Christine Pedi, Marc Kudisch and More to Star in BELLS ARE RINGING 70th Anniversary Concert

On Wednesday, October 7 at 7:00 pm at 54 Below, 254 West 54th Street, NYC 10019, Bells Are Ringing will return in a special concert celebration of the musical’s 70th anniversary, with tickets available both in-person and via a one-time-only livestream.

With music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Bells epitomizes the spirit of zesty, zany musical comedy: answering service operator Ella Peterson falls in love with one of her clients, Jeff Moss, but there’s one little wrinkle…she’s never met him! The original 1956 Broadway production directed by Jerome Robbins (with choreography by Robbins and Bob Fosse!) earned Tony Awards for its stars, Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin, while showcasing such talents as Eddie Lawrence, Jean Stapleton, Jack Weston, George S. Irving, and Peter Gennaro in vibrant supporting roles.

This anniversary concert will assemble alumni of past productions along with fresh and veteran Broadway talent to rekindle the fun, romance, and laughter of this classic musical and its remarkable score including such standards as “The Party’s Over,” “Long Before I Knew You,” and, of course, “Just in Time.”

The cast features Tony Award nominee Alan Campbell (Mamma Mia!, Contact, Sunset Boulevard), rising cabaret star Ava Nicole Frances (“American Idol”), Christine Pedi (Chicago, Forbidden Broadway, Sirius XM On Broadway), Erin Davie (Diana, the Musical, Grey Gardens, Side Show), Tony Award nominee Karen Akers (Nine, Grand Hotel), Klea Blackhurst (Ethel Merman: Everything The Traffic Will Allow, Hello, Dolly! at Goodspeed, “Pose”), Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch (Floyd Collins, Girl from the North Country, Assassins), Michael-Demby Cain (Ragtime, Victor/Victoria, Smokey Joe’s Cafe), Nehal Joshi (Flying Over Sunset, School of Rock, The Phantom of the Opera), cabaret sensation Nicolas King (Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, A Thousand Clowns, Carol Burnett’s Hollywood Arms), Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Penny Fuller (Anastasia, Sunday in the Park with George, Applause), Tony Award nominee Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde, On the Twentieth Century, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark), and Stuart Zagnit (Harmony, Caroline, or Change, Disney’s Newsies). They’re joined by chorus members David Katz, Dianne Fraser, Ethan Mathias, Eve Dillingham, Hannah Bank, and Kosta Yordanov. Subject to change.

Co-producer Joe Marchese and musical director/pianist Michael Lavine both knew and worked with the legendary team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green; along with co-producer Andy Skurow, they will honor the legacy of Comden, Green, and Styne in a lively and joy-filled concert presentation sure to delight audiences anew at 54 Below and everywhere via livestream. The party’s not over yet!