Kristy Cates, Cole Burden and More Set for the York's FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN

Celebrating Broadway's legendary Cole Porter! The York Theatre Company launches their 50th Anniversary Season with its acclaimed Musicals in Mufti series celebrating the legendary Broadway composer Cole Porter. The series honors the illustrious songwriter behind such classics as Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate, Gay Divorce, Silk Stockings, Red, Hot and Blue, and Can-Can, to name a few.

Opening the Fall 2019 series is Fifty Million Frenchmen with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields, adapted by Tommy Krasker and Evans Haile. Performances begin Saturday afternoon, September 28, 2019 and continue for 11 performances only through Sunday afternoon, October 6, 2019. Opening Night is Sunday evening, September 29, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.

Directed by Hans Friedrichs (The Drowsy Chaperone) and with music direction by Evans Haile, the eleven-member cast will feature Sam Balzac (Promenade), David Michael Bevis (Memphis), Ashley Blanchet (Frozen), Cole Burden (The Bridges of Madison County), Kristy Cates (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Ray DeMattis (Enter Laughing), Andy Kelso (Kinky Boots), Wade McCollum (Wicked), Karen Murphy (Mary Poppins), Evy Ortiz (West Side Story), and Madeline Trumble (Newsies).

The year is 1929, the month is June. It's the season when all the Americans invade Paris-and all the Parisians leave town. This classic boy-meets-girl musical set in the city of love introduced the world to such memorable Cole Porter favorites as "You Do Something to Me," "You've Got That Thing," and "The Tale of the Oyster." Originally opening on Broadway in 1929, Fifty Million Frenchmen was one of Porter's earliest hits and a precursor to the success that was yet to come. Irving Berlin was such a fan that he took out an advertisement calling Fifty Million Frenchmen "the best musical comedy I have seen in years!" The York is delighted to kick off its Cole Porter Mufti celebration with this show, in the revised version created by Tommy Krasker and Evans Haile for a 1991 concert presentation, emphasizing its remarkable score.

The production team includes Lighting Designer Reza Behjat, Projection Designer Chelsie McPhilimy, Production Manager George Xenos, Production Stage Manager Chris Steckel, and Assistant Stage Manager Kirsten Leigh Williams. The band includes David Hancock Turner on second piano and Dan Erben on banjo. Casting for Fifty Million Frenchmen is by Binder Casting: Chad Eric Murnane, CSA.

The York Theatre Company's acclaimed Musicals in Mufti series of musical theatre gems, performed in a simply-staged, book-in-hand concert format, is currently in its twenty-sixth historic year of presenting shows from the past that deserve a second look. Mufti means "in street clothes, without the trappings of a full production."

NOW ON SALE: In keeping with the spirit of The York's 50th Anniversary Season, single tickets for the 2019 Fall Musicals in Mufti series are priced at $50 (for all performances). York Member single tickets are priced at $31.50 (for all performances).

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE: Subscribe to a "Come in for the Cole" Package and see all three Muftis for $120 - a $30 savings!

BEST SAVINGS! Become a York Member (details below): Buy all three Muftis priced at $94.50 - a $55 savings off the regular priced ticket.

www.yorktheatre.org