Joshua Bergasse and Matt Lenz Join THE MUSIC MAN Tour Creative Team

Meredith Willson’s THE MUSIC MAN will embark on a 100-city National Tour, opening in Springfield, MO, in January of 2026.  This new production will be helmed by director Matt Lenz. Joshua Bergasse, Emmy Award winner, Tony Award nominee, and acclaimed choreographer, will create all new dances for the citizens of River City.

Meredith Willson’s iconic humor, wordplay, and optimism will shine in this inventive reimagination of a beloved classic. Scenic Design is by Ann Beyersdorfer, Video Design is by Lisa Renkel, and Lighting Design is by Tony Award winner Ken Billington. The production will showcase the Broadway costumes designed by Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto.

Cast and more design info will be announced at a later date. The Music Man is produced by Big League Productions.

The Music Man premiered on Broadway in 1957 and starred Robert Preston as Harold Hill and Barbara Cook as Marian Paroo. It was most recently seen on Broadway in 2022 in a revival starring Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman, helmed by Jerry Zaks and Warren Carlyle.

BIOS:

Matt Lenz (Director) is an award-winning, New York-based theatre director with a career that has spanned the globe. Literally. Matt has directed plays and musicals all over North America, in the UK, Australia, South Africa, Germany, Singapore and India – and is the director of current Broadway tours in the US and Asia. He has worked with some of the brightest stars and most celebrated creators on the world stage. BROADWAY: Hairspray, Catch Me If You Can, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Velocity of Autumn (Associate Director on original productions), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Resident Director). OFF-BROADWAY: Pageant: The Musical (Drama Desk nomination), The Irish Curse, Idaho! The Comedy Musical, The Great Daisy Theory, Fingers and Toes, and Alan Ball’s Tense Guy. US NATIONAL TOURS include: Hairspray (1st, 2nd & 3rd National), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Sound of Music, A Christmas Story: The Musical, Cheers: Live Onstage, Catch Me If You Can, and The Who’s Tommy. 

Joshua Bergasse (Choreographer) - Josh won an Emmy award for choreographing the NBC series “Smash” which is now a new Broadway musical. Other Broadway: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; On the Town (TONY, Drama Desk, OCC noms; Astaire Award); and Gigi. Off-B’way: Sweet Charity (Chita Rivera Award, Lortel nom); Cagney (Drama Desk, OCC, Astaire Noms; Callaway Finalist); Bomb-itty of Errors; and Captain Louie.  He also directed and choreographed the re-imagined Smokey Joes Cafe at Stage 42. Josh has done nearly a dozen productions of West Side Story (recreating the original Jerome Robbins choreography). Encores!: I married an Angel; Little Me; ...It’s Superman!; Annie Get Your Gun; and The Golden Apple. For Television: Multiple Episodes of “So You Think You Can Dance”; “A Capitol Fourth”; “Jessica Jones”; “Sinatra - A Voice for a Century”; “Hawkeye”; “Monsterland” and the “Kennedy Center 50 year celebration” (director, producer and co-choreographer). Film: Your Monster, Grown Ups 2.