Kyle Riabko, Blake Bashoff to Head Touring Cast of Spring Awakening

Kyle Riabko and Blake Bashoff, currently starring in Spring Awakening on Broadway, will lead the cast of the show's forthcoming national tour. The Tony-winning musical will launch a multi-city tour beginning at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco on September 4. A "pre-tour" West Coast premiere will take place mid-August in San Diego at the Balboa Theatre.

Canadian singer/songwriter Riabko, who made his Broadway debut in Spring Awakening in May, plays Melchior Gabor, the soul-searching young hero who dares to defy conventional principles in repressive 19th-century Germany. Television and film actor Bashoff, who debuted on Broadway in December 2007, will continue as his ill-fated best friend, Moritz Stiefel. The press announcement did not indicate when the two actors will depart the Broadway production at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre or who will replace them.

Riabko has toured extensively with such artists as John Mayer, Maroon 5 and B.B. King and released a solo album, Before I Speak. "I have been performing and touring as a musician since I was 10 years old. The fact that I now get to tour America as Melchior in Spring Awakening is an incredible dream come true." he said in a statement.

Bashoff, who played the role of Karl in eight episodes of ABC's Lost, has also been seen on the TV series Judging Amy, Numb3rs, Without a Trace and One Tree Hill. His film credits include Bushwhacked, Big Bully, HBO's A Child Betrayed: The Calvin Mire Story, The New Swiss Family Robinson and the upcoming Together Again for the First Time. "I am excited to bring this role to cities across America," Bashoff said in a statement. "Moritz is a complex character but very relatable. I think audiences of every age will understand and recognize him and be moved by the story."

Cities in the first year of the Spring Awakening tour include San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Tempe, Houston, Tampa, Cleveland, Columbus, Des Moines, East Lansing, St. Louis, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C, Toronto, Boston and Chicago.