Encores News

theater26 days ago•16 min saved

Encores! Brings All-Black La Cage aux Folles to NYC Center, Led by Porter and Brady

New York City Center Encores! presents an all-Black revival of La Cage aux Folles, directed by Robert O’Hara, with Billy Porter as Albin and Wayne Brady as Georges, running June 17–28 with a 28-piece orchestra and preserving the original 1983 orchestrations; the cast also features Alaman Diadhiou, Lance Coadie Williams, James Jackson Jr., Tonya Pinkins and more, with reviews from New York Theater, TheaterMania, and Playbill highlighting the production.

via Playbill|

#all-black-cast #billy-porter #encores

arts2 months ago•5 min saved

Encores! at NYC Center Announces 2026-27 Season: Charlie Brown, Hallelujah, Baby!, Kiss of the Spider Woman

New York City Center's Encores! reveals its 2026-27 slate, reviving You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Feb 3–14, 2027; directed by Sam Pinkleton), Hallelujah, Baby! (Mar 17–28, 2027), and Kiss of the Spider Woman (Apr 28–May 9, 2027; directed/choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler). The season also includes The Australian Ballet’s Oscar and the In the Heights gala (Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights) with fall 2026 performances. Renewal tickets run through June 28; new subscriptions begin Aug 11 (City Center members) / Aug 18 (general) and single tickets go on sale Oct. Details at NYCityCenter.org.

via Playbill|

#arts #encores #hallelujah-baby

arts-and-culture3 years ago•7 min saved

Exploring 'The Light in the Piazza' from an Asian American Perspective.

The Encores! revival of the 2005 musical "The Light in the Piazza" features Asian American actresses in two of the main roles, reframing the exploration of otherness in the show. Director Chay Yew and actress Ruthie Ann Miles, who plays Margaret, have delved into the experience of feeling like an outsider, particularly in light of the spike in anti-Asian violence during the pandemic. The musical, which opens on Wednesday for a short run, tracks a woman and her daughter on vacation in Italy and explores love, disability, and the outsider status of tourists in a foreign land.

via The New York Times|

#arts-and-culture #asian-american #encores

theater3 years ago•8 min saved

'Darker Twists Intact': Oliver! Returns to the Stage

Encores! is staging a new production of Lionel Bart's musical "Oliver!" at New York City Center, featuring minimal sets and props to emphasize the darker themes of Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist." The show mixes upbeat musical numbers with themes of poverty and domestic violence, and the production aims to highlight the complexity of characters like Fagin and Bill Sikes. The show stars Raúl Esparza as Fagin, Lilli Cooper as Nancy, and Tam Mutu as Bill Sikes, and runs for two weeks as part of the Encores! series.

via The New York Times|

#charles-dickens #encores #lear-debessonet

theater3 years ago•8 min saved

'Darker Twists Intact': Oliver! Returns to the Stage

Encores! is staging a new production of Lionel Bart's musical "Oliver!" at New York City Center, featuring minimal sets and props to emphasize the darker themes of Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist." The show mixes upbeat musical numbers with themes of poverty and domestic violence, and the production aims to highlight the complexity of characters like Fagin and Bill Sikes. The show stars Raúl Esparza as Fagin, Lilli Cooper as Nancy, and Tam Mutu as Bill Sikes, and runs for two weeks as part of the Encores! series.

via The New York Times|

#charles-dickens #encores #lear-debessonet

arts3 years ago•4 min saved

Donna Murphy Shines in City Center Encores' "Dear World"

Encores! has revived Jerry Herman's 1969 musical "Dear World" in a concert production at New York City Center, led by Donna Murphy as Countess Aurelia. Directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, the production presents a smaller, looser, but still effective Herman elixir. The score is by far Herman’s most relaxed, and the new Encores! music director Mary-Mitchell Campbell’s conducting is mostly swooning and enlivens the work. The show's leading lady, Donna Murphy, delivers an endlessly reinvigorating voice at once worldly, incredulous, curious, and confident.

via The New York Times|

#arts #countess-aurelia #donna-murphy