FOXY, the 1964 musical based on Ben Johnson’s Volpone, with a score by Johnny Mercer and Robert Emmett Dolan and a book by Ian McLellan Hunter and Ring Lardner Jr, will return to New York City with a star-studded Broadway cast at Feinstein’s/54 Below on Tuesday, April 9that 7:00pm.
FOXY, which never received an original cast recording despite glowing reviews from the critics and a Tony Award winning performance from Bert Lahr, has been reconstructed by writer Jon Maas, using not only the original score of the show, but songs from FOXY’S out of town tryout, songs cut in rehearsals, and some Johnny Mercer material that has never before been heard in public.
The concert will star Richard Kind (IFC’s Documentary Now, Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Foxy,Jeremy Kushnier (Head Over Heels, Footloose) as Doc, Chip Zien(Into the Woods, Falsettos) as Shortcut, Rob Bartlett(Imus in The Morning, Chicago) as Bedrock, Jim Brochu(Zero Hour, Character Man) as Buzzard, Madison Claire Parks(The Day Before Spring, The Fantasticks)as Celia, Brian Krinski(Anything Goes, All Shook Up) as Ben, and David Stallar(Project Shaw) as Sterling.
The ensemble will feature Caitlin Belcik, Michael Byrne, Helora DaRosa, Catherine DeLuce, Atiauna Grant, Will Hutcheson, Madeline Mancebo, Russell McCook, Paris Alexander Nesbitt, Allsun O’Malley, Joseph Redman,and Christopher Withers.
FOXY will be narrated by Vogue’s Adam Green.
Robert W Schneider will direct and produce the concert, Kevin David Thomas will music direct the concert. Benjamin Nissen serves as associate producer.
FOXY tells the story of a gold prospector, Jim Fox, who is swindled out of some treasure by his duplicitous friends. Teaming up with the equally duplicitous conman Doc, Foxy sets out to reclaim what is rightfully his by pretending that he has discovered an even larger amount of wealth and must name an heir before he succumbs, forcing his treacherous friends to bow to his every desire in order to win his estate.
The original production opened on Broadway in 1964 at the Ziegfeld Theater and starred Bert Lahr, Larry Blyden, John Davidson,and Cathryn Damon.It was directed by Robert Lewis, choreographed by Jack Cole, and produced by David Merrick.
FOXY’s score features such songs as “Run, Run, Cinderella,” “Many Ways To Skin A Cat,” “I’m Way Ahead Of The Game,” and so many more!
Schneider said, “FOXY is one of the most fascinating forgotten musicals from the Golden Age because the reviews for the show were quite strong and audiences adored the show. It’s lack of popularity is due to the fact that producer David Merrick had just opened Hello, Dolly! and was so focused on the success of that show he neglected the promotion necessary to make FOXY the bona fide hit it deserved to be. Jon Maas has done an incredible job of reconstructing this Johnny Mercer jewel and we are so excited that Feinstein’s/54 Below has allowed us to present this reworking of FOXY in its incredible venue.”
Tickets, starting at $30, are still available. In addition to the ticket price, there is food and beverage minimum of $25.00 54 SINGS FOXY tickets can be purchased at 54below.com.Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00 are only available by calling (646) 476-3551.