Santino Fontana Will Join the Cast of A Man of No Importance Off-Broadway

Tony winner Santino Fontana will temporarily join the cast of the off-Broadway revival of A Man of No Importance, which is currently running at Classic Stage Company through December 18. Fontana, who is also a CSC board member, will play Father Kenny starting tonight, December 7, through Sunday, December 11. He's stepping in for Nathaniel Stampley, who is out for the week.

"The understudies we have at A Man of No Importance are an incredible group of artists, and we've been so lucky to have them rise to the occasion each and every time they're called upon," said producing artistic director Jill Rafson. "When even they couldn't cover all the needs in this moment, we called in reinforcements to keep the show going. It's such a gift to have a performer like Santino drop everything and come to our rescue. For a musical that celebrates the way that theater can bring a community together, this has become such a clear moment of those values carrying over into CSC itself."

Through December 11, Fontana will be joined by understudies Benjamin Howes as Alfie Byrne, and Justin Scott Brown as Ernie Lally. The three actors will perform this week (including the pre-announced special benefit performance on Sunday, December 11 at 7pm), while Stampley, Jim Parsons, and Joel Waggoner are out.

Featuring a book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, A Man of No Importance is about a Dublin bus conductor who distracts himself from the oppressive drudgery of his existence by directing the plays of Oscar Wilde in a church basement.

TheaterMania's review called it "an underrated musical that deserves a second hearing in this town." You can read our full review of A Man of No Importance here.