York Theatre Co Announces KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY Casting, Runs 6/26-28

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director) is pleased to announce casting for KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY (playing June 26-28), the 75th staged concert in the history of the Musicals in Mufti series.

KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY will feature Cyrilla Baer (Adding Machine) as Mistress Schermerhorn, Kelli Barrett (Rock of Ages) as Tina Tienhoven, Walter Charles (The Apple Tree) as Tienhoven, Josh Grisetti (Enter Laughing, The Musical) as Washington Irving, William Parry (Gypsy) as Roosevelt, Bobby Steggert (110 in the Shade) as Brom Broeck and Martin Vidnovic (Footloose) as Pieter Stuyvesant. The cast will also include John O'Creagh (1776, Paper Mill), Ronica Reddick, Roland Rusinek (The Phantom of the Opera), Lucia Spina (South Pacific) and Jendi Tarde. The concert will be directed by Michael Unger with music direction by John Bell.

KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY is a witty yet caustic musical comedy about a man who "cannot take orders from anybody." This cult classic (which went on to inspire the Oscar-nominated film of the same name) opened on Broadway in 1938 and imaginatively used the setting of New York City on the eve of the American Revolution to create a farcical response to President Roosevelt's New Deal. Based on "Father Knickerbocker's History" by American master Washington Irving with music by Kurt Weill and book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson, KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY is filled with romance and political humor, and the score includes "How Can You Tell an American?", "It Never Was You" and "September Song."

All performances will be presented at the Theatre at Saint Peter's (54th Street, just East of Lexington Ave), Friday, June 26 at 8 PM; Saturday, June 27 at 2:30 & 8 PM; and Sunday, June 28 at 2:30 & 7:30 PM. Audience talkbacks will follow both matinees. Tickets are $37.50. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.yorktheatre.org or call the York's Box Office at 212-935-5820.

‘Mufti' (pronounced MUFF' tee) means "in street clothes; without the usual trappings" and each show in the Series is presented script-in-hand, with minimal staging. KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY marks the 75th Mufti concert revival in the acclaimed series. The series presents musical theatre gems from Broadway, Off-Broadway and London, celebrating such writers as Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, Larry Grossman and Joseph Stein. The 2009 Spring Series included The Grand Tour (May 29-31) and High Spirits (June 12-14).

Notable Musicals in Mufti presentations in the series' 75-performance history include Enter Laughing, The Musical (which inspired The York's record-breaking Off-Broadway production), Take Me Along, Carmelina, Plain and Fancy, Lucky Stiff, Darling of the Day, Mata Hari, Carmen Jones, Billion Dollar Baby and 70, Girls, 70. TIME Magazine listed York's Mufti version of Darling of the Day as one of the Top Ten Theatrical Events of 2005, and AM New York referred to the Mufti Series as "increasingly essential." The series began in 1994 with concerts of The Grass Harp, A Doll's Life and Oh, Brother!

For ticket information visit www.yorktheatre.org or call 212-935-5820.
THE York Theatre Company in Saint Peter's Theatre
54th Street Just East of Lexington
E or V train to Lexington Avenue or 6 train to 51st Street

Photo: Walter McBride