Bond Davis, Vilanch, Etc. to Star in 'Bway Musicals of 1959'

A cast of nine Broadway stars will perform in Broadway by the Year: The Broadway Musicals of 1959, presented by The Town Hall, on Monday April 30 at 8 PM.  Hairspray star Mary Bond Davis, Shrek choreographer Josh Prince, and Tony Nominee Manoel Felciano will join the previously announced cast, which includes Marc Kudisch (directing his third Broadway by the Year concert), Emily Skinner, Bruce Vilanch, Mark Jacoby, Sarah Jane McMahon, and Nancy Lemenager.

Press notes state, "This talented cast will be singing some of the greatest music ever produced on Broadway. 1959 featured Gypsy, The Sound of Music, Fiorello!, Take Me Me Along, The Nervous Set, Once Upon a Mattress, and more!  'Assembling this cast was a joy,' said Scott Siegel, who created Broadway by the Year for Town Hall and who writes and hosts each concert in this critically acclaimed, popular series."

"The music from 1959 is unusually eclectic, so I needed to assemble a cast with equally wide-ranging talents.  Getting Bruce Vilanch in a year that featured a Jackie Gleason musical is perfect.  Pairing the great Nancy Lemenager from Never Gonna Dance and Movin' Out with Josh Prince continues the exciting dance tradition that Nancy, herself, helped to create at Town Hall.  The iconic music from Gypsy and The Sound of Music will be especially featured with Emily Skinner and Mary Bond Davis getting their respective cracks at Mama Rose, while Sarah Jane McMahon (late of The Pirates of Penzance at the New York City Opera) will provide a classic take on the beloved Rodgers & Hammerstein show."

Tickets for the event are $40 and $45 from TicketMaster, (212) 307-4100, or www.ticketmaster.com, in person at the Town Hall box
office, 123 West 43rd Street, New York, NY. For more information, call (212) 840-2824, or  visit www.the-townhall-nyc.org.

Photo of Marc Kudisch by Craig Brockman