54 Sings Wonderful Town: The 70th Anniversary Concert, an evening celebrating the 1953 musical by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green, will be held at 54 Below June 21 at 9:30 PM.
Sharing the role of Ruth will be Tony winner Karen Ziemba (Contact), Amanda Green (High Fidelity), and Rebecca Spigelman (Woman of the Year), while Erin Davie (Diana) will be among those playing Ruth's sister Eileen.
The evening's cast will also feature Lee Roy Reams (42nd Street), Todd Buonopane (Cinderella), Timmy Lewis (Woman of the Year), J Savage (Bad Cinderella), Sean McDermott (Miss Saigon), Billy Reece, and Seth Sikes (The New Belters) plus ensemble members Maggie Bera, James Cella, Connor Coughlin, Aaron Gooden, Matthew Fairlee, Tyler Mell, Molly Samson, and Taylor Erin Wade. Additional casting will be announced.
Robert W. Schneider will direct the concert with music direction by Michael Lavine. Brinley Degwert is the associate producer.
Schneider says, “We are so proud to showcase Wonderful Town, a valentine to a New York gone by, during its 70th anniversary, adapted to fit the intimate and picturesque atmosphere of 54 Below… The score by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green is one to be cherished.”
Wonderful Town, which opened on Broadway in February 1953, brings characters from Joseph A. Fields' My Sister Eileen back to life. The classic musical features music by Bernstein, a book by Fields and Jerome Chodorov, and lyrics by Comden and Green. The parade of Greenwich Village life in the 1930s includes such songs as "Conga!," "Ohio," "Christopher Street," "My Darlin' Eileen," "A Quiet Girl," "What a Waste," and "Wrong Note Rag." The original Broadway production won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
The concert is presented by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
For ticket information visit 54Below.com.