Never Gonna Dance to Dance Past Los Angeles for Now and Open on Broadway in Fall 2003
It has just been announced that Never Gonna Dance, a new musical featuring song classics by Jerome Kern and a book by Jeffrey Hatcher, will be bypassing its originally scheduled Los Angeles tryout in favor of a fall Broadway opening. According to a statement issued by Never Gonna Dance‘s publicist, the producers chose to accept the offer of a theater earlier than spring 2004 and intend to make Los Angeles the first stop on the show’s national tour at a later date.
Never Gonna Dance is based on the 1936 RKO film Swing Time. It tells the story of a man who comes to New York to prove his worth to his fiancée’s father and finds a potential new love in a dance teacher. The show — which includes such Kern songs as “The Way You Look Tonight,” “A Fine Romance,” “Never Gonna Dance,” “I Won’t Dance,” and “Who” — will be directed by Michael Greif (Rent) and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray).
Sets, costumes, and lighting will be designed by Robin Wagner (The Producers), William Ivey Long (The Producers), and Kenneth Posner (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown), respectively. Information on additional casting and the rest of the creative team will be released shortly.
