Warren Carlyle to Direct A Tale of Two Cities on Broadway

Warren Carlyle has been tapped to direct and choreograph the forthcoming Broadway production of A Tale of Two Cities. The musical, featuring music, lyrics and a book by Jill Santoriello, will start rehearsals of July 14 Bastille Day and begin previews at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on August 19. Opening night has been set for September 18.

Carlyle created the musical staging for A Tale of Two Cities when it was produced last fall at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Florida and most recently choreographed Dancing in the Dark at the Old Globe in San Diego. His New York credits include Juno and Stairway to Paradise at Encores! and off-Broadway or Fringe productions of You Again, Working, Slut! and the first 24 Hour Musicals at the Public Theater. Regionally, he has choreographed Mame, The Pirates of Penzance, The Baker's Wife and Pageant. In his native England, his work has included Me and My Girl, The Goodbye Girl, Pageant, Moving On and Scrooge. As an associate choreographer he has contributed to the Broadway productions of The Producers and Oklahoma! and the film Center Stage.

Set against the epic backdrop of the French Revolution and based on the classic Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities is a musical about injustice, vengeance and the redemptive power of love. When Dr. Manette is released from the French Bastille after 17 years, he must be resurrected from the brink of madness by his daughter, Lucie. In England they meet two very different men: the exiled French aristocrat, Charles Darnay, whom Lucie marries, and the drunken cynic, Sydney Carton. Soon family secrets and political intrigue combine to draw Lucie and her family back to Paris. At the height of the Reign of Terror, the musical finds an unlikely hero in Sydney Carton. James Barbour starred in the Asolo production; no casting as been announced for Broadway.

A Tale of Two Cities is being designed by Tony Walton scenery, David Zinn costumes, Richard Pilbrow lights, Carl Casella and Domonic Sack sound. Orchestrations are by Edward B. Kessel and Bob Krogstad ; arrangements are by Edward B. Kessel and Wendy Bobbitt Cavett.

The producing team for A Tale of Two Cities includes Barbra Russell and Ron Sharpe Executive Producers, Bernard Brogan, Sharon A. Fordham, Theatre Associates / David Sonnenberg / Rami Evar, The Monagle Group, Fanok Entertainment, Mary E. Laminack, Jim Barry, Gasperino Entertainment, Vincent Russell Producers, and William M. Broderick, Edward B. Kessel, Harry Casey, David Bryant Associate Producers.