CAGNEY to Play 100th Performance Off-Broadway This Month

Cagney, the new hit musical about Hollywood's tough guy in tap shoes,will celebrate its 100th performance on Wednesday afternoon, June 29 at the Westside Theatre, upstairs. Cagney had its official opening on April 3, 2016 following 21 preview performances.

Prior to the run at The Westside Theatre, Cagney played a critically acclaimed limited engagement at The York Theatre Company in 2015.

"100 performances... wow, what a milestone," says Robert Creighton, who stars as Hollywood legend James Cagney and co-wrote the original musical score. "The idea for Cagney began when I was still in acting school. And now, all these years later, it's a dream come true to share the stage with this amazing cast and celebrate this screen legend and native New Yorker. The response from the critics and audience, the awards and nominations ...it is truly beyond what we could have hoped for."

Not even five and half feet tall, James Cagney's oversized talent catapulted him from scrappy Irish kid on the streets of New York to Hollywood legend on "the top of the world." A Vaudeville hoofer turned actor, Cagney made a splash on Broadway before Hollywood called and made him one of the Silver Screen's most iconic tough guys in legendary films including The Public Enemy, The G Men and White Heat. But it was his turn as song and dance man George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy that earned him the Academy Award and forever cemented his place as one of America's most beloved movie legends alongside the likes of Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Marlyn Brando, Jimmy Stewart and Fred Astaire.

Cagney's six-member cast stars Broadway's Robert Creighton (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Anything Goes) as the legendary James Cagney, with Jeremy Benton (Nat'l Tour of Irving Berlin's White Christmas), Danette Holden (Broadway's Annie, Shrek the Musical), Josh Walden (Broadway's Ragtime,La Cage aux Folles, A Chorus Line), Ellen Zolezzi (Seussical), and Bruce Sabath (Broadway'sCompany).

Directed by Bill Castellino (Grumpy Old Men, Jolson), and choreography by Tony Award nomineeJoshua Bergasse (On the Town, Gigi), Cagney features a book by Peter Cooley (I'll Be Back Before Midnight) and score that blends original music by Robert Creighton and Christopher McGovern (Lizzie Borden) with classic George M. Cohan favorites, including "Give My Regards To Broadway," "Grand Old Flag," and Yankee Doodle Dandy."

A hit with audiences and critics alike, Cagney has been described as "exhilarating!" (Time Out New York), "stupendous" (NY1 News), "nothing but joy" (New York Observer), and "blissful" (TheaterMania). The New York Times raves "Robert Ceighton is born for the role," while the New York Post says "Creighton shines as Cagney." Praised for "some of the best dancing I have seen in my entire life" (WNBC TV), The New York Times says" Joshua Bergasse's choreography could sell tap shoes to Tibetan monks," andTheaterMania calls Cagney "a dream come true for lovers of tap dance."

Cagney features a scenic design by James Morgan, costume design by Martha Bromelmeier, lighting design by Michael Gilliam, sound design by Janie Bullard, projection design by Mark Pirolo, music coordination by Larry Lelli, fight direction by Christian Kelly-Sordelet and Rick Sordelet, casting byCarol Hanzel, and general management by Brierpatch Productions.

Photo by Carol Rosegg

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