The Musicals in Mufti Series presents three to five concert revival readings of underappreciated Broadway musicals for 11 performances each. "Mufti" means "in everyday clothes, without all the trappings of a large production," and each show is presented script-in-hand, with minimal staging. The series has celebrated such writers as Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, Jerry Herman, Joseph Stein, Sheldon Harnick, Jule Styne, and, most recently, Alan Jay Lerner.
ANNOUNCING OUR 2019 FALL MUSICALS IN MUFTI SERIES CELEBRATING THE LEGENDARY COLE PORTER
Our acclaimed Musicals in Mufti Series (and a 2018 recipient of an Obie Awards Grant) returns to The York for a special fall series celebrating the legendary COLE PORTER (Anything Goes; Kiss Me, Kate; Can-Can; Silk Stockings). The series will include one of Porter's first hits FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN, the "revuesical" THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ENTIRE WORLD AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF COLE PORTER, and the rarely produced PANAMA HATTIE. Join us for a celebration of the man who gave the world such standards as "Night and Day," "Begin the Beguine," "I Get a Kick Out of You," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "My Heart Belongs to Daddy," "You're the Top," and much, much more! Scroll down for more information.
"Cole Porter was a true New York sophisticate, providing delectable music and lyrics for countless captivating shows from the 1920s into the 1960s. No one's songs better capture the cosmopolitan spirit of the period. To be able to bring his musical brilliance to The York stage for our 50th Anniversary celebration seems a perfect choice."
-Jim Morgan, York's Producing Artistic Director
tickets on sale for york theatre company members only
ON SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC THURSDAY, AUGUST 22ND
FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN
SEPTEMBER 28 - OCTOBER 6, 2019
11 Performances Only!
Adapted by TOMMY KRASKER and EVANS HAILE
Music Direction by EVANS HAILE
Originally opening on Broadway in 1929, FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN was one of Porter’s earliest hits and a precursor to his success that was to come. Irving Berlin was such a fan that he took out an advertisement calling FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN “the best musical comedy I have seen in years!” The York is delighted to kick off its Cole Porter Mufti celebration with this show, in the revised version created by Tommy Krasker and Evans Haile (York's Executive Director) for the 1991 Cole Porter Centennial, downplaying the original’s lavish production and emphasizing its remarkable score.
Or Call the Box Office at (212) 935-5820
THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ENTIRE WORLD AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF COLE PORTER
OCTOBER 12-20, 2019
11 Performances Only!
Directed by PAMELA HUNT
The New York Times, in its original review, declared that the revue “relishes Cole Porter, feasting on his lively and lilting tunes, tunes that are so marked by the Porter dash and swagger that they are immediately recognizable even though one may never have heard them before.” In times of great turmoil, Porter created a world of his own through his songs, and made ours richer in the process.
This will mark the first New York Revival!
Or Call the Box Office at (212) 935-5820
PANAMA HATTIE
OCTOBER 26 - NOVEMBER 3, 2019
11 Performances Only!
Directed by MICHAEL MONTEL
Cole Porter and Ethel Merman teamed up for their fourth hit with 1940's PANAMA HATTIE, in which a brassy nightclub owner must bid for the approval of her fiancé’s family – a task only made more complicated when she discovers a plan to blow up the Panama Canal. With a raucous book about sailors and singers in the Panama Canal Zone and a snappy Porter score that includes “Let’s Be Buddies,” “I've Still Got My Health” and “Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please,” PANAMA HATTIE was a smash in its day, but is now mostly known for its distinctly unfaithful film adaptation. In response to the original production, Brooks Atkinson in The New York Times stated, “if the Navy ever hears about Panama Hattie, it will be hard to keep the fleet in the Pacific. As far as that goes, it is going to be hard to keep New Yorkers at home in the evenings this Winter.”