Glenn Close, Jim Dale, et al. to Star in Benefit Performance of Busker Alley

Tony Award winners Glenn Close and Jim Dale, who starred together in the Broadway musical Barnum, will reunite for a one-night-only performance of Busker Alley at 8pm on Monday, November 13 at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College. The event, to be directed by Tony Walton, will benefit the York Theatre Company.

The show features a book by AJ Carothers and a score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. It is based on the 1938 movie St. Martin’s Lane about a street entertainer who falls in love with a much younger woman who longs to be a big star in the theater. The show was first written in 1969 under the title of Picadilly. It was supposed to come to Broadway, under the name Busker Alley, in 1994 starring Tommy Tune, who was also directing the production. However, the show closed in Florida when Tune broke his foot six weeks before it was due in New York.

The benefit will also star Jessica Grové, Simon Jones, Noah Racey, Greg Mills, Krista Rodriguez, Ann Roges, Michael Lane Trautman, and Jeff Williams. The creative team includes Lisa Shriver (choreography), Richard Pilbrow (lighting), and Aaron Gandy (music direction). Walton will also design the sets and costumes.

Close won the Tony for The Real Thing and Sunset Boulevard, and received nominations for Barnum and Death and the Maiden. Her numerous film credits include Fatal Attraction, The World According to Garp, and The Natural. Dale won the Tony for Barnum, and received nominations for The Threepenny Opera, Candide, Joe Egg, and Scapino.

Tickets are $100-$250 and are available by calling 212-772-4448. To inquire about special donor seating (Prime and Premium Orchestra seats for donations of $1,000 and $500, respectively), call the York Theatre directly at 212-935-5820.