Theatre News: York Theatre Company To Present the World Premiere of “Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood” Beginning April 17

WORLD PREMIERE!

THE YORK THEATRE COMPANY
IN ASSOCIATION WITH RIKI KANE LARIMER
PRESENTS
CHEEK TO CHEEK: IRVING BERLIN IN HOLLYWOOD
AN ALL-SINGING, ALL-DANCING CELEBRATION
MUSIC AND LYRICS BY IRVING BERLIN
BOOK BY BARRY KLEINBORT
MUSIC DIRECTION BY DAVID HANCOCK TURNER
DIRECTED AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY RANDY SKINNER
AT THE YORK THEATRE COMPANY AT SAINT PETER’S

PERFORMANCES BEGIN APRIL 17, 2020
LIMITED ENGAGEMENT THROUGH MAY 17, 2020

OPENING NIGHT SET FOR THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020

MEMBER TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE
GENERAL PUBLIC TICKETS GO ON SALE FEBRUARY 12, 2020

New York, NY (February 10, 2020) – The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and rediscovery of musical gems from the past, in association with Riki Kane Larimer, will present the Off-Broadway premiere of Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood, a song and dance celebration featuring the music and lyrics of the legendary Irving Berlin, with book by Barry Kleinbort (13 Things About Ed Carpolotti) and music direction by David Hancock Turner (York’s Desperate Measures), directed and choreographed by four-time Tony Award nominee Randy Skinner (42nd Street, Dames at Sea, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, and Ain’t Broadway Grand). Performances begin Friday, April 17, 2020 for a limited engagement through Sunday afternoon, May 17, 2020 at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter’s (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Opening Night is set for Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 6:45 p.m. Cast and creative team will be announced shortly.

Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood is an all-singing, all-dancing celebration of the most famous songs that Irving Berlin composed for the silver screen. Mr. Berlin understood the impact dance had on the public and his melodies, rhythms, and lyrics reflected his love of that art form. Six spectacular performers will perform these magnificent songs and will also tell the stories behind the man who made the music that made the movies dance. Four-time Tony nominee Randy Skinner directs and choreographs an evening featuring an array of classic Berlin tunes from such classic films as Top Hat, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Holiday Inn, Easter Parade, White Christmas, and many more!

“When Riki Kane Larimer brought me the idea of doing this show, I was delighted,” said James Morgan, York’s Producing Artistic Director. “Irving Berlin is one of everybody’s favorite composers—a true icon of the Golden Age. And Randy Skinner is an amazingly talented gentleman of the theater. To have him creating a show for The York’s stage is another highlight of our 50th Anniversary Season; it’s a perfect match!”

Randy Skinner’s Broadway shows include 42nd Street (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Astaire nominations), Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), Dames At Sea (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Astaire nominations), Ain’t Broadway Grand (Tony, Outer Critics nominations), State Fair (Outer Critics nomination), and After the Night and the Music. For City Center Encores!, Mr. Skinner choreographed Do Re Mi, Of Thee I Sing, Face the Music, No, No, Nanette, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Lady, Be Good; he played the role of Pa Dolan in their production of On Your Toes. Off-Broadway, he choreographed Lone Star Love (Lucille Lortel nomination). Other shows include the Kennedy Center’s Broadway: Three Generations. West End shows: Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, 42nd Street (Olivier nomination). For Lincoln Center/PBS, he choreographed Show Boat with the NY Philharmonic Orchestra. In Los Angeles: Stormy Weather (with Leslie Uggams at the Pasadena Playhouse), Garry Marshall’s Happy Days, Hello, Dolly! (with Nell Carter), Pal Joey (with Dixie Carter and Elaine Stritch), and Strike Up the Band (with Tom Bosley). For Goodspeed Musicals: Babes in Arms, George M!, and Lucky in the Rain. Mr. Skinner’s tapping can be heard on the recordings of Sondheim at the Movies, 110 in the Shade, Strike Up the Band, and Lucky in the Rain. He has received the LA Drama Critics, LA Drama-logue, Bay Area Theatre Critics, Connecticut Critics Circle, and Cleveland Times Theatre Awards. Mr. Skinner is a Columbus, Ohio native and graduate of the Ohio State University.

Barry Kleinbort (Book) has earned the prestigious Edward Kleban Foundation Award for Lyric Writing, two Gilman-Gonzalez Musical Theatre Awards, the Second Stage Musical Writers Award, the Jamie deRoy/ASCAP award, two BackStage Bistro awards and ten Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC) awards for his directorial and songwriting efforts. He wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Was (music by Joseph Thalken, based on the novel by Geoff Ryman), which was the inaugural production of the American Musical Theater Project in Chicago. He co-wrote with David Levy Perfect Harmony, a musical play about the lives of the Barry Sisters, which ran for six months in South Florida. As a composer/lyricist, he wrote music and lyrics for Metropolita(i)n, a bi-lingual musical revue, which has successfully played in Paris and New York. He provided scripts for eight PBS TV specials and was an artistic consultant for “Cathouse: The Musical” for HBO. His newest musical, 13 Things about Ed Carpolotti, had a successful Off-Broadway run at 59E59 starring Penny Fuller and made its regional theater debut in 2014 at the Merrimack Rep in Lowell, Massachusetts, again with Ms. Fuller, and under Mr. Kleinbort’s direction. He has directed and/or written material for Brent Barrett, Petula Clark, Marvin Hamlisch, Kaye Ballard, Regis Philbin, John Barrowman, Tony Roberts, Anita Gillette, Karen Mason, Sylvia McNair, Harolyn Blackwell, Heather MacRae, and many, many others. He has also directed topical revues and intimate theater productions, including Rita Gardner’s Try to Remember: A Look at Off-Broadway and Kaye Ballard’s Off-Broadway revue Working 42nd Street at Last! He adapted and directed the New York premiere of Bob Merrill’s musical The Prince of Grand Street for the Jewish Rep and John Epperson’s autobiographical one-man outing Show Trash at both the Studio Theater in Washington, D.C and Off-Broadway as part of the acclaimed Lypsinka trilogy at the Connelly Theater. A well-received revue of his theater songs, Big City Rhythm, is available on Harbinger Records.

Riki Kane Larimer (Associate Producer) hails from the world of housewares where her company, Metrokane, created and marketed the famous Rabbit Corkscrew. After selling Metrokane in 2014, she embarked upon a career in theater where she co-produced the London production of Memphis followed by On the Town and Gigi on Broadway, the Off-Broadway productions of Georgie, Bright Colors-Bold Patterns, and York Theatre’s productions of Cagney and Enter Laughing. Riki’s major theatrical accomplishment is the widely acclaimed production of Cagney starring Robert Creighton, which started at The York, followed by a run at the Westside Theater, a stunning 15-month success, and is now in an expanded developmental production at The Pioneer Theatre (Salt Lake City, UT). She looks forward to bringing Cagney to The Great White Way. Riki is the Vice President of the Board of Directors at The York Theatre, and is a trustee on the Board of Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor on Long Island.

Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood will play the following performance schedule: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., Thursday at 2:30 p.m., Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. & 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Please note: There are no Thursday evening performances.

York Member tickets for Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood are now available. Tickets will be available to the General Public beginning February 12 and will be priced at $67.50 – $72.50. Tickets may be purchased by calling (212) 935-5820, online at www.yorktheatre.org, or in person at the box office at the York Theatre at Saint Peter’s (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue), Monday through Friday (12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.). Senior Rush tickets are available in-person beginning one hour prior to performances for $20 cash only. Student tickets can be purchased anytime in advance at the box office during regular box office business hours. Limit one ticket per valid student ID and tickets are subject to availability. Student Rush tickets are $20.00 cash or credit. The York Theatre also offers $25 tickets for guests aged 35 years and under. Groups of 10 or more, contact Great White Way at 212-757-9117, or GreatWhiteWay.com. (*York Members receive Priority Seating and Discounted Tickets.)

The York Theatre Company offers the York! Membership Program, an exclusive membership package for as low as $75.00—with elite benefits that include up to 35% off tickets to York Theatre Productions, exclusive Member pre-sale opportunities, 50% off on all lobby concessions, 20% off on all lobby merchandise, discounts at local restaurants and parking garages, in addition to special Member-only receptions. The York also offers a York Plus! Membership Program with additional perks, including complimentary tickets to Mainstage productions and invites to several VIP-only presentations throughout the season.

York Memberships can be purchased online at www.yorktheatre.org/membership, or by visiting The York Theatre Company Box Office (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue), or by calling the Box Office at (212) 935-5820 during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.).

York Theatre Company Gift Cards are available for any production during the 2019-2020 season by visiting the box office or calling (212) 935-5820, or online at www.yorktheatre.org

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FINAL WEEK: Currently on the Mainstage at The York is the return engagement of the hit Off-Broadway production of Gerard Alessandrini’s hilarious musical spoof of all things theatre Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation, written and directed by Gerard Alessandrini and choreographed by Gerry McIntyre (Spamilton). The cast features Chris Collins-Pisano, Immanuel Houston, Aline Mayagoitia, Jenny Lee Stern, and Joshua Turchin, with Fred Barton on piano.

Due to popular demand, Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation has been extended an additional week and will continue through February 16, 2020 at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter’s (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue) where performances began January 15, 2020.

Alessandrini continues to lampoon The Great White Way’s biggest shows and stars in this new edition, which he directed. Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation features spoofs of Hadestown, Moulin Rouge, the recent Oklahoma! revival, The Ferryman, Tootsie, Beetlejuice, Frozen, the Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof, and Dear Evan Hansen; the new generation of Broadway stars including Billy Porter, Santino Fontana, Karen Olivo, and Alex Brightman; exciting turns by Bette Midler, André De Shields, Bernadette Peters, and Lin-Manuel Miranda; and several surprises. The return engagement is presented in association with John Freedson, Harriet Yellin, Peter Brash, David Zippel, and Gerard Alessandrini, with Tzili Charney.

Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation plays the following performance schedule: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., Thursday at 2:30 p.m., Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. & 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Please Note: There are no Thursday evening performances.

Tickets for Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation are priced at $67.50 – $72.50. Tickets may be purchased by calling (212) 935-5820, online at www.yorktheatre.org, or in person at the box office at the York Theatre at Saint Peter’s (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue), Monday through Friday (12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.). Senior Rush tickets are available in-person beginning one hour prior to performances for $20 cash only. Student tickets can be purchased anytime in advance at the box office during regular box office business hours. Limit one ticket per valid student ID and tickets are subject to availability. Student Rush tickets are $20.00 cash or credit. The York Theatre also offers $25 tickets for guests aged 35 years and under. Groups of 10 or more, contact Great White Way at 212-757-9117, or GreatWhiteWay.com. (*York Members receive Priority Seating and Discounted Tickets.)

Forbidden Broadway has been a theatrical institution since 1982, when Gerard Alessandrini created the first edition, lampooning the Broadway shows and stars of the day, who often stopped by to laugh at themselves alongside the public. In the 38 years since, Forbidden Broadway has garnered international acclaim and awards that include 7 Drama Desk Awards, an Obie, a Drama League Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, 2 Lucille Lortel Awards, and a Special Tony Award.

For additional information, please visit www.yorktheatre.org

The York Theatre Company is the only theatre in New York City—and one of very few in the world—dedicated to developing and fully producing new musicals and preserving neglected, notable shows from the past. For over four decades, York’s intimate, imaginative style of producing both original and classic musicals has resulted in critical acclaim and recognition from artists and audiences alike. Under the guidance of Producing Artistic Director James Morgan since 1997, The York has focused on new musicals in its Mainstage Series—most of them world, American, or New York premieres—by some of the field’s most esteemed creators and has also helped launch the careers of many talented new writers. Well over 40 cast recordings from The York Theatre Company productions are now available on CD, including its acclaimed revival of Closer Than Ever (2013 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Revival); commercial transfers of such York premieres as The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), Souvenir (Tony Award Nomination for actress Judy Kaye), and Jolson & Company, and revivals of Pacific Overtures and Sweeney Todd (four Tony Nominations including Best Revival) have all showcased the importance of The York and its programs. Recent New York premieres have included Marry Harry, A Taste of Things to Come, and Rothschild & Sons. The critically acclaimed musical Yank! received its Off-Broadway debut at The York in 2010, and subsequently to rave reviews in London– as did York’s Rothschild & Sons. The hit musical Cagney received its York premiere in 2015, transferring to the Westside Theatre for over 15 months. In 2017, Desperate Measures received a total of 15 award nominations (and three wins) that included “Best Musical” from the Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Off-Broadway Alliance and subsequently transferred across town to New World Stages. Unexpected Joy premiered Off-Broadway at The York, and later had a run at London’s Southwark Playhouse. The acclaimed new musical Midnight at The Never Get (Fall 2018) received a collective total of 7 nominations from the Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Off-Broadway Alliance Awards. The 2019 Winter Musicals in Mufti series celebrated the centennial of lyricist/librettist Alan Jay Lerner, with the 1979 musical Carmelina, followed by the musical The Day Before Spring (1945), closing with the New York premiere of Lolita, My Love (1971). Launching the York’s 50th Anniversary year last spring was the acclaimed revival of the hit musical Enter Laughing. The recent 2019 Fall Musicals in Mufti series celebrated the legendary Cole Porter with Fifty Million Frenchmen (1929), followed by The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter (1965), and concluded with Panama Hattie (1940). Most recently, The York presented the world premiere of the new musical revue Anything Can Happen in the Theater: The Musical World of Maury Yeston. The York is the recipient of a special Drama Desk Award for “Developing and Producing New Musicals” and, more recently, a special Outer Critics Circle Award for “50 Years of Producing New and Classic Musicals.”