Nine-time Tony winner Tommy Tune is returning to the stage! The legendary song and dance man will appear as Jeff in City Center’s Encores! production of Lady, Be Good. Joining him are Colin Donnell as Jack, Patti Murin as Susie, Erin Mackey as Shirley and Jennifer Laura Thompson as Josephine Vanderwater. As previously reported, performances will run from February 4, 2015 through February 8. Mark Brokaw will direct the direct and Randy Skinner will choreograph. Founding Encores! Music Director Rob Fisher will return for the production and will supervise the restoration of the Gershwin score.
Featuring music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, Lady, Be Good follows a penniless brother (Gardner) and sister (Murin) who crash a garden party in hopes of some quick nourishment. The two resolve to marry for money, but love gets in the way. Before true love wins out, they encounter Mexican gangsters, crooked lawyers, wealthy socialites and a song-and-dance man with fascinating rhythm (Tune). The original production opened at the Liberty Theater on December 1, 1924 and ran for 330 performances
Tune, a celebrated musical theater performer, director and choreographer, took home Tonys for his work on Seesaw, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, Nine, Grand Hotel and The Will Rogers Follies. Donnell most recently appeared on Broadway in Violet, following his performances in Anything Goes and Jersey Boys. Murin created the title role of Lysistrata Jones; her additional stage credits include Xanadu, Love Labour’s Lost and Fly By Night. Mackey, who recently appeared in the world premiere of Amazing Grace, has appeared on Broadway in Chaplin, Anything Goes, Sondheim on Sondheim and Wicked. Thompson is no stranger to the Gershwin canon, having starred in Nice Work If You Can Get It; she was nominated for a Tony for her performance in Urinetown.
Additional cast members include Danny Gardner as Dick, Jeff Hiller as Bertie, Richard Poe as Rufus Parke/Manuel Estrada and Kristen Wyatt as Daisy.