The Night Before the First Day of School
Mar 7th
Hello! I’m Amy Justman, a member of the Ensemble for Where’s Charley?, and I will be your guide to the Encores performer experience for the next two weeks. I’m very honored that City Center’s marketing department has asked me to be their guest blogger, although I’m still not entirely sure why they chose me. It may have something to do with this being my third Encores production or the fact that my husband is a very talented blogger himself. Unless it has to do with the poetry contest that I won my senior year of high school when my family had to drive all the way to East Lyme, Connecticut, for me to accept my plaque.
My plan was to spend lots of time on this introductory post, polishing and editing until it was in pristine yet faux-casual form. Unfortunately, it’s 10:50 PM and I’ve just gotten home from a 3-hour recording session, so it’s going to be the best I can do while still getting enough sleep tonight.
The night before rehearsal starts always feels like the night before the first day of school: What will I wear? Will I remember to bring my pencils and highlighters? What if I don’t know anyone? Luckily, the longer you’ve worked in New York, the more the first day feels like a reunion rather than a scary new experience. I’m looking forward to seeing several folks I already know tomorrow, including principals Lauren Worsham (we first worked together at the Edinburgh Fringe) and Sebastian Arcelus (we played opposite each other in Taxi Cabaret at NYMF) and music director Rob Berman, with whom I’ve worked on my other two Encores experiences, Music in the Air (German beermaid costume) and Lost in the Stars (Afrikaaner/Banana Republic circa 1990 costume). I’m probably most excited, though, to work again with director John Doyle, whom I have to thank for my first Broadway experience, the 2006 revival of Company. I won’t have to memorize any piano scores this time around, but I will have to dance, which is a much more frightening prospect for me, Singer Who Moves Well.
So I am looking forward to the Meet and Greet tomorrow morning — reminding myself to eat the free fruit and not the free pastries — as well as the first day of music rehearsal with my fellow ensemble members. Will fill you in on more details tomorrow!
Inside Paul Taylor’s “Phantasmagoria”
Feb 23rd
Tonight marks the New York premiere of Phantasmagoria. Inspired by Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel’s “Wedding Dance in the Open Air,” the work is a multi-epochal dreamscape with a cast of characters ranging from a Byzantine nun to a Bowery bum. More >
Students Love Memphis!
Feb 18th
Thanks to the generous support of an anonymous donor, City Center’s Education department was able to offer hundreds of New York City public school student tickets to Memphis the Musical at the Shubert Theatre – at the bargain price of $2 a ticket. The intention of the program was to expose students who may not otherwise have gone to see a musical theater performance, but the experience proved to be even more meaningful than anticipated. More >
Chuck Cooper’s photo album
Feb 10th
In addition to starring as Stephen Kumalo in Lost in the Stars, Chuck Cooper took on the role of cast photographer during rehearsals. He was kind enough to share his photos with us – enjoy! More >
Read all about it!
Feb 4th
Want to know what the press has been saying about Lost in the Stars? Check out the highlights right here: More >
Video exclusive: LOST IN THE STARS
Feb 4th
Fantastic footage of Wednesday night’s dress rehearsal, courtesy of Broadway World:
Photo Gallery: The cast of LOST IN THE STARS
Jan 27th
Yesterday, the cast of LOST IN THE STARS took part in a photo shoot with photographer Joan Marcus. Check ‘em out here… More >
Meet the Stars of LOST IN THE STARS
Jan 20th
Lost in the Stars, the final collaboration between Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson, was billed as a “musical tragedy” when it opened on Broadway in 1949. Based on Alan Paton’s novel Cry, the Beloved Country, the show provides an uncompromising social indictment of apartheid South Africa through the story of two aging men, one black, one white, brought together by a shared grief.
The Encores! production will be directed by Gary Griffin and choreographed by Chase Brock, with music direction by Rob Berman. Learn more about the stars of the show below.
City Center connects students with dance, Keigwin-style
Jan 20th
Ten Manhattan high school students are spending 10 weeks working with KEIGWIN + COMPANY Artistic Director Larry Keigwin as part of City Center Connections, a program that engages dance students with the work of world-famous and emerging artists.
Calling all musical theater students!
Jan 20th
Want a chance to sit in on a musical theater workshop with one of the best in the business? Send us your head shot and résumé by February 21 and you could be one of 30 students chosen to attend a master class with Tony Award-winning performer and master teacher Victoria Clark. You must be a high school or college student to enter.

