Encores! BAND WAGON, LADY, BE GOOD, ZORBA! and Four MTC World Premieres Set for NY City Center's 2014-15 Season; Full Lineup Announced!

New York City Center's 2014-15 season features an exciting lineup of dance and musical theater that begins with the 11th season of City Center's acclaimed Fall for Dance Festival. The Festival features 24 acclaimed dance companies and artists from around the world, and will kick off in September with two free dance performances at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park in association with The Public Theater, followed by five unique programs at City Center in October. The Band Wagon, an Encores! Special Event starring Brian Stokes Mitchell, follows in November, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, City Center's Principal Dance Company, returns for a month-long engagement in December.

The 22nd season of City Center's Tony Award-winning Encores! series begins in February with Lady, Be Good, followed by Paint Your Wagon and Zorba!. In February and March, City Center presents Cuba's Havana Rakatan; Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's exploration of traditional and contemporary tango, M¡longa; and the great flamenco star Sara Baras in Voces, Suite Flamenca.

Two of the world's most acclaimed ballet dancers, the extraordinary Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev, will star in Solo for Two, a triple bill of works by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Ohad Naharin, and Arthur Pita.

The Tony Award-winning Manhattan Theatre Club's 2014-15 season will feature three world premiere works on Stages I and II, including new plays by David Auburn, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, Richard Greenberg, and Sharyn Rothstein.

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The Complete Schedule of the 2014-15 Season:

FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL
September 12 and 13 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park
FREE
Tickets Distributed Day-of-Performance
October 8 - 19, 2014 | at City Center
Tickets on Sale September 14

New York City Center's 11th annual Fall for Dance Festival will feature free performances in Central Park and 24 acclaimed dance companies and artists from around the world, in six unique programs in September and October 2014. In keeping with the Festival's commitment to make dance accessible to everyone, the Festival will kick off with two FREE evenings of dance at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, in association with The Public Theater, on September 12 and 13 (rain date, September 14) and will continue at City Center from October 8 - October 19 with all tickets priced at $15. The Festival's many free pre-show events will include dance lessons and panels by choreographers, artists, and dance educators.

The FREE performances at The Public's Delacorte Theater will feature: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Lil Buck, and New York City Ballet, each performing both nights. Free tickets will be distributed, two per person, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park on the day of the show and through virtual ticketing.

The two-week Festival at City Center will consist of five unique programs (each program is repeated twice) and will include performances by Aakash Odedra Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Australian Ballet, BJM - Les Ballets Jazz de Montre?al, Black Grace, Brian Brooks Moving Company with Juilliard Dance, Company Se?bastien Ramirez & Honji Wang, Lucinda Childs Dance Company, Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble, National Ballet of China, Pontus Lidberg Dance, Rennie Harris Puremovement, Russell Maliphant/Sadler's Wells London, San Francisco Ballet, Sara Mearns & Company, The Sarasota Ballet, Semperoper Ballett Dresden, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Vuyani Dance Theatre, and Wayne McGregor | Random Dance.

The Fall for Dance Festival has received international acclaim for its quality, innovation, and success in introducing new and younger audiences to the world of dance. Since its inception, the Festival has presented 189 companies and introduced more than 250,000 newcomers and dance enthusiasts to an eclectic mix of choreographers and performers.

Tickets: $15

ROLEX presents
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: a helluva town
Career Transition for Dancers: 29th Anniversary Jubilee Gala
Monday, October 6, 2014 at 7:00pm
Tickets on Sale Now

Don't miss this one-night-only event honoring Angela Lansbury, five-time Tony Award-winning actress, and legendary star of stage, film, and television, with the ROLEX DANCE AWARD with special guests Chita Rivera, James Earl Jones, Chuck Scarborough, and Karen Ziemba. There will be show-stopping performances from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Arthur Murray Dance Center, Columbus Circle, Ballet Hispanico, Jonah Bokaer, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Industrial Rhythm, Silva Dance Company, Tony Waag's American Tap Dance Foundation, and the Jubilee Orchestra, plus a special appearance by the Rockettes Alumnae. More stars and surprises to be announced. www.careertransition.org

Tickets: $45, $60, $90, $140 (Show Only)
For Gala tickets and information, contact Marjorie Horne at (212) 228-7446 x33

Annual Gala
ENCORES! SINGS RODGERS, HART AND HAMMERSTEIN
Monday, October 27, 2014 at 7:00pm
Gala Tickets on Sale Now
Performance-Only Tickets on Sale September 2

New York City Center will celebrate Bobbie and Lew Frankfort as the Honorees of its annual Gala on Monday, October 27, 2014. The Gala performance, Encores! Sings Rodgers, Hart and Hammerstein, will feature the music and lyrics of these beloved artists performed by some of Broadway's finest talent. 2014 Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle (After Midnight; Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway) will direct, and Encores! musical director Rob Berman will lead the Encores! Orchestra. Casting will be announced at a later date. The performance will be followed by dinner at the Plaza Hotel.

Tickets (performance only): Starting at $30
For Gala information and tickets, contact Susan Strebel at sstrebel@nycitycenter.org or (212) 763-1205.

An Encores! Special Event
THE BAND WAGON
November 6 - 16, 2014
Tickets on Sale September 2

Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell will star in The Band Wagon, an Encores! Special Event, based on the classic MGM film of the same title. The show has a book by Douglas Carter Beane adapted from the screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz. The Band Wagon will be directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall with music direction by Todd Ellison. The Band Wagon will run for 12 performances, by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures.

The Band Wagon is a classic backstage musical: A washed-up Hollywood star trying to make a comeback by doing a Broadway show, a British director who is a genius but has no business directing a musical, a leading lady who's never done a show before, and a composer and a lyricist who are at each other's throats. All the things that could never happen in the New York theater today.

Written by Broadway's ultimate insiders, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the 1953 film used Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz's wonderful songs to tell their story and took its title from the famed 1931 Broadway revue written by Schwartz, Dietz, and George S. Kaufman.

Now five-time Tony nominee Douglas Carter Beane will use the original Comden and Green screenplay (including scenes never filmed) as a basis for this Encores! Special Event, with a wonderful score that includes "Dancing in the Dark," "By Myself," "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan," "A Shine on My Shoes," and that great anthem for all of show business, "That's Entertainment."

Tickets: Starting at $30

LITTLE ORCHESTRA SOCIETY: Four Seasons: A Spinning Planet
A Fantasia of Music, Dance, and Light, choreographed by Karole Armitage with Armitage! Gone Dance
Saturday, November 22, 2014 at 11:00am and 1:00pm
Tickets on Sale Now

The Little Orchestra Society, in association with New York City Center, presents a new program based on stories about our planet inspired by ancient and timeless animal fables from around the globe, with choreography by ballet, modern dance, and Cirque du Soleil choreographer Karole Armitage. www.littleorchestra.org

Tickets: Starting at $18
Three-Concert subscriptions are on sale at The Little Orchestra Society at www.littleorchestra.org. Call 212-971- 9500 for more information.

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
December 3, 2014 - January 4, 2015
Tickets on Sale September 2

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, New York City Center's Principal Dance Company and beloved as an American cultural ambassador to the world, returns with exciting performances that have become a joyous holiday tradition. This season features the world premiere of ODETTA, Matthew Rushing's stirring tribute to "the queen of American folk music," created with the support of commissioning funds from New York City Center. Planned Company premieres include Christopher Wheeldon's dreamlike After the Rain Pas de Deux, Jacqulyn Buglisi's mesmerizing ensemble piece Suspended Women, and Hofesh Shechter's acclaimed Uprising; all three choreographers are making their debut with the Company.

The five-week engagement, with special performances on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, will include a new production of Ulysses Dove's dynamic Bad Blood and several 2014-2015 repertory additions: The Pleasure of the Lesson by Robert Moses, Awassa Astrige/Ostrich by Asadata Dafora, Polish Pieces by Hans van Manen, and David Parson's gravity-defying Caught. In addition to performances of Company classics-such as Alvin Ailey's signature American masterpiece Revelations and an Ailey/Ellington program-encore performances from last year's record-breaking season include Wayne McGregor's Chroma, Aszure Barton's LIFT, and Ronald K. Brown's Four Corners.

25 years since the passing of legendary founder Alvin Ailey, Artistic Director Robert Battle continues to build upon a pioneering legacy with his expansive vision. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater inspires all in a universal celebration of the human spirit, using the African-American cultural experience and the American modern dance tradition. www.alvinailey.org

Tickets: Starting at $25

ENCORES!
LADY, BE GOOD
February 4 - 8, 2015
Tickets on Sale October 6

Lady, Be Good ushered in the Golden Age of Broadway, from the mid-'20s until the early '40s, when Broadway musicals were opportunities for great songwriters, great songs, and great performers. The Gershwins (George was hot off the triumph of Rhapsody in Blue) delivered a jazz-age score that featured "Fascinatin' Rhythm" as well as a song that got unaccountably dropped during the show's tryout in Philadelphia, "The Man I Love." The stars of the show included Fred and Adele Astaire, playing a penniless brother and sister who crash a garden party in hopes of some quick nourishment.

Lady, Be Good has music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin, with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson. Most of Lady, Be Good's original orchestrations disappeared long ago, and earlier attempts to put the show back together have not been complete. Thanks to the Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Broadway Musical Restoration Fund, Encores! will have the opportunity to reproduce an authentic score under the supervision of Encores! Founding Music Director Rob Fisher.

Single Tickets: Starting at $30
Encores! season subscriptions can be purchased at www.NYCityCenter.org starting August 11.

Havana Rakatan
February 18 - 22, 2015
Tickets on Sale Sept. 2

Salsa, mambo, jazz, bolero, son, cha-cha-cha, and rumba come alive in Havana Rakatan, a dazzling display of Cuban dance. Set to live music by Cuban son band Turquino, Havana Rakatan explores the roots of Cuban music and dance, a unique fusion of Spanish culture and African spiritual beliefs. In it, flamenco, Yoruba and Afro- Haitian rhythms, as well as jazz, mambo, and son, give way to the modern forms of salsa that originated in the early twentieth-century salon dances. Havana Rakatan made its hugely successful debut in 2007 at the Peacock Theatre in London and has since toured all over the world.

Cuban choreographer Nilda Guerra directs a talented and versatile company of dancers, most of whom are graduates of the renowned Escuela Nacional de Arte de la Habana, which combines contemporary dance training with Cuban dance and Latin styles. Havana Rakatan is presented by New York City Center in association with Sadler's Wells and Congas Productions.

M¡longa
February 26 - March 1, 2015
Tickets on Sale Sept. 2

Deeply rooted in Argentinean culture, tango has fascinated and captivated the world with its sensuality, power and beauty. In M¡longa, celebrated contemporary choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui offers a gripping exploration of the dance form. Taking the idea of a milonga-a social dance evening held in Buenos Aires' intimate late-night bars--as a starting point, Cherkaoui draws on traditional influences and adds a contemporary twist.

The production features new music from Argentinean composer Fernando Marzan and Larbi's longtime musical collaborator Szymon Brzo?ska, with video and set design by Eugenio Szwarcer, and costumes by renowned fashion designer Tim Van Steenbergen. The cast includes 10 tango dancers from Buenos Aires, two contemporary dancers from Europe, and an Argentinean tango band of five musicians. M¡longa is presented by New York City Center in association with Sadler's Wells.

Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras: Voces, Suite Flamenca
March 3 - 6, 2015
Tickets on Sale Sept. 2

Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras' brand-new show, Voces, Suite Flamenca, captures the emotion, drama and passion of traditional flamenco with a vibrant contemporary edge. In it, Baras is joined onstage by her company of 10 dancers, including guest artist Jose? Serrano, and eight flamenco musicians.

Celebrated for her brilliant footwork and captivating stage presence, Baras has become internationally famous in a career that has spanned more than 20 years and earned her dozens of prestigious dance awards. Described by The Guardian as a "woman who can dance up not just a flamenco storm, but a hurricane," Baras has created and choreographed 11 original evening-length works and delivered more than 2,500 performances with her company all over the world. Voces, Suite Flamenca is presented by New York City Center and Flamenco Festival.

Tickets: Starting at $25

Sergei Danilian presents
NATALIA OSIPOVA & IVAN VASILIEV IN SOLO FOR TWO (New York Premiere)
March 7 and 8, 2015
Tickets on Sale now

Celebrated dancing partners, the extraordinary Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev, are reunited for a triple bill. Solo for Two, a co-production between Segerstrom Center for the Arts and Ardani Artists in association with New York City Center, comes to New York for two performances only, following engagements at Segerstrom Hall in California, the Stanislavsky Musical Theatre in Moscow, and the London Coliseum.

The evening will feature extracts from Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Mercy, with music by Heinrich Schu?tz played by l'Ensemble Akade?mia and conducted by Franc?oise Lasserre; Passo by Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company, danced to the British electronic music duo Autechre and English traditional folk music; and Facada by Arthur Pita, adapted specially for Natalia and Ivan from his original piece God's Garden. For Facada, original music by Frank Moon, Phil King, and Portuguese traditional fado will be played live by Frank Moon. www.ardaniartists.com

Tickets: Starting at $40

ENCORES!
PAINT YOUR WAGON
March 18 - 22, 2015
Tickets on Sale October 6

Set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California, Paint Your Wagon is the story of a dreaming gold miner and his daughter, whose worlds are changed when the daughter finds gold -- and love -- near their camp.

Paint Your Wagon opened at the Shubert Theater on November 12, 1951, and ran for 289 performances. It has a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The original production was directed by Daniel Mann and choreographed by Agnes De Mille. Songs include "They Call the Wind Maria," "I Talk to the Trees," and "I'm On My Way."

Tickets: Starting at $30
Encores! season subscriptions can be purchased at www.NYCityCenter.org starting August 11.

DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM
April 8 - 11, 2015
Tickets on Sale Sept 2

Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to New York City Center for a season of premieres and favorites. The company features 18 young, exciting artists in an eclectic and demanding repertoire. Dance Theatre of Harlem presents a premiere work by Darrell Grand Moultrie and company premieres of George Balanchine's Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux and Coming Together by Nacho Duato, along with Christopher Huggins's In The Mirror of Her Mind, Robert Garland's Return, and - back by popular demand - Ulysses Dove's Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven. Founded in 1969 by the inestimable Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Virginia Johnson and Executive Director Laveen Naidu, Dance Theatre of Harlem continues as a leading dance institution of unparalleled global acclaim that uses the art form of classical ballet to change people's lives. dancetheatreofharlem.org

Tickets: Starting at $35

ENCORES!
ZORBA!
May 6 - 10, 2015
Tickets on Sale October 6

Zorba! is John Kander and Fred Ebb's galvanic re-imagining of Nikos Kazantzakis's best-selling tale of a larger than life Greek jack-of-all-trades who "lives every day as if it will be his last."

Zorba! has a book by Joseph Stein, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb. It was adapted from Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The original production starred Herschel Bernardi and Maria Karnilova and was directed by Hal Prince. It opened at the Imperial Theater on November 16, 1968 and ran for 305 performances. Songs include "Life Is" and "Only Love."

Tickets: Starting at $30

Encores! season subscriptions can be purchased at www.NYCityCenter.org starting August 11.

Ardani Artists presents
EIFMAN BALLET: TENDER IS THE NIGHT (New York Premiere)
May 22 - 24, 2015
Tickets on Sale Now

Boris Eifman uses the ballets he creates to explore the depths of the human psyche, offering unforgettable portraits of creativity, torment, and genius. For his latest creation, Eifman turns to F. Scott Fitzgerald's final novel, Tender is the Night, as his inspiration for a stunning new ballet, set to music by George Gershwin, Arnold Schoenberg, Franz Schubert, and Alban Berg. The tumultuous story unfolds on the glamorous French Riviera, as a young Hollywood starlet finds herself drawn into the world of a wealthy, elegant, and magnetic couple and the jet set friends that complicate their lives. www.ardaniartistis.com

Tickets: Starting at $60

ENCORES! OFF-CENTER
June/July 2015

The third season of City Center's Encores! Off-Center series will feature landmark Off-Broadway musicals filtered through the lens of today's most innovative artists. Led by artistic director Jeanine Tesori, the goal of Encores! Off-Center is to connect the innovators of today to the shows that expanded creative boundaries in the past. Two Off-Center shows enjoy a five-performance run; the third show is a one-night-only special event. The 2015 lineup will be announced at a later date.

The Off-Center experience goes beyond the stage with the Lobby Project, a series of free, pre-curtain conversations and performances with a range of special guests including artists, scholars, and musicians. These events, while informative, will also be entertaining in their own right, featuring genres ranging from visual art to spoken-word poetry and beyond. The events will place the musical in the context of its legacy and provide insightful explorations of the work the audience is about to experience.

MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB
Tickets for Stage I shows on sale September 2
Tickets for Stage II shows on sale October 6

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has become one of the country's most prominent and prestigious theater companies. Over the past four decades, MTC productions have earned a total of 19 Tony Awards and six Pulitzer Prizes.

MTC's upcoming City Center season at Stage I features three world premiere productions:

David Auburn's Lost Lake starring Oscar nominee John Hawkes and Tracie Thoms, directed by Daniel Sullivan. The lakeside rental Veronica has managed to afford is a far cry from the idyllic getaway she and her children so desperately need. And the disheveled property owner, Hogan (John Hakwes), has problems of his own - problems that Veronica is inevitably and irrevocably pulled into.

The World of Extreme Happiness is a new play by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Eric Ting in a co- production with Chicago's Goodman Theatre. Unwanted from the moment she was born, Sunny is determined to escape her life in rural China and forge a new identity in the city. When fate casts her as a company spokeswoman at a sham PR event, Sunny's bright outlook starts to unravel in a series of harrowing and darkly comic events, as she begins to question a system that enriches itself by destroying its own people.

Tony-winning playwright Richard Greenberg and Manhattan Theatre Club's award-winning artistic director Lynne Meadow reunite for The Swing of the Sea, a new play. Patriarch Max has died, leaving behind two sons, Brett and Alec, and a lover, Vivi. All three reunite for one evening in Vivi's New York apartment. Secrets, passions and ghosts of the past emerge as each of them faces an uncertain future.

At The Studio at Stage II, MTC, in association with Ars Nova, will present By the Water, a new play by Sharyn Rothstein, directed by Hal Brooks. Hurricane Sandy has just ravaged the lifelong home of Marty and Mary Murphy. But the storm has ripped apart more than just the walls: with their neighbors too devastated to stay, the couple's beloved Staten Island community is in danger of disappearing forever. Determined to rebuild, Marty wages a campaign to save his neighborhood and his home, but when the Murphys' sons arrive to help their parents dig out, past betrayals come rushing to the surface.

One additional MTC production at The Studio at Stage II will be announced shortly. (In addition to the three productions at City Center Stage I and two productions as part of The Studio at Stage II -- Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series, MTC also presents three plays on Broadway each season at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre). www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com

Stage I tickets: $90; Stage II tickets: $30

WOMEN'S PROJECT
Tickets on Sale September 15

The award-winning Women's Project Theater is the nation's oldest and largest company dedicated to producing and promoting plays written and directed by women. Now in its 36th year, Women's Project Theater has produced over 600 main stage productions and developmental projects, and published 11 anthologies of plays by women.

Women's Project Theater was founded in 1978 by Julia Miles to address the significant underrepresentation of women theater artists and has since built a tremendous legacy. Women's Project Theater accomplishes its mission through two fundamental programs: the WP Lab, a two-year mentorship and new play development program for women playwrights, directors, and producers; and the Main Stage series, which annually features three Off-Broadway productions written and directed by extraordinary women theater artists. www.WPTheater.org

Single Tickets: $60
Membership Program: with a donation of $100 or more, members are eligible to purchase tickets to Main Stage Productions before they go on sale to the public, plus a host of other enticing benefits.

STUDIO 5 AT CITY CENTER
in the Barbara and David Zalaznick Studio on 5

Studio 5 provides an intimate forum for informal conversations with some of today's most compelling figures in musical theater and dance. Curator Damian Woetzel will host the season's first event, a conversation with Wendy Whelan, who is retiring from New York City Ballet after thirty years. In her new position as City Center's first Artistic Associate, Wendy will curate and host a subsequent Studio 5 dance event. Studio 5's musical theater offerings will be curated and hosted by Ted Chapin, President and Executive Director of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. Full programming will be announced shortly.

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New York City Center (Arlene Shuler, President & CEO), now in its 71st year, has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city since 1943. It was Manhattan's first performing arts center, dedicated by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia with a mission to make the best in music, theater and dance accessible to all audiences. Today, City Center is home to many distinguished companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, City Center's Principal Dance Company, as well as Manhattan Theatre Club; a roster of renowned national and international visiting artists; and its own critically acclaimed and popular programs. The Tony-honored Encores! musical theater series has been hailed as "one of the very best reasons to be alive in New York." In summer 2013, City Center launched Encores! Off-Center, a new series featuring landmark Off-Broadway musicals filtered through the lens of today's most innovative artists. Dance has been integral to the theater's mission from the start, and dance programs, including the annual Fall for Dance Festival, remain central to City Center's identity. Vital partnerships with arts organizations including Jazz at Lincoln Center and London's Sadler's Wells Theatre enhance City Center's programmatic offerings. City Center is dedicated to providing educational opportunities to New York City students and teachers with programs such as Encores! In Schools and the Young People's Dance Series. Special workshops cater to families, seniors, and other groups, while events such as the Fall for Dance DanceTalk series offer learning opportunities for the general public. In October 2011, City Center completed an extensive renovation project to revitalize and modernize its historic theater.

Tickets for all events at New York City Center can be purchased online at www.NYCityCenter.org, by calling CityTix at (212) 581-1212, or at the City Center Box Office at 131 W. 55th St. (between 6th & 7th Aves). For more information, visit www.NYCityCenter.org.