The Algonquin Hotel and has been extended through 2024. In 2012 KT was named artistic director of The Mabel Mercer Foundation, which produces the annual Cabaret Conventions at Lincoln Center. She starred in the Broadway revival of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and headlined for almost two decades in The Oak Room of The Algonquin Hotel. One of the shows she created there, Rhyme, Women, and Song, was presented on PBS' WNET-13, and her award-winning Sondheim show with Jeff Harnar was filmed for PBS from the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Besides regular appearances in such New York venues as The Laurie Beechman Theatre, Birdland, 54 Below, and Café Sabarsky, she stars annually at The Pheasantry in London and has been showcased at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Spoleto Festival, the Chichester Festival, CLUB RaYé in Paris, and the Adelaide Festival in Australia. She guest starred on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion and was star vocalist on two tours of China with Manhattan Symphonie. She was twice named one of the Top 100 Irish Americans by Irish America magazine and was married for 22 years to Stephen Downey, president of The New York Browning Society.

Simon Jones, known (smooth-chinned) for “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,” “Brideshead Revisited,” and “Blackadder,” grew his beard to play King George V in Downton Abbey: The Movie and has retained it for the role of Bannister the butler in HBO's “The Gilded Age,” now filming its third season. In thirteen appearances on Broadway, Simon Jones played in three Coward shows: opposite Joan Collins in Private Lives, Lauren Bacall and Rosemary Harris in Waiting in the Wings, and Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit. In other Master-works: he co-produced and starred in the world premiere of Long Island Sound and performed in the little-known Semi-Monde and Salute to the Brave; he also staged the US premiere of Pacific 1860 and starred in The Girl Who Came to Supper (among his nine appearances in Musicals in Mufti for the York); he narrated video tours of Coward's homes in Switzerland and Jamaica, and the touring exhibition of Cowardiana, “Star Quality”; and he hosted the CD collections Coward in Verse and Harper Audio's Noël Coward Collection. He also had the privilege of performing in at least seven Coward-related entertainments devised by Barry Day, who, noting that “time may hang heavy between…,” has found all sorts of challenging things for Simon to do over the years. Sincerest thanks, Barry (and The Master), for some unforgettably rewarding experiences.

From humble beginnings, Sir Noël Coward (1899-1973) would achieve international recognition for his work as a playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, as well as for his incomparable wit and effortless style. Born on the outskirts of London, it was not long before this Englishman's particular spark set the USA alight, with some of his greatest hits travelling from the West End to New York. Such was the American audience's openness to Coward's work, the more risqué Design for Living (1933) actually saw Broadway before the West End. This bond between Coward and America only strengthened through the years, with Coward reinventing himself as a cabaret star in 1950s Las Vegas. In the sixties he premiered his last two musicals on Broadway, Sail Away and The Girl Who Came to Supper, and directed the musical version of his play Blithe Spirit, titled High Spirits. Coward's work continues to enthrall and delight audiences and, 50 years after his death, his popularity endures with his work constantly staged around the world.

The York Theatre Company, “Where Musicals Come to Life,” is the only theatre in New York City—and one of very few in the world—dedicated to developing and fully producing new musicals and preserving notable shows from the past. For over five decades, York's intimate, imaginative style of producing both original and classic musicals has resulted in critical acclaim and recognition from artists and audiences alike. Under the guidance of Producing Artistic Director James Morgan since 1997, The York has focused on new musicals in its Mainstage Series—most of them world, American, or New York premieres—by some of the field's most esteemed creators and has also helped launch the careers of many talented new writers. Over 45 cast recordings from York Theatre Company productions are now available, including its acclaimed revival of Closer Than Ever (2013 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Revival). Commercial transfers of such York premieres as The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), Souvenir (Tony Award Nomination for actress Judy Kaye), and Jolson & Company, and revivals of Pacific Overtures and Sweeney Todd (four Tony Nominations including Best Revival) have all showcased the importance of The York and its programs.

Recent York productions have included A Sign of the Times (New World Stages), The Jerusalem Syndrome, Vanities—The Musical,, Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust Road, Penelope: or How the Odyssey Was Really Written, Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood, A Taste of Things to Come, Marry Harry, and Rothschild & Sons. The critically acclaimed musical Yank! received its Off-Broadway debut at The York, and subsequently to rave reviews in London—as did York's Rothschild & Sons. The hit musical Cagney received its York premiere in 2015, transferring to The Westside Theatre for over 15 months. In 2017, Desperate Measures received a total of 15 award nominations (and three wins) that included Best Musical from the Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Off-Broadway Alliance and subsequently transferred across town to New World Stages. The York is the recipient of a special Drama Desk Award for “Developing and Producing New Musicals,” a special Outer Critics Circle Award for “50 Years of Producing New and Classic Musicals.” Due to a flood in their home of 30 years at Saint Peter's Church in January 2021, The York is currently producing at The Theatre at St. Jean's at 76th Street and Lexington Avenue.

The Noël Coward Foundation supports educational and professional development projects across the Arts and continues Coward's own commitment to charitable work during his lifetime. The Foundation is proud to support a diverse range of outstanding organisations working in theatre, music, playwriting, technical training, academic research and many other areas. Its sister organisations, The Noel Coward Archive Trust and The Noel Coward Archive (US) Inc, promotes Coward's legacy and its mission is to make its extensive archive available to future generations. www.noelcoward.com

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