ON THE TOWN Cast Takes a Break as Lyric Theatre Hosts Univision Upfronts

Nominated for four 2015 Tony Awards, On the Town is still going strong at the Lyric Theatre, but this week the cast begins a pre-scheduled week off. BroadwayWorld has learned that performances May 7-12 have been canceled so that the theatre can host NYC upfronts for Univision Communications Inc. Performances will resume on May 13.

Directed by John Rando (Tony Award for Urinetown) and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse (Emmy Award winner for "Smash"), with music performed by the largest orchestra on Broadway, consisting of 28 musicians conducted by musical director James Moore (Follies, Ragtime), On The Town began previews on Saturday, September 20, 2014 and opened to rave reviews on Thursday, October 16, 2014. Tickets for the new Broadway revival of On The Town are available at Ticketmaster.com.

ON THE TOWN stars Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy, A Chorus Line), Jay Armstrong Johnson (The New York Philharmonic's Sweeney Todd, Hands On A Hardbody, Hair), and Clyde Alves (Bullets Over Broadway, Nice Work If You Can Get It) as the sailors on 24-hour shore leave who take on the Big Apple; Megan Fairchild (New York City Ballet Principal Dancer), Alysha Umphress (American Idiot) and Elizabeth Stanley (Company) as the women who steal their hearts; and Jackie Hoffman(Hairspray, Xanadu) in the role of "Madame Dilly". Tony Award winner Michael Rupert (Legally Blonde: The Musical, Ragtime, Falsettos, Sweet Charity) plays "Judge Pitkin" alongside Allison Guinn (Hair) as "Lucy Schmeeler," Tony Award nominee Phillip Boykin (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess) and Stephen DeRosa (Hairspray, The Nance, Into The Woods).

Fairchild, a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, makes her Broadway debut playing 'Ivy Smith.'

Rounding out the cast is an ensemble of 20, including Chip Abbott, Tanya Birl, Angela Brydon, Holly Ann Butler, Julius C. Carter, Peter Chursin, Kristine Covillo, Lori Ann Ferreri, PALOMA Garcia-Lee, Stephen Hanna, Eloise Kropp,Brandon Leffler, Jess Leprotto, Cory Lingner, Skye Mattox, Michael Rosen, Samantha Sturm, Christopher Vo,Cody Williams, and Mikey Winslow.

ON THE TOWN features book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, music by Leonard Bernstein, and is based on an idea by Jerome Robbins.

The Bronx is up, the Battery's down, and three sailors are hoping to get just a little bit lucky on 24-hour shore leave in the Big Apple. From the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Coney Island to Times Square and Carnegie Hall, On The Townzigzags through New York City as the sailors and the three high-spirited young women they meet chase love, dreams, and each other during an unforgettable day in the city that never sleeps. The classic score features the standards "New York, New York," "I Can Cook Too," "Lonely Town," and "Some Other Time" and is played in this production with their original orchestrations, performed by the largest orchestra on Broadway, with 28 musicians.

Created by the legendary creative team of Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Jerome Robbins,On The Town grew out of the Jerome Robbins ballet Fancy Free, about three sailors on leave in New York, which debuted in 1944 with the American Ballet Theatre. The musical opened at Broadway's Adelphi Theater later that year, directed by George Abbott, and played through February 2, 1946 for a total of 462 performances, transferring to the 44th Street Theatre and Martin Beck Theatre along the way.