New York City
Performances begin tonight for the final show of Encores!’s 25th season.
Encores! will close its 25th season with their production of Me and My Girl, which begins performances tonight at New York City Center. Helmed by Tony winner Warren Carlyle and with music direction by Rob Berman, performances run through May 13. See photos from the production in the gallery below.
Two-time Tony winner Christian Borle (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and Laura Michelle Kelly (Finding Neverland) lead the cast alongside featured performers Bill Buell, Chuck Cooper, Suzzanne Douglas, Mark Evans, Harriet Harris, John Horton, Simon Jones, Lisa O'Hare, and Don Stephenson. The ensemble includes Alex Aquilino, Maddy Apple, Philip Attmore, Florrie Bagel, Sam Bolen, Abby Church, Jake Corcoran, Christine DiGiallonardo, Ta'Nika Gibson, Jordan Grubb, Brittany Rose Hammond, Lizzie Klemperer, Eloise Kropp, Timothy McDevitt, David Scott Purdy, Mariah Reshea Reives, Price Waldman, Jessica Wockenfuss, Chaz Wolcott, and Kevin Worley.
The toast of the 1937 London season, Me and My Girl is a delightfully old-fashioned musical about Cockney everyman Bill Snibson (Christian Borle) who, after being unexpectedly elevated to the lofty position of Earl of Hareford, wreaks havoc on high society and risks losing his girl, Sally Smith (Laura Michelle Kelly). Part music hall frolic, part class-warfare comedy, Me and My Girl features a score by Noel Gay, which includes popular songs like "Leaning on a Lamp Post" and "The Lambeth Walk" — the famous first-act finale that launched a worldwide dance craze.
A newly revised version of the show opened in London in 1984, followed by a Broadway run at the Marquis Theatre that began on August 10, 1986, and ran for 1,420 performances. L. Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber penned the original book and lyrics, and the new production includes a revised book by Stephen Fry, with contributions by Mike Ockrent.