Billy Porter, Michael Urie, Joaquina Kalukango & More Join New York City Center 30th Encores! Series

NEW YORK CITY CENTER has revealaed additional casting for the 30th Encores! series. A centerpiece of City Center’s 80th Season at the Center of the Arts, productions of Once Upon a Mattress, Jelly’s Last Jam, and Titanic will be presented in special two-week runs, celebrating 30 years of the Tony-honored series.

Joining Sutton Foster as Princess Winifred the Woebegone in Once Upon a Mattress (Jan 24 – Feb 4) is Michael Urie as Prince Dauntless. Led by Tony-nominated Encores! Artistic Director Lear deBessonet, the production features a new concert adaptation by Amy Sherman-Palladino, choreography by Lorin Latarro, and Encores! Music Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell leading The Encores! Orchestra. 

The cast of Jelly’s Last Jam (Feb 21 – Mar 3) includes Billy Porter as the Chimney Man, Joaquina Kalukango as Anita, and 1992 original cast members Mamie Duncan-Gibbs, Stephanie Pope Lofgren, and Allison M. Williams, who will reprise their roles as the Hunnies. Directed by Robert O’Hara with choreography by Edgar Godineaux and tap choreography by Dormeshia, Jelly’s Last Jam features music direction by Jason Michael Webb. 

Closing out the 30th Encores! series is Titanic (Jun 12 – 23) featuring Bonnie Milligan as Alice Beane. Directed by Anne Kauffman, the production features music direction by Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

Casting for the 30th Encores! series is by The Telsey Office.

Expanding City Center’s mission to make the arts accessible to everyone, the 30th Encores! series also includes the first-ever Encores! student matinees for Once Upon a Mattress (Wed Jan 31) and Jelly’s Last Jam (Wed Feb 28); Community Nights on January 26, February 23, and June 14; and ASL Interpreted Performances on February 1 and 29, and June 20. For additional information visit NYCityCenter.org.

Encores! single tickets from $35 (plus a $3 facility fee and $7 handling fee) go on sale Tuesday, October 17 (Friends of City Center on October 10), and can be purchased online at NYCityCenter.org, by calling 212.581.1212, or in person at the City Center Box Office. Access City Center Club is available to those 35 years of age and under and offers a limited number of $25 tickets (plus a $3 facility fee and no handling fees) to City Center productions. For more information and to sign up, visit NYCityCenter.org/Access. New York City Center is located at 131 W 55th St between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

Additional casting to be announced. Casting and programming subject to change.

Niani Feelings named inaugural Ann Reinking Encores! Choreography Fellow

New York City Center also announced Niani Feelings as the inaugural Ann Reinking Encores! Choreography Fellow. A New York based creator and performer who grew up in Columbia, SC, Niani Feelings received her BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory and went on to appear in regional productions at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The MUNY, and Kansas City Starlight. She has been part of choreography/directing teams at SpeakEasy Stage, OSF, and Paper Mill Playhouse. Feelings was a member of the 2022-2023 SDCF Professional Development Program and she most recently toured the country as a swing and the dance captain of the first national tour of Mean Girls. She believes in the power of diversity, representation, and leading with kindness, and hopes to always be involved in projects that add to the world, whether it be through laughter or a call to action.

Honoring the legacy of the celebrated choreographer, teacher, mentor, and star of the legendary 1996 Encores! production of Chicago, the Ann Reinking Encores! Choreography Fellowship expands City Center’s current Administrative and Creative Apprenticeship programs by providing one dance professional each season with the opportunity to develop their choreographic and teaching careers as part of the New York City Center team. Specifically supporting career pathways for women, non-binary artists, and artists of color, the season-long, full-time position provides access to the full scope of City Center’s musical theater season as a participant in the creative process, beginning with the Annual Gala Presentation through the final production of the Encores! series. Under the guidance of four different choreographers, the Fellow will discover new opportunities for networking, mentorship, observation, and involvement. In addition, they will gain an understanding of school and community programming during their time with the Education & Community Engagement Department, assisting with programs and supporting the development of curriculum that shares Encores! history and process with school and community partners.   

NEW YORK CITY CENTER 

(Michael S. Rosenberg, President & CEO) has played a defining role in the cultural life of the city since 1943. The distinctive Neo-Moorish building was founded by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia as Manhattan’s first performing arts center with the mission of making the best in theater, dance, and music accessible to all audiences. This commitment continues today through celebrated dance and musical theater series like the Fall for Dance Festival and the Tony-honored Encores! series; the annual season by Principal Dance Company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and new dance series Artists at the Center. City Center welcomes audiences to experience internationally acclaimed artists including Kyle Abraham, Matthew Bourne, Ayodele Casel, Manhattan Theatre Club, Nederlands Dans Theater, and Twyla Tharp, on the same stage where legends made their mark. Dedicated to a culture built on the values of curiosity, collaboration, accessibility, and inclusivity, City Center’s dynamic programming, art exhibitions, and studio events are complemented by education and community engagement programs that bring the performing arts to thousands of New York City students, teachers, and families every year. NYCityCenter.org

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