Theater News

Rhymes Has He: Brian Stokes Mitchell to Star in Encores! Production of Kismet

Brian Stokes Mitchell(Photo © Joseph Marzullo)
Brian Stokes Mitchell
(Photo © Joseph Marzullo)

Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell will star in the City Center Encores! production of Kismet, which will kick off the series’ 2006 season with performances February 9-12. No other casting has been announced.

Kismet has a score by Robert Wright and George Forrest, based on themes by the classical composer Alexander Borodin, and a book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis, based on the play by Edward Knoblock. The original Broadway production starred Alfred Drake and Joan Diener; the 1955 film version starred Howard Keel and Dolores Gray.

The Encores! season will continue March 30-April 2 with 70, Girls, 70!, the 1971 Kander & Ebb musical about spunky senior citizens. The show was last seen in New York in 2000, when the York Theater Company presented it as part of its Musicals in Mufti series. A third Encores! show, yet to be announced, will play May 11-15. For further information on the Encores! season and other City Center events, visit www.citycenter.org