Past Event: Rodgers & Hart’s I Married an Angel

I Married an Angel was born out of a collaboration between irresistible and tragic Lorenz Hart, his partner, more grounded Richard Rodgers, and famed choreographer George Balanchine. In anticipation of City Center's production of the musical comedy as part of their Encores! series, Jack Viertel, artistic director of Encores! leads a conversation with I Married an Angel's director and choreographer Joshua Bergasse, Gary Marmorstein, author of A Ship Without A Sail: The Life of Lorenz Hart, Sara Mearns of the New York City Ballet, and Nancy Reynolds, director of research at The George Balanchine Foundation, to consider how collaboration -- especially in dance -- can fundamentally drive Broadway shows. 

Featuring live performance!

Co-presented with New York City Center, this is the second event in our series, Encores! Behind the Curtain @ MCNY. To view all the programs in the series, click here.

Performances of Rodgers and Hart's I Married an Angel will be taking place at City Center from March 20-24, 2019. For more information, click here. 

About the Speakers:
Joshua Bergasse is an award-winning choreographer. His credits include the Broadway revivals of On the Town, Gigi, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He won the Emmy Award for his choreography on NBC’s musical drama SMASH. Most recently, he directed and choreographed the New York revival of Smokey Joe’s Café – The Songs of Leiber and Stoller. He is currently the director and choreographer for the upcoming Encores! production of I Married an Angel.

Gary Marmorstein has worked for many years in the Story Department of Twentieth Century Fox and has written for publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and Stagebill. He has published three books including, most recently, A Ship Without a Sail: The Life of Lorenz Hart (Simon & Schuster, 2012).

Sara Mearns is one of today’s most internationally celebrated dancers in classical ballet. As a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, she has performed featured roles in beloved ballets such as Symphony in C, and Jewels (Emeralds and Diamonds), Serenade, Mozartiana, and Walpurgisnacht Ballet, among countless others.

Nancy Reynolds, a former member of the New York City Ballet, has been director of research at The George Balanchine Foundation since 1994, where she conceived and continues to direct the Video Archives program. In 2013 she was honored with a “Bessie” award for service to the field of dance.

Jack Viertel (moderator) is a producer, dramaturg, librettist, and the senior vice president of Jujamcyn Theaters. He has been in charge of Encores! since 2000, overseeing more than 50 productions. He conceived the Encores! revues Stairway to Paradise; and Cotton Club Parade, which moved to Broadway under the title After Midnight; and Hey, Look Me Over!. He is also the author of The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows are Built (2016).