Laura Osnes to Star in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Pipe Dream at Encores!

Laura Osnes has signed on to star in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s little known 1956 musical Pipe Dream at Encores! The show will have seven performances at New York City Center, March 28-April 1, directed by Marc Bruni, with music direction by Rob Berman and choreography by Kelli Barclay. No other casting has been announced.

Based on John Steinbeck’s novel Sweet Thursday, Pipe Dream centers on outcasts in the Cannery Row bordellos and flophouses yearning for a better life. The show tells the story of the romance between Doc, a marine biologist, and Suzy (Osnes), a young woman who hitchhikes into town. Pipe Dream opened at the Shubert Theatre on November 30, 1955, and ran for 246 performances. It was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Pipe Dream has been virtually absent from the American stage for more than two decades because of a technicality involving the underlying rights. The Encores! presentation will feature Robert Russell Bennett newly restored orchestrations of R&H rarities including “All at Once You Love Her,” “The Next Time It Happens” and “Everybody’s Got a Home but Me.”

Osnes most recently played Bonnie Parker in Bonnie & Clyde and has appeared on Broadway in Anything Goes, South Pacific and Grease.