Photos: TAKE THE LEAD Opening Night at Paper Mill Playhouse

The world premiere musical Take the Lead, which began performances Saturday, March 29 opened this Sunday, April 6, at Paper Mill Playhouse. Check out photos from opening night here! 

Set in the pulsating heart of New York City, Take the Lead is a joyful new musical based on the 2006 dance film that starred Antonio Banderas. This electrifying tale is the true story of Pierre Dulaine, a former professional dancer who, against all odds, brought the art of ballroom dance into New York City public schools. This world-premiere musical spotlights a dynamic fusion of ballroom and hip-hop in its music and choreography with a book by Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins and a score by Elliah Heifetz and Zeniba Now. Take the Lead is co-choreographed by Jennifer Weber  and Maria Torres  and directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli.

The cast features former 3LW and Cheetah Girls member Adrienne Bailon-Houghton as Arianna, Vincent Jamal Hooper as Rock, Savy Jackson as La Rhette, Tam Mutu as Pierre Dulaine, and Matthew Risch as Alan. The ensemble also includes Eric Ascione, Brandon O’Neal Bomer, Megan Elyse Fulmer, Gaelen Gilliland, David Jennings, Natalie Jolley, Dillon Lehman, Natalia Nieves-Melchor, Justin O’Brien, Kevin Trinio Perdido, Ryan Raffloer, Deon Releford-Lee, Cristian “Chino” Rodriguez, Kiki Rodriguez, Jonalyn Saxer, Tatiana Seliverstova, SeQuoiia, Grace Slear, Salome Smith, Stephani Sosa, and Christian Whan.

The creative team also includes music supervision by Bill Sherman, music direction by Geoffrey Ko, and orchestrations and arrangements by Bill Sherman and Geoffrey Ko. Scenic design is by Paul Tate DePoo III, costume design by Jen Caprio, lighting design by Justin Townsend and Nick Solyom, sound design by Walter Trarbach, and hair, wig and makeup design by Earon Chew Nealey. The production stage manager is Molly Meg Legal and casting is by The Telsey Office.