Erick Avari, Sorab Wadia & More Set for Bollywood Musical Bunty Berman Presents…

Erick Avari, Sorab Wadia and more will bring Bollywood to the off-Broadway stage in Bunty Berman Presents…, a new musical featuring a book and lyrics by Ayub Khan Din, and music by Khan Din and Paul Bogaev. The previously announced New Group production will be helmed by Scott Elliott. The production will begin performances April 12, with an official opening night on May 9. Bunty Berman Presents… is scheduled to play through June 1 at off-Broadway’s Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row.

In addition to Avari as Bunty Berman and Wadia as Raj Dhawan, the cast features Raja Burrows (Academia Nuts) as Chandra Dass, Nick Choksi (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) as Saleem, Sevan Greene (Betrayed) as Nizwar, Lyn Philistine (Gypsy) as Sandra De Souza, Gayton Scott (Gypsy) as Dolly, Lipica Shah (Bumbug the Musical) as Shambervi and Alok Tewari (Through the Yellow Hour) as Shankar Dass. The ensemble includes Katie Chung, Andrew Guilarte, Shoba Narayanan, Debargo Sanyal, Pallavi Sastry.

Set in a failing 1950s Bollywood studio, with songs in the style of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Bunty Berman Presents… tells the story of Bunty Berman, who has long been the toast of Bombay. But now Raj (Wadia), his biggest star and best friend, is beginning to lose his luster. When their new movie bombs, Bunty must navigate through divas, mobsters and ambitious tea-boys to keep his studio alive.

Avari appeared on Broadway in The King and I. His New York stage credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore and A Map of the World. His film credits include The Mummy, Mr. Deeds, Independence Day and Daredevil. Wadia appeared in the New York production of Nymph Errant. His film and TV credits include Law & Order: SVU, 30 Rock and Suburban Girl.

Bunty Berman Presents… features choreography by Josh Prince, set design by Derek McLane, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by David Lander and sound design by Acme Sound Partners.