Theatre at the Center announces the Chicagoland premiere of the Broadway hit Nice Work If You Can Get It. This new musical features a book by Tony Award winner
Joe DiPietro, and a treasure trove of George and
Ira Gershwin's most beloved, instantly recognizable tunes (Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, Someone to Watch Over Me, 'S Wonderful). Nice Work If You Can Get It runs May 5 through June 5 at Theatre at the Center.
Set in the Roaring Twenties, Nice Work If You Can Get It is the story of charming and wealthy playboy Jimmy Winter, who meets rough female bootlegger Billie Bendix on the weekend of his wedding. Jimmy is embarking on his third or fourth marriage, this one to a narcissistic modern dancer named Eileen. Billie learns that the couple will be out of town and devises a plan to stash cases of alcohol in the basement of Jimmy's mansion. When Jimmy, Eileen and Eileen's prohibition family suddenly arrive at the mansion for the wedding, Billie and her gang pose as the serving staff, with hijinks as the end result.
Jeff Award winning director
William Pullinsi will join forces with Jeff Award winning choreographer
Danny Herman to co-direct Nice Work If You Can Get It, just as they did for last season's hit production of All Shook Up at Theatre at the Center.
Justin Brill (All Shook Up at Theatre at the Center and All Shook Up on Broadway) stars as Jimmy along with Erica Stephan (White Christmas at Drury Lane and The Little Mermaid at
Chicago Shakespeare Theater) who plays Billie Bendix.
Laura Freeman (The Fox on the Fairway at Theatre at the Center and Into the Woods national tour) plays Estonia Dulworth, The Duchess of Woodford. Jeff Award winner
Stef Tovar (The Christmas Schooner at Mercury Theater Chicago and Big Fish at Theatre at the Center) plays Cookie McGee. Additional cast include
Julie Baird as
Eileen Evergreen, Rick Rapp as Senator Max Evergreen,
Annelise Baker as Jeannie Muldoon, Jake Stempel as Chief Berry,
John Stemberg as Duke Mahoney and Debbie DiVerde as Millicent Winter, the mother of Jimmy.
The Nice Work If You Can Get It production team includes musical director
Bill Underwood, Jeff Award winning scenic design team Jackie and Richard Penrod; costume design is by
Brenda Winstead, lighting design is by Guy Rhodes, sound design is by
Barry Funderburg. Brittney O'Keefe is the props designer. The production manager is
Ann Davis with Dennis Galbreath as assistant technical director.
Matt McMullen is the stage manager.
Richard Friedman is general manager and
Linda Fortunato is Theatre at the Center's new artistic director.
Founded in 1991, the 410-seat Theatre at the Center is a year-round professional theater at its home, The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, Indiana. Theatre at the Center is the only professional theater company in Northwest Indiana, offering downtown caliber performances in an accessible venue with plenty of free parking. Theatre at the Center is located off I-80/94, just 35 minutes from downtown Chicago.
Performances are 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays; and select Thursday and Sunday evenings and Saturday matinees. Individual ticket prices range from $40 - $44. To purchase individual tickets call the Box Office at
219-836-3255 or Tickets.com at
800-511-1552. Group discounts are available for groups of 11 or more and gift certificates are also available. For more information on Theatre at the Center, visit TheatreAtTheCenter.com.
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