Jim Walton to Star in New Off-Broadway Musical The Sphinx Winx

Broadway vets Jim Walton and Bret Shuford will lead the cast of the new off-Broadway musical The Sphinx Winx, which will begin a 12-week run at the Beckett Theatre on May 3, prior to an official press opening of May 18. Matthew Hamel directs the show, featuring a book and lyrics by Philip Capice, Anne Hitchner, and Robert Keuch; and music by Kenneth Hitchner Jr.

In addition to Walton and Shuford, the company of The Sphinx Winx includes Erika Amato, Rebecca Riker, Beth Cheryl Tarnow and Ryan Williams.

The Sphinx Winx is described as a musical comedy misinterpretation of the classic love triangle between Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. With the kingdom of Egypt horribly in arrears to the Roman government due to Caesar's frivolous spending on lavish gifts for his Queen of the Nile, Marc Antony arrives to uncover the cause and mete out justice. When the court's Soothsayer mistakenly forecasts that Antony will fall in love with Cleopatra, he unwittingly sets into motion a series of comic events the likes of which won't be found in any history books.

Walton is currently appearing in the New York Philharmonic’s star-studded staged concert of Company, by Stephen Sondheim, playing Larry, husband of the sardonic Joanne (Patti LuPone). He has appeared on Broadway in Bye Bye Birdie, Guys And Dolls, 42nd Street, The Music Man, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Stardust and Perfectly Frank. Shuford was last seen on Broadway in The Little Mermaid, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Beauty and The Beast.

The design team for The Sphinx Winx is Robert Kovach (scenic design), Gail Baldoni (costume design), Annmarie Duggan (lighting design) and David Lawson (sound design). Orchestrations are by Doug Katsaros, with arrangements and musical direction by Jeffrey Lodin and choreography by Tara Jeanne Vallee. The show’s limited engagement will conclude on July 24.