Raul Esparza, Kelli O’Hara Headline Encores! Gala; Season Announced
(© Tristan Fuge)
Raul Esparza and Kelli O’Hara will headline the New York City Center Encores! series’ 20th anniversary gala on November 12. They will be accompanied by Rob Berman and the Encores! orchestra, and the performance will be followed by a celebratory dinner at the Plaza Hotel.
The season will open with Fiorello! (January 30-February 3, 2013), the show that launched the series in 1994. It tells the story of LaGuardia’s rise from an immigrant’s son to feisty congressmen whose guts and determination to fight corruption brought down the crooked Tammany Hall political machine. Fiorello! has a book by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott; music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Rob Berman will direct.
The season will continue with It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman (March 2013 with exact dates TBD), based on the comic strip “Superman.” It has a book by David Newman and Robert Benton, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams. The production will also be helmed by Berman.
The season will conclude with On Your Toes (dates TBA), an improbable mix of gangsters, vaudeville and classical ballet. It has a book by George Abbott, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart; music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Rob Fisher will return as music director for his staging.
