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The All-Singing, All-Dancing Musical Comedy
The New Red, Hot And Blue

Starring Broadway's Bruce Adler, Felicia Finley, Debbie Gravitte,
Michael Gruber, Jim Walton, and a Cast of Thousands

Direction by Michael Leeds, Choreography by Andy Blankenbeuhler
Music direction by Tom Helm

Crazy for musicals? Then look no further. Paper Mill, The State Theater of New Jersey, under the leadership of Executive Producer Angelo Del Rossi and Artistic Director Robert Johanson, is proud to present the all-singing, all-dancing, musical comedy The New Red, Hot And Blue. Starring Broadway's Bruce Adler, Felicia Finley, Tony Award-winner Debbie Gravitte, Michael Gruber, and Jim Walton, The New Red, Hot And Blue begins performances Wednesday, October 24, with an official press opening on Friday, October 26 at 8pm. With direction by Michael Leeds, choreography by Andy Blankenbeuhler, and musical direction by Tom Helm, The New Red, Hot And Blue will continue for six weeks through Sunday, December 2.

Written in 1936 by Cole Porter and authors Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, the same team that created the successful Anything Goes two years earlier, Red, Hot and Blue introduced the world to such musical delights as "It's De-Lovely," and "Ridin' High." Produced by Vinton Freedley, Red, Hot and Blue opened at Broadway's Alvin Theatre on October 29, 1936 and starred Ethel Merman, Bob Hope and Jimmy Durante. The show's publicity centered on that both the agents for Durante and Merman demanded equal billing; alternating their names every two weeks diagonally above the title solved it. Running only 138 performances Red, Hot and Blue had all but been forgotten aside from an off-Broadway 1984 Equity Library Theatre production.

Enter Goodspeed Musicals who dusted off and polished this forgotten gem with a revised book by director Michael Leeds. Leeds incorporated seven Cole Porter songs including some that were cut from the original like "Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye." The New Red, Hot and Blue opened October of 2000 and starred Tony Award-winner Debbie Gravitte and won rave reviews from the Connecticut critics. It was this production that Artistic Director Robert Johanson saw and knew immediately it was something that Paper Mill audiences would love. "This show epitomizes great American song-and-dance musical comedy," proclaimed Johanson.

At the heart of the story is rich widow Nails O'Reilly Duquesne (Debbie Gravitte), who conducts a national lottery to help her lawyer (who she loves), Bob Hale (Jim Walton), find his lost childhood sweetheart. To aid in the search, Nails and her chorus of perennial debutantes arrange for the parole of several ex-cons including Policy Pinkle (Bruce Adler), a sentimental jailbird who misses his cushy prison life. This recipe for laughs, along with Cole Porter's jazzy and upbeat score highlighting one outrageously comical situation after another, The New Red, Hot and promises to be a red-hot Paper Mill hit with wonderful tunes and fabulous dancing.


Meet the Cast:

Debbie Gravitte (Nails O'Reilly Duquesne) comes to Paper Mill straight from her dazzling star turn at Goodspeed Musicals as the millionairess with a heart of gold, Nails O'Reilly Duquesne, Gravitte won a 1989 Tony Award® for her show-stopping performances in Jerome Robbins' Broadway and also appeared on Broadway in They're Playing Our Song, Ain't Broadway Grand, Zorba, and Les Miserables. She's also been critics' darling for her performances at City Center Encores! The Boys from Syracuse, Louisiana Purchaseand Tenderloin.

Funnyman Bruce Adler (Policy Pinkle) returns to Paper Mill after his hilarious performance as Moonface Martin in last season's Anything Goes opposite Chita Rivera. A 1992 Tony and Drama Desk Award nominee for Bela Zangler in Crazy For You, he recreated that role for Paper Mill in 1999 that aired on PBS.

Jim Walton (Bob Hale) has a list of credits that span 25 years and is one of Broadway's treasures. In Broadway, he starred in 42nd Street, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Stardust, Perfectly Frank, Follies in Concert, and most recently as Harold Hill in The Music Man. Paper Mill audiences will remember his brilliant portrayal of Bobby in Crazy For You, a performance that was aired nationally on PBS.

Felicia Finley (Grace) makes her Paper Mill debut following Broadway turns in Aida; Smokey Joe's Café and The Life. Off-Broadway appearances include Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party at MTC, Forbidden Broadway 2001: A Spoof Odyssey and The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin at Playwrights Horizons.

Song and Dance Man Michael Gruber (Fingers) returns to Paper Mill following his performance as Young Ben in the critically acclaimed Follies. Prior to rehearsals for The New Red, Hot and Blue, Gruber was dancing up a storm in the Tony Award-winning revival of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate.

The cast of 23 features Bruce Adler (Policy Pinkle), Brian Barry, Tesha Buss, Jeremy Davis, Dick Decareau, Laura Dysarczyk, Felicia Finley (Grace), Debbie Gravitte (Nails O'Reilly Duquesne), Michael Gruber (Fingers), Jaymes Hodges, Stephanie Kurtzuba (Peaches), Susan Lamontagne, Ben Lipitz, Jody Madaras, Lisa Mandel, Dana Moore, Mark Reis, Josh Rhodes, Carolyn Saxon, Leonard Sullivan, Jim Walton (Bob Hale), Melodie Woolford and Dana Zihlman.

The New Red, Hot and Blue is directed by Michael Leeds and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, who mounted the acclaimed Goodspeed production. Leeds wrote and directed the criticall y acclaimed Swinging on a Star at Goodspeed-at-Chester, which transferred to Goodspeed's mainstage and then to Broadway, where it was nominated for a Best Musical Tony Award. Blankenbeuhler's Broadway credits as a dancer include Saturday Night Fever, Fosse, Steel Pier, Big, and Guys & Dolls. His choreography has been seen at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the York Theatre, the 1998 Miss America Pageant, on MTV, and most recently on HBO's "The Sopranos."

The award-winning creative team for The New Red, Hot And Blue are Kenneth Foy (sets), Ann Hould-Ward (costumes), Ken Billington (lighting).


About the authors…

Hailed by many as one of the outstanding composer/lyricists of the 20th century, Cole Porter wrote over 50 musical scores for the stage and screen that include Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate, Can-Can, Silk Stockings, The Pirate, Born to Dance, and High Society. "Night and Day," "You're The Top," "Begin the Beguine," and "In the Still of the Night" are just a sampling of songs of the genius of Cole Porter

Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (Book) had a partnership that stands as one of the longest collaborations of any writers in theatrical history, lasting for more than 28 years. In addition to Red, Hot and Blu, their hit shows includeAnything Goes, the long-running Life With Fat, the Pulitzer Prize-winningThe State of the Union, Happy Hunting, Call Me Madam, and the classic The Sound of Music.


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