Brian Stokes Mitchell to Lead Cast of The Band Wagon at City Center Encores!
Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Kiss Me, Kate) will star in the New York City Center Encores! presentation of The Band Wagon, a special event running for 12 performances from November 6-16. Based on the classic MGM movie of the same title, which starred film legends Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, The Band Wagon features a book by Douglas Carter Beane, adapted from the screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz. The production will be directed by Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes), with music direction by Todd Ellison.
Beane will use Comden and Green's original 1953 screenplay (including scenes never filmed) as a basis for the special Encores! event. The story follows a washed-up Hollywood star who tries to make a comeback by doing a Broadway show. However, he's faced with a genius director who has no business helming a musical, an inexperienced leading lady, and a bickering composer and lyricist.
The songs featured in the score include "Dancing in the Dark," "By Myself," "I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan," "A Shine on My Shoes," and the show-business anthem "That's Entertainment."
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