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New York City Center has revealed additional cast members for the 2026 Encores! series. Led by Artistic Director Jenny Gersten, Producing Creative Director Clint Ramos, and Music Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell, City Center’s 2026 Encores! series includes High Spirits (Feb 4 – 15), The Wild Party (Mar 18 – 29), and La Cage Aux Folles (Jun 17 – 28).
Encores! High Spirits
Feb 4 – 15, 2026
Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch joins the cast of Encores! High Spirits as Edith, along with film and television star Campbell Scott (House of Cards) as Dr. Bradman, and Jennifer Sánchez (Real Women Have Curves) as Mrs. Bradman. They join previously announced husband-and-wife duo Phillipa Soo (Ruth Condomine) and Steven Pasquale (Charles Condomine), Katrina Lenk (Elvira), and Andrea Martin (Madame Arcati).
Also joining the cast are Brandon Block, Delphi Borich, Marcus Byers Jr., DeMarius R. Copes, Deanna Cudjoe, Lili Froehelich, Katie Griffith, Benjamin Howes, Caroline Kane, Ross Lekites, Devon McCleskey, Michael Pesko, Jeremiah Valentino Porter, Sean Stack, Halli Toland, Kamille Upshaw, and Kristin Yancy.
Directed by Tony Award nominee Jessica Stone and Encores! Music Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell with choreography by Ellenore Scott, this rarely revived musical is adapted from Noël Coward’s beloved comedy Blithe Spirit. The spectral Broadway rarity promises haunted hilarity and a brassy, swinging score by Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray that hasn’t been heard on Broadway since its 1964 debut. Coward’s story follows novelist Charles Condomine and his wife Ruth, whose marriage is upended when the eccentric medium Madame Arcati unwittingly conjures the ghost of Charles’s late first wife, Elvira.
Encores! High Spirits features scenic design by David Zinn, costume design by Jennifer Moeller, lighting design by Bradley King, sound design by Megumi Katayama, and concert adaptation by Billy Rosenfield.
Encores! The Wild Party
Mar 18 – 29, 2026
Joining the cast of The Wild Party are Claybourne Elder (The Gilded Age) as Jackie, Evan Tyrone Martin (44 – The Musical) as Eddie Mackrel, and Joseph A. Byrd (Chicago Med) as Phil D’Armano. Previously announced Jasmine Amy Rogers and Adrienne Warren lead the cast as Queenie and Kate.
Directed by Lili-Anne Brown and Guest Music Director Daryl Waters with choreography by Katie Spelman, The Wild Party brings Joseph Moncure March’s notorious poem to life in this Tony-nominated musical with music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa and book by LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe. This dark, sensual, glittering tale explores a world dancing on the edge and the joyful defiance of
the characters who inhabit it for a gin-soaked party full of jazz-age indulgence and Vaudeville stars letting loose off-the-clock.
Encores! The Wild Party features scenic design by Arnel Sancianco, costume design by Linda Cho, and sound design by Alex Neumann.
Encores! La Cage Aux Folles
Jun 17 – 28, 2026
Emmy Award winner Wayne Brady joins the cast of La Cage Aux Folles as Georges, playing opposite previously announced Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winner Billy Porter as Albin. Encores! alum Alaman Diadhiou (Jelly’s Last Jam) joins as their son, Jean-Michel, along with Lance Coadie Williams (Kiss Me, Kate) as Renaud, James Jackson Jr. (A Strange Loop) as Jacob, Michael McElroy (Sunday in the Park with George) as Francois, and Sharon Washington (The Scottsboro Boys) as Marie. Featuring an all-black cast led by Director Robert O’Hara and Guest Music Director Joseph Joubert with choreography by Edgar Godineaux, and tap choreography by Dormeshia, the Tony-winning La Cage Aux Folles by Harvey Fierstein (book) and Jerry Herman (music and lyrics) closes out the 2026 Encores! season.
Longtime partners Albin and Georges are proprietors of a vibrant drag nightclub in St. Tropez whose world turns upside down when their son brings home his fiancée’s strait-laced parents. What ensues is a whirlwind of farce, heart, and “A Little More Mascara.” This Encores! production highlights the lush original 1983 orchestrations, not heard since its original Broadway run. The production features scenic design by David Zinn, costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Adam Honoré, and sound design by Megumi Katayama.
Casting for Encores! is by The Telsey Office. Additional casting to be announced. Casting and programming subject to change.
As part of City Center’s mission to make the arts accessible to everyone, the series includes Community Nights for High Spirits (Fri, Feb 13, 6pm pre-show), The Wild Party (Fri, Mar 27, post-show), and La Cage Aux Folles (Fri, Jun 26, 6pm pre-show); performances offering ASL Interpretation (High Spirits Thu, Feb 12; The Wild Party Thu, Mar 26; La Cage Aux Folles, Thu, Jun 25), and a Lynne & Richard Pasculano Student Matinee for Grades 6 – 12 for High Spirits (Feb 11). For additional information, visit NYCityCenter.org. For audience members 40 years of age and under, Access Club offers a limited number of $28 tickets (fees included) to City Center productions. For more information and to enroll, visit NYCityCenter.org/Access.
