Area Premiere Of NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT Comes to Manatee Performing Arts Center

Manatee Performing Arts Center is pleased to announce Manatee Players' area premiere of the musical Nice Work If You Can Get It! for 13 performances, April 26 - May 13, in Stone Hall. History of Nice Work If You Can Get It!

Nice Work If You Can Get It!, music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, was created by playwright Joe DiPietro, based on material by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, through a series of readings and workshops over nearly two decades. The musical was initially produced in 2001 at the Goodspeed Opera House as They All Laughed!, direction by Christopher Ashley. Nice Work!, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall and starring Matthew Broderick (Jimmy Winter) and Kelli O'Hara (Billie Bendix), received two Tony awards after it opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre in April 2012.

Nice Work If You Can Get It! takes a poke at the Prohibition Era clash between boorish bootleggers and elegant socialites, and features some of the most beloved and often-heard songs by American-musical legends George and Ira Gershwin, including "Someone to Watch Over Me," "S'Wonderful," "They All Laughed," "I've Got a Crush on You," "Do, Do, Do," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off."

Rating: G

Synopsis of Nice Work If You Can Get It!

"Set in the 1920s, Nice Work If You Can Get It! is the story of charming and wealthy playboy Jimmy Winter, who meets rough female bootlegger Billie Bendix the weekend of his wedding. Jimmy, who has been married three (or is it four?) times before, is preparing to marry Eileen Evergreen, a self-obsessed modern dancer. Thinking Jimmy and Eileen will be out of town, Billie and her gang hide cases of alcohol in the basement of Jimmy's Long Island mansion. But when Jimmy, his wife-to-be and her prohibitionist family show up at the mansion for the wedding, Billie and her cohorts pose as servants, causing hijinks galore." (Broadway.com)

Director's Notes

Who does not love the toe-tapping score of George and Ira Gershwin, right? I love directing/choreographing a Gershwin piece. Even in my cruise ship days, we performed a lot of Gershwin songs in cabarets and mainstage shows. Nice Work If You Can Get It! premiered in 2012 after many years of workshops and cast changes. It first came onto the scene in 2009 starring Harry Connick Jr., but later was replaced with the Broadway premiere starring Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara. The show is set in 1927 during Prohibition. It's a fast-paced, witty script, fun dancing, and a feel of the old classic musical theatre style, which I love!! Sit back and let us help you escape from the craziness in the world, with a silly musical comedy!!! Enjoy.

Cast of Nice Work If You Can Get It!

Jimmy Winter Brian Chunn

Billie Bendix Sarah Cassidy

Estonia Dulworth Victoria Gross

Cookie McGee Cory Woomert

Eileen Evergreen Christina Capehart

Jeannie Muldoon Skylar Homan

Millicent Winter Jeannine Klein

Chief Berry Ken Basque

Duke Mahoney Ian Cicco

Senator Evergreen Alex Topp

Ensemble Men Joseph Rebella, Stevie Romero,

Josh Devine, Eli Gilbert, Brandon Jamora

Ensemble Women Skylar Homan, Katie Zanders, Alyssa Duffy,

Zoe Zimmerman, Kayleigh Valach, Emma Devine

Director's Bio

Thomas Dewayne Barrett (Director/Choreographer) - Dewayne is very happy to be returning to the mainstage as Director and Choreographer for the area premiere of Nice Work If You Can Get It! Last season he directed and choreographed the very successful runs of Little Shop of Horrors and The Full Monty. Dewayne recently returned from Washington State where he helmed the premiere of EDM Antigone the rock opera, set to have six US tours within the next four years. Other shows he has directed/choreographed here are: Cats, A Chorus Line, Legally Blonde, Chicago, Young Frankenstein, Meet Me in St. Louis, Annie, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This summer he will be returning to Nebraska as the Artistic Director for the Post Playhouse 51st summer season. This coming fall he will be heading to Beijing, China to teach and direct a show at the Central Academy of Drama

Tickets are $27 to $37. Student and teacher discounts are available by phone and in-person. Tickets can be purchased at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Avenue W, Bradenton. Box Office hours: 10 a.m.-5p.m., Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, by phone (941)748-5875 or online at www.ManateePerformingArtsCenter.com.