Colton Ryan & Anna Uzele
(Photo: Matthew Murphy)
Start spreading the news! Colton Ryan and Anna Uzele will lead New York, New York, a new musical by the legendary songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb. The musical, inspired by the 1977 MGM film written by Earl M. Rauch, features an all-star creative team. In addition to a score by Tony, Emmy and Grammy winners and Oscar nominees Kander and Ebb, New York, New York is written by Tony nominee David Thompson, co-written by Sharon Washington and features additional lyrics by Pulitzer, Tony, Emmy & Grammy winner and Oscar nominee Lin-Manuel Miranda. The production, directed and choreographed by five-time Tony winner Susan Stroman, will begin performances on March 24 at the St. James Theatre and open on April 26. Tickets are now sale.
Ryan will star as Jimmy Doyle (played by Robert DeNiro in the film), and Uzele will star as Francine Evans (played by Liza Minnelli in the film). Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
Ryan’s Broadway credits include Girl From the North Country and Dear Evan Hansen; he played Connor Murphy in the big screen version of the latter. His screen credits also include The Girl from Plainville, Little Voice and more. Uzele has appeared on Broadway in Six and the Tony-winning revival of Once On This Island. Her screen credits include Dear Edward, FBI, City on a Hill and Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical.
The musical is set in 1946. The war is over, and a resurgent New York is beginning to rebuild. As steel beams swing overhead, a collection of artists has dreams as big and diverse as the city itself. Among them is Francine Evans, a young singer just off the bus from Philly, who is destined for greatness. At least, until she encounters New York native Jimmy Doyle, a brilliant but disillusioned musician looking for his “major chord” in life: music, money, love. The odds of both achieving all three are slim. But if they can make it there, they can make it anywhere.
New York, New York marks the first new Kander and Ebb musical to open on Broadway since 2015’s The Visit. Their Broadway musicals include Flora, the Red Menace (1965), Cabaret (1966), Zorba (1968), 70, Girls, 70 (1971), Chicago (1975), The Act (1978), Woman of the Year (1981), The Rink (1984), And the World Goes ‘Round (1991), Kiss of the Spiderwoman (1992), Steel Pier (1997), Curtains (2006), The Scottsboro Boys (2010) and The Visit (2015.) Their work on the film New York, New York has resulted in one of the most enduring anthems of all time. Ebb died in 2004. Kander has continued writing—not only finishing the projects the two had begun, but also writing new projects.
This production reunites Kander with director and choreographer Stroman and book writer Thompson, who collaborated with Kander and Ebb on Broadway’s The Scottsboro Boys, which was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, and Steel Pier, which was nominated for 11 Tony Awards as well as the off-Broadway productions of The Beast in the Jungle, And the World Goes ‘Round and a revival of Flora and the Red Menace.
Enjoy a first listen of Ryan performing the new song “Music, Money, Love” below!