ROBIN’S SHOW RECOMMENDATION: Nice Work If You Can Get It
The new musical comedy NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT, featuring music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and a book by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe DiPietro, stars two-time Tony Award-winner Matthew Broderick and three-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O’Hara. The production is directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall.
In addition to Matthew Broderick as Jimmy Winter and Kelli O’Hara as Billie Bendix, the production stars Academy Award-winner Estelle Parsons as Millicent Winter, Tony Award-winner Judy Kaye as Estonia Dulworth, Tony Award nominee Michael McGrath as Cookie McGee, Tony Award nominee Jennifer Laura Thompson as Eileen Evergreen, Chris Sullivan as Duke Mahoney, Robyn Hurder as Jeannie Muldoon, Stanley Wayne Mathis as Chief Berry and Terry Beaver as Senator Max Evergreen.
The cast also features Cameron Adams, Clyde Alves, Kaitlyn Davidson, Jason DePinto, Kimberly Faure, Robert Hartwell, Stephanie Martignetti, Barrett Martin, Michael X. Martin, Adam Perry, Jeffrey Schecter, Jennifer Smith, Joey Sorge, Samantha Sturm, Kristen Beth Williams and Candice Marie Woods.
The creative team includes scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski, sound design by Brian Ronan and orchestrations by Bill Elliott. The music supervisor is David Chase and the music director Tom Murray.
Set during the prohibition period, NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT follows Billie Bendix, a fast-talking bootlegger who meets wealthy, boyish playboy Jimmy Winter on the weekend of his nuptials. Slapstick mayhem ensues, and the show is a delightful romp of twists and turns as Bendix and Winter become an unlikely couple, and other surprise pairings result along the way.
This show is a lot of fun, with splashy choreography and some big laughs….more than I have seen in many Broadway shows of late. The uber-talented Broderick and O’Hara are wonderful. O’Hara has a beautiful voice, and Broderick’s comedic timing and gestures are sharp as ever. The rest of the cast delivers as well. Kaye is a total hoot swinging drunk from a chandelier, and Sullivan and Thompson have some hysterical moments.
Following the matinee performance my son and I saw, we attended a special talk back featuring Ms. Marshall and O’Hara. Both were down to earth and openly shared about the show and their efforts balancing motherhood with impressive careers in the theatre world. It was an engaging discussion, and as the mom to a 9 year old, one that I found inspiring.
“So many of us in this company have kids, it’s really a family company,” said Marshall. “It’s great to see so many kids in the audience.”
O’Hara’s child, almost three, comes to the theatre for some rehearsals and tech. “We’re not sure he’s ready to sit down for the whole show,” said O’Hara.
“You never know if during a quiet moment he’s going to shout ‘That’s my Mommy!’”
NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT is produced on Broadway by Scott Landis, Roger Berlind, Sonia Friedman Productions, Roy Furman, Standing CO Vation, Candy Spelling, Freddy DeMann, Ronald Frankel, Harold Newman, Jon B. Platt, Raise the Roof 8, Takonkiet Viravan, William Berlind/Ed Burke, Carole L. Haber/Susan Carusi, Buddy and Barbara Freitag/Sanford Robertson, Under the Wire/Jim Herbert, Emanuel Azenberg, The Shubert Organization.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT are available through www.Telecharge.com, by calling 212-239-6200, and in person at the Imperial Theatre box office (249 West 45th Street). Tickets range in price from $136.50 to $46.50 (all prices include a $1.50 facility fee). Premium seating is available.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
March 29 – April 28: Tuesday – Saturday @ 8pm, Wednesday & Saturday @ 2pm
Beginning April 30: Tuesday @ 7pm, Wednesday @ 2pm & 8pm, Thursday @ 7pm, Friday @ 8pm,
Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm
