Chilina Kennedy, who recently departed the titular role in Broadway’s “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” has signed on to lead “A Sign of the Times” as part of Delaware Theater Company’s 40th anniversary season. The musical, which had its world premiere at Goodspeed Musicals in 2016, features the songbook of recording artist Petula Clark, and a book by six-time Emmy Award winner Bruce Vilanch. Gabriel Barre directs the production, which will also star Drew Seeley, Crystal Lucas-Perry, and Ryan Silverman. Performances will begin Nov. 28 and are slated to run through Dec. 23.

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Industry presentations of the new musical A Sign of the Times, featuring songs made famous by Petula Clark and other 1960s hit-makers, will be presented December 14–15 in Manhattan.

The cast will feature Chilina Kennedy (currently starring as Carole King in Broadway’s Beautiful) as Cindy, Ryan Silverman (Side Show) as Brian, Van Hughes (Spring Awakening) as Dennis, Drew Seeley (Jersey Boys) as Matt, and Crystal Lucas-Perry (Bull in a China Shop) as Tanya.

Directed by Gabriel Barre (Amazing Grace) with choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter (School of Rock), the musical made its world premiere last summer at Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut. Lucas-Perry reprises her performance from the previous engagement; the rest of the principal company is new to the title.

The ensemble will comprise Lauren Boyd, Brad Bradley, Lauren Nicole Chapman, Melessie Clark, Natalie Charle Ellis, Mylinda Hull, Jeremy Gaston, Jeremiah Ginn, Lindsay Moore, Kevin Santos, Nathan Scherich, and Amos Wolff.

The new musical, conceived and created by Richard Robin with a book by Emmy-winning writer and performer Bruce Vilanch, concerns Cindy, whose passion for making a difference in the world takes her from her small Midwestern town to New York City. Set against the backdrop of the events in 1965—The Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Liberation, and the war in Vietnam—songs include “Downtown,” “I Know a Place,” “The Boy from New York City,” “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss),” and “If I Can Dream.”

Music supervision is by Joseph Church (The Lion King, Tommy) with music direction by Rick Fox (Jesus Christ Superstar), and casting by Tara Rubin Casting.

“It was quite an experience for A Sign of the Times to have had such a positive response during its first production at Goodspeed,” said creator and producer Richard Robin in a statement. “Using feedback from the Goodspeed audience and ongoing discussions with the creative team, the December presentations will showcase a number of changes to the book and score. As options for the next production are being explored, we hope that A Sign of the Times will make its next appearance on stage in 2018.”

The post Bruce Vilanch’s New Musical, A Sign Of The Times, To Have Industry Reading In New York first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Casting has been announced for a private industry reading of Bruce Vilanch‘s A Sign of the Times musical, which will have a production at Goodspeed’s Norma Terris Theatrefrom July 29-September 4. The reading will take place April 28-29.

Set in 1965, the plot of A Sign of the Times is described as follows: “The pulse of a changing era lures Cindy from Middle America to the swirl of Manhattan. Unexpected friends, lovers, careers, and conflicts are all a subway ride away in a pop-fueled new musical featuring songs made famous by Petula Clark and other hit makers of the day.” The show’s songs include “I Know a Place,” “The Shoop Shoop Song,” “If I Can Dream,” and more.

The cast of the staged presentation will feature Chilina Kennedy (Beautiful — The Carole King Musical) as Cindy, Ryan Silverman (Side Show) as Brian, Bryan Fenkart (Memphis) as Dennis, Marrick Smith (Fun Home) as Matt, and Crystal Lucas-Perry as Tanya.

The performing company also includes Alet Taylor, Lori Ann Ferreri, Lauren Nicole Chapman, Melessie Clark, Lindsay Moore, David Jennings, Dave Schoonover, Keven Quillon, Drew Franklin, and Jeff Kuhr.

The cast of the Goodspeed production will be announced shortly.

The post Chilina Kennedy and More Set for Bruce Vilanch’s ‘A Sign of the Times’ Reading Prior to Goodspeed Production first appeared on We Got Bruce!.