Andy Karl and Mark Linn‐Baker, along with Tony winners Michael McGrath and Mary Louise Wilson, have boarded the forthcoming Broadway revival of On the Twentieth Century. The Roundabout Theatre Company production, starring the previously announced Kristin Chenoweth and Peter Gallagher, will begin performances on February 12, 2015 and play a limited engagement through July 5. Opening night is set for March 12 at the American Airlines Theatre. Further casting will be announced later.
Karl will play Bruce Granit. He received a Tony nod for Rocky and his other Broadway credits include The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 9 to 5, Legally Blonde, Jersey Boys, Wicked and Saturday Night Fever. His film and TV appearances include Joyful Noise, New York I Love You and the 2007 broadcast of Legally Blonde: The Musical.
Linn‐Baker, currently appearing in You Can’t Take It With You, will play Oliver Webb. His additional Broadway credits include Relatively Speaking, A Steady Rain and Losing Louie. TV credits include Perfect Strangers, Twins, The Good Wife and Ally McBeal.
McGrath will play Owen O'Malley. He won a Tony Award for his performance in Nice Work If You Can Get It and was nominated for Spamalot. Other Broadway credits include Born Yesterday, Memphis, Is He Dead?, Wonderful Town, Little Me and Swinging On A Star. Film credits include The Interpreter, Changing Lanes and Ira and Abby.
Wilson will play Letitia Primrose. She won the Tony for Grey Gardens and was nominated for Cabaret. Other stage credits include The Women, 4000 Miles, Full Gallop and Love, Loss and What I Wore. Recent TV appearances include Mozart in the Jungle, Devious Maids, The Sopranos and Nurse Jackie.
Directed by Scott Ellis, with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman, On the Twentieth Century follows a down-and-out Broadway producer named Oscar Jaffe (Gallagher), who struggles to convince his former muse and lover, Lily Garland (Chenoweth), now a successful film actress, to return to Broadway in a (non-existent) epic drama about Mary Magdalene. While dealing with Lily Garland's jealous new lover and a religious fanatic aboard a luxury train, Oscar hopes he can lure her back to the stage and salvage his sinking career.
The original Broadway production was directed by Hal Prince and opened in February 1978 at the St. James Theatre. The musical received five Tony Awards, including Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score.