A special 50th anniversary production of the classic film, Disney's The Happiest Millionaire, benefited Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in two performances at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street) last Sunday, December 3rd. BroadwayWorld has photos from the show below!
The cast included Lesley Ann Warren and Joyce Bulifant (reprising their roles from the film), TV and theater favorite Brooke Shields, Tony Award nominee Dana Ivey, Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins, two-time Tony nominee Brad Oscar, Luca Padovan, Sam Poon, Cherish Myers, John Charles McLaughlin as John Lawless, the Biddle's Irish everyman butler, Nicholas Barasch, Cameron Bartell, Christopher Carothers, Tyler Fauntleroy and Jason Pintar.
Adapted by Doug Thompson and Alex Beck, from the screenplay by A J Carothers, The Happiest Millionaire was produced by Happiest Musical LLC, Doug Thompson, Brice Corder and Jack Aaronson, with direction by Alex Beck, musical staging by Justin Henry, musical direction by Mark Hartman (Avenue Q, Sondheim on Sondheim, Silence! The Musical), and casting by Caralie Chrisco.
The Happiest Millionaire, which first premiered in 1967, was the final live action Disney production to be overseen by Walt Disney himself. Containing over 80 minutes of Golden Age Disney music and dance, the fantastic score was written by Mary Poppins composers and Disney legends, Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. Originally starring such icons as Fred MacMurray, Greer Garson, Gladys Cooper and Geraldine Page, The Happiest Millionaire also welcomed the Hollywood screen debuts of Tommy Steele, John Davidson and Lesley Ann Warren.
Set in 1916 Philadelphia, the film is based on the real lives of eccentric renaissance man, alligator collector and boxing enthusiast, Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, and his daughter Cordy, a fiercely independent fighter who, like all Disney princesses, wants to discover the world on her own terms.
Photo Credit: David Myers
Joyce Bulifant and Lesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren and Joyce Bulifant
THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE cast takes their curtain call
Dana Ivey, Lesley Ann Warren and Brooke Shields
Brad Oscar, Sam Poon, Cherish Myers, Tonya Pinkins and Luca Padovan
The cast and band of THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE
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