Hartford Stage's production of the new musical The Flamingo Kid, directed by Tony winner Darko Tresnjak and based on the 1984 Garry Marshall coming-of-age film starring Matt Dillon, began performances May 9 for a run scheduled to continue through June 9. The project reunites Tresnjak with A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder’s Tony-winning book writer and lyricist Robert L. Freedman; they are collaborating with Tony-nominated composer Scott Frankel.
The cast is headed by newcomer Jimmy Brewer (Motherfreakinghood) as Jeffrey Winnick with Broadway veterans Adam Heller (Elf, Victor/Victoria) and Liz Larsen (The Most Happy Fella, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) as Arthur and Ruth, Jeffrey’s parents, and three-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch (9 to 5, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Olivier winner Lesli Margherita (Matilda the Musical) as Phil and Phyllis Brody, the affluent couple who frequent the El Flamingo Club. Samantha Massell (Fiddler on the Roof) plays their niece, Carla, with Lindsey Brett Carothers (Gettin’ the Band Back Together) as Joyce, Ben Fankhauser (Newsies the Musical) as Steve, and Alex Wyse (Waitress) as Hawk.
Flip through photos from the production below:
The Flamingo Kid is set in the summer of 1963 when Brooklyn teenager Jeffrey Winnick, against the wishes of his father, leaves behind his blue-collar roots for a job working as a cabana boy at the colorful El Flamingo—a posh private club on Long Island. There, he meets Carla, a forward-thinking young woman from California. Tensions grow between father and son when a slick club member takes Jeffrey under his wing.
The Flamingo Kid will be Tresnjak’s last production as artistic director of Hartford Stage and the first new musical to premiere at the Tony-winning theatre since Anastasia in May 2016.
