John Selya and Caren Lyn Manuel Join Cast of The Times They Are A-Changin'

Caren Lyn Manuel will be the leading lady of the Broadway production of the Twyla Tharp/Bob Dylan project The Times They Are A-Changin'. She joins a cast that already included Michael Arden and Thom Sesma, who originated their roles during the show's tryout at the Old Globe Theatre earlier this year. Among those also featured in the cast will be John Selya, who received a Tony nomination for his work in Tharp's Movin' Out.

Manuel has previously appeared on Broadway in Rent and Brooklyn. She was one of the stars of the off-Broadway musical Once Around the Sun and appeared in national tours of Les Misérables and Fame.

The Times They Are A-Changin' is set within a low-rent traveling circus run by Capt. Arab Sesma, whose wagon hasn't moved from its location in some time—though not by lack of effort from his ragtag band of clowns and performers. One such performer is Cleo Manuel, a young woman exploited by Capt. Arab and loved by his son, Coyote Arden. Coyote longs for a world outside the confines of the family business, and as the circus show plays out, he must decide whether to flee or stay, and if he does stay, how to inspire change within the troupe.

The show, conceived, directed and choreographed by Tharp, tried out at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre from January 25 to March 19, 2006, in a production that starred Arden, Sesma who took over for Paul Kandel during rehearsals and Jenn Colella as Cleo. It received mixed reviews there, with Steven Oxman of Variety writing: "Tharp helps her cast identify an extraordinary range of emotions that the songs, nearly without exception, deliver… The problem is that Tharp's carnival world just never convinces. Rather than humor, she ends up mostly with hokiness like the too-eager-to-please dog."

In addition to those previously mentioned, the Broadway production of The Times They Are A-Changin' will feature Movin' Out alums Lisa Gajda, Charlie Hodges and Ron Todorowski and Luke Longacre, Jason McDole, Jonathan Nosan, Alex Brady, Lisa Brescia Aida, Marcus Choi, John Herrera, Alaine Kashian, Keith Kuhl, Marty Lawson, Joseph Putignano and Jason Wooten.

The Times They Are A-Changin' will begin performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on September 25 in preparation for an October 26 opening. To accommodate this opening, Butley, which had previously announced an October 26 bow, will now open at the Booth on October 25.