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Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

NPAC musical celebrates post-WWII music

VW independent/submitted information

Producers of the Tony Award®-winning musical Bandstand, which is coming to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in January, recently released rehearsal photos from the musical prior to the company heading out for its national tour.

Originally directed and choreographed by three-time Tony winner and Hamilton choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, featuring music by Richard Oberacker, with book and lyrics by Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker, this poignant and inspiring new American musical explodes with infectious music and high-octane, heart-stopping dancing.

Cast members of the musical Bandstand are shown rehearsing prior to the show heading out for its national tour. photo provided

As previously announced, the national tour cast will star Zack Zaromatidis as Donny Novitski and Jennifer Elizabeth Smith as Julia Trojan. They will be joined by Roxy York (Mrs. June Adams), Rob Clove (Jimmy Campbell), Benjamin Powell (Davy Zlatic), Scott Bell (Nick Radel), Louis Jannuzzi III (Wayne Wright), and Jonmichael Tarleton (Johnny Simpson).

The cast also includes Shaunice Alexander, Beth Anderson, Michael Bingham, Milena J. Comeau, Ryan P. Cyr, Sarah Dearstyne, Michael Hardenberg, Andre Malcolm, Kaitlyn Mayse, Matthew Mucha, Mallory Nolting, Taylor Okey, Katie Pohlman, Oz Shoshan, and Cameron Turner.

A complete list of cities and dates for the national tour of Bandstand can be found HERE.

The story: It’s 1945. As America’s soldiers come home to ticker-tape parades and overjoyed families, Private First Class Donny Novitski, who’s a singer and songwriter, struggles to rebuild the life he left behind. When NBC announces a national competition to find the nation’s next great musical superstars, Donny sees a lifeline for himself and some fellow veterans that gives them the purpose they so desperately need. Together, they form a band unlike any the nation has ever seen. Along the way, they discover the power of music to face the impossible, find their voice, and finally feel like they have a place to call home.

Bandstand is “both a peppy celebration of can-do spirit and a more somber exploration of what American servicemen experienced when they marched home from World War II. It’s a great argument for why theater can sometimes tell a story more boldly and more viscerally” (The New York Times). “The show defies you not to be moved” (Time Out New York).

The award-winning Bandstand design team includes Tony Award nominee David Korins and associate Justin West (scenic design), Tony Award winner Paloma Young (costume design), Tony Award winner Jeff Croiter (lighting design), Tony Award winner Nevin Steinberg (original Broadway sound design), David Thomas (tour sound design), J. Jared Janas and Dave Bova (makeup, hair and wig design), Tony Award nominee Greg Anthony Rassen (co-orchestrator and music arranger), Tony Award winner and 2017 Tony Award nominee Bill Elliott (co-orchestrator), Fred Lassen (music supervisor), Gina Rattan (tour director), with choreography restaged and additional choreography by Marc Heitzman. Tour casting by Kate Lumpkin, CSA. 

Bandstand is produced by Work Light Productions and was originally produced on Broadway by Tom Smedes, Gabrielle Palitz, Terry Schnuck, Roger Horchow, Peter Stern, Michael Palitz, Jane Dubin, Tom Kirdahy, David Lyons, Sarah Perot, James L. Nederlander, James and Catherine Berges, Darren DeVerna & Jere Harris, Jeff and Ellen Adler, Nancy and Randy Best, Deep End Productions, Patty Baker, Terry D. Loftis/Scott D. Huffman, Independent Presenters Network/Charles and Lisa Siegel, Rosie Gunther McCooe/J. Scott and Sylvia G. Bechtel, Roy Putrino/Heather Shields, Diane and John Kalishman/Alison and John Ferring, and The Shubert Organization, in association with Paper Mill Playhouse.

For more information on the show, which will be performed in Van Wert at 7:30 p.m. on January 23, 2020, contact the Niswonger Performing Arts Center by calling 419.238.6722 or go online at NPACVW.ORG.

POSTED: 10/31/19 at 6:56 am. FILED UNDER: News