JOSHUA HENRY, CIARA RENÉE, & RYAN VASQUEZ TO STAR IN WORLD PREMIERE OF ROSS GOLAN’S NEW MUSICAL “THE WRONG MAN” AT MCC THEATER
Press Contact:
Rick Miramontez
rick@omdkc.com
212 695 7400
FOR RELEASE ON THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019
JOSHUA HENRY, CIARA RENÉE,
& RYAN VASQUEZ
TO STAR IN
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF
MULTI-PLATINUM COMPOSER
ROSS GOLAN’S NEW MUSICAL
“THE WRONG MAN”
AT MCC THEATER
DIRECTED BY TONY AWARD® WINNER THOMAS KAIL
MUSIC SUPERVISION AND ORCHESTRATIONS BY TONY & GRAMMY AWARD® WINNER ALEX LACAMOIRE
CHOREOGRAPHED BY EMMY AWARD® WINNER TRAVIS WALL
COMPLETE CREATIVE TEAM ALSO ANNOUNCED
TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW
CONCEPT ALBUM TO BE RELEASED TOMORROW
PERFORMANCES BEGIN WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
New York, NY – MCC Theater (Bob LuPone, Bernie Telsey, Will Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) announced today that the highly anticipated World Premiere of The Wrong Man, the new stage musical written by multi-platinum songwriter Ross Golan (book, music, lyrics), will star three-time Tony Award® nominee and Grammy Award® nominee Joshua Henry, Ciara Renée, and Ryan Vasquez.
The creative team for The Wrong Man includes scenic design by Tony Award® winner Rachel Hauck, costume design by Jennifer Moeller, lighting design by Betsy Adams, sound design by Tony Award® winner Nevin Steinberg, music direction by Taylor Peckham, and casting by Telsey + Company. The Production Stage Manager is Jason Pacella.
Tickets to the musical will go on sale to the general public beginning tomorrow, Friday, July 26, coinciding with the release of The Wrong Man concept album by Interscope Records.
As previously announced, the production, which marks the reunion of Hamilton’s Tony Award®-winning director Thomas Kail and three-time Tony® and four-time Grammy®-award winning orchestrator Alex Lacamoire, begins performances Wednesday, September 18, 2019 (with opening night set for October 7, 2019). The production will also feature choreography by two-time Emmy® winning choreographer Travis Wall.
In this singular and exciting new work, the wrong man meets the wrong woman in the wrong place at the wrong time. Set in Reno, Nevada, The Wrong Man tells the story of Duran, a man just scraping by, who is accused of a murder he says he didn’t commit.
Ross Golan has written hit songs for artists spanning multiple genres, including Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Lady Antebellum, Michael Bublé, Selena Gomez, Keith Urban, Ariana Grande, Flo Rida, One Direction, Idina Menzel, Nelly, Demi Lovato, Jason Derulo, Meghan Trainor, Cee Lo Green, 5 Seconds of Summer, Prince Royce, Snoop Dogg, Gavin DeGraw, Colbie Caillat, Andy Grammer, James Blunt, Big Sean, Travis Barker, Lukas Graham, Skylar Grey, Rixton, The Vamps, and Icona Pop, amongst many others.
Initially conceived as a solo-acoustic performance in which Golan sings the story, The Wrong Man has evolved over the last 10+ years into a full-length album, animated film, and now a musical developed with Warner Chappell Music.
Ross Golan’s concept album of The Wrong Man will be released tomorrow, Friday, July 26, by Interscope Records. The lead single from The Wrong Man, “Stay Positive,” is now available at all major digital retailers and can be found here. The Wrong Man concept album is written by Golan (music and lyrics); produced by Ricky Reed (The Weeknd, Twenty One Pilots); mixed by Grammy nominee Neal Avron; and features Dr. Dre’s rhythm section, Mike Elizondo, Trevor Lawrence, Johan Carlsson, and Nate Mercereau. An animated film adaptation, directed by Golan and John Hwang, premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Additional information, including complete casting and creative team, will be announced shortly.
BIOGRAPHIES
Joshua Henry was most recently seen on Broadway as the iconic ‘Billy Bigelow’ in the revival of Carousel for which he received a coveted Tony and Grammy nomination. Prior to that Joshua closed his run as ‘Aaron Burr’ in the cultural phenomenon, Hamilton, in Los Angeles. This Fall, Joshua will be starring opposite Jason Mamoa in “See” for Apple TV. Joshua can also be seen in the action flick Renegades starring opposite Oscar winner JK Simmons and Sullivan Stapleton. Joshua has also starred on Broadway as ‘Noble Sissle’ in George C. Wolfe’s Tony-nominated musical Shuffle Along. Prior to Shuffle Along, Joshua was Tony nominated for his star turn as ‘Flick’ in the musical Violet. He received Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Award nominations for his thrilling, show-stopping performance. He was previously nominated for a Tony Award for his starring role in Susan Stroman’s The Scottsboro Boys. Other Broadway credits include leading roles in Diane Paulus’ revival of Porgy & Bess and Green Day’s American Idiot.
Ciara Renée was recently seen on “The Big Bang Theory’s” final season and recurring on Facebook’s original series “Strangers.” She has also appeared on Netflix’s “Master of None” and was previously a series regular on CW’s “Legends of Tomorrow.” A talented singer, Ciara originated the role of ‘The Witch’ in Big Fish and appeared in Pippin on Broadway and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Ryan Vasquez. MCC debut! Ryan comes from the Broadway cast of Hamilton: An American Musical, where he has the distinct honor of being the first and only actor to portray the roles of Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, George Washington, Hercules Mulligan/James Madison, and Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson. Broadway: Hamilton, Waitress (Original Broadway Cast), Wicked. TV/Film: “The Good Fight” (CBS), “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO), “The Code” (CBS). NY Workshops include The Outsiders (dir. Liesl Tommy), Only Gold (dir. Andy Blankenbuehler), and Dogfight at Second Stage Theater. Ryan’s single, Pray, is available on all platforms. Proud University of Michigan graduate. ryanvasqueznyc.com
ABOUT MCC THEATER
MCC Theater is one of New York’s leading nonprofit Off-Broadway companies, driven by a mission to provoke conversations that have never happened and otherwise never would. Founded in 1986 as a collective of artists leading peer-based classes to support their own development as actors, writers and directors, the tenets of collaboration, education, and community are at the core of MCC Theater’s programming. One of the only theaters in the country led continuously by its founders, Artistic Directors Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, and William Cantler, MCC fulfills its mission through the production of world, American, and New York premiere plays and musicals that challenge artists and audiences to confront contemporary personal and social issues, and robust playwright development and education initiatives that foster the next generation of theater artists and students.
MCC Theater’s celebrated productions include Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play; Penelope Skinner’s The Village Bike; Robert Askins’ Hand to God (Broadway transfer; five 2015 Tony Award® nominations including Best Play); John Pollono’s Small Engine Repair; Paul Downs Colaizzo’s Really Really; Sharr White’s The Other Place (Broadway transfer); Jeff Talbott’s The Submission (Laurents/Hatcher Award); Neil LaBute’s Reasons to Be Happy, reasons to be pretty (Broadway transfer, three 2009 Tony Award® nominations, including Best Play), Some Girl(s), Fat Pig, The Mercy Seat, and All The Ways To Say I Love You; Michael Weller’s Fifty Words; Alexi Kaye Campbell’s The Pride; Bryony Lavery’s Frozen (Broadway transfer; four 2004 Tony Award® nominations including Best Play, Tony Award® for Best Featured Actor); Tim Blake Nelson’s The Grey Zone; Rebecca Gilman’s The Glory of Living (2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist); Margaret Edson’s Wit (1999 Pulitzer Prize); and the musicals Coraline, Carrie, and Ride the Cyclone. Many plays developed and produced by MCC have gone on to productions throughout the country and around the world.
Blake West joined the company in 2006 as Executive Director. MCC opened the doors to its new home in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, on January 9, 2019, unifying the company’s activities under one roof for the first time and expanding its producing, artist development, and education programming.
ABOUT THE ROBERT W. WILSON CHARITABLE TRUST
A successful investor from the 1960s through the 1980s, Robert W. Wilson devoted his life to philanthropy after his retirement, focusing on supporting organizations on preservation and conservation initiatives worldwide. An avid New Yorker, Wilson was also deeply engaged with a number of New York’s cultural institutions. He was a major supporter of, and held leadership roles with, the Whitney Museum and the Metropolitan Opera, where he was a board member for many years. In addition, the Trust continues to support the New York Public Library, Central Park Conservancy, BAM, Wildlife Conservation Society, EDF, Nature Conservancy, WMF, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, organizations he championed during his lifetime. He played a leading role in transforming many of these institutions. The matching gift to MCC was the Trust’s first grant to a theater company. The trust is now managed by three trustees: Richard Schneidman, Robert Feidelson, and Ron Zimmerman.
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