Gotta Dance Pushes Back Broadway Bow; New Musical Will Now Open in Fall 2016

The much-buzzed about Gotta Dance will no longer land on the Main Stem this coming spring (or thus go up against Hamilton at the 2016 Tony Awards). Instead, the new tuner, which features a book by Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar and Nell Benjamin, with additional music by Marvin Hamlisch, is aiming to begin performances in the fall; no word yet on which Broadway house it will head to. The show is currently playing a limited engagement at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre.

Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, the Chicago cast includes Tracy Jai Edwards, André De Shields, Georgia Engel, Lillias White, Stefanie Powers, Haven Burton, Lori Tan Chinn, Nancy Ticotin, Joanna Jones, Madeleine Doherty, Diane Findlay, Lenora Nemetz, Jonalyn Saxer and Kay Walbye.

Gotta Dance tells the true story of a group of professional dancers, who, in 2007, were tasked with getting a basketball team’s senior citizen dance troupe performance-ready for their center court hip-hop debut. Through an unlikely art form and some hot moves, generation gaps are crossed and friendships are formed.

The world premiere is now set to end its limited engagement in Chicago on January 17, 2016. The company also includes Alexander Aguilar, Adinah Alexander, Sydni Beaudoin, Holly Ann Butler, Paula Castelon, Ari Groover, Colby Lewis, Lance Roberts, Elise Santora, Austin Scott III and Virginia Ann Woodruff.