Former Bare castmates Jonah Platt and Payson Lewis will reunite virtually as Roy and Walt Disney, respectively, in Richard Allen and Taran Gray's Walt and Roy: A Magical New Musical July 9 at 8 PM ET. The show follows the famous brothers from their start in Los Angeles in 1923 up to the premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.
Platt (Wicked) and Lewis (NBC’s The Sing Off) previously starred together in the 2014 Los Angeles production of the pop opera Bare. They'll be joined by Conner Peirson (The Book of Mormon national tour) as Ub Iwerks, the original character designer of Mickey Mouse.
The show is directed by Allen with music direction by Charlie Reuter. Rounding out the cast are Chelsea Lapp, Alex Arthur, Kürt Norby, Thomas Reasoner, Jon Sangster, Victoria Beall, Lafras Le Roux, Scott Redmond, Hailee Lipscomb, Nathan Nonhof, Justin Kent, Cavin Mohrhardt, and Bryan Porter.
The presentation is part of the Allen and Gray Musical Theater Festival, running July 7–10 with four works performed live to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Broadway for Racial Justice. In addition to Walt and Roy, the festival will present Legendary, about the silencing culture women face in the music industry (July 7); Bayard, about Bayard Rustin’s organization of the 1963 March on Washington (July 8); and Freedom Riders: The Civil Rights Musical, about the 1961 freedom rides (July 10).
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The cast of Legendary features Charity Farrell, Aspen Vincent, Brynn Williams, Aja Downing, Barry Anderson (Jersey Boys, US National Tour), Bryan Barbarin, David Humphrey, Justin Kent, David LaMarr, Leonard Patton, Grandison M. Phelps III, and Nygel Robinson.
Bayard stars Deon’te Goodman, Jennifer Leigh Warren, Edred Utomi, Patrick Ortiz, John Devreux, Aja Downing, April Josephine, Nathan Nonhoff, Kürt Norby, Kayla Pecchioni, Kevin Pollack, Scott Redmond, and Cartreze Tucker.
Starring in Freedom Riders are Brynn Williams, Anthony Chatmon II, Deon’te Goodman, Payson Lewis, Kevin “Blax” Burroughs, Tyla Collier, Meagan Flint, Keith Jefferson, Ciarán McCarthy, Eboni Muse, Michael William Nigro, Leonard Patton, Ebony Pullum, Scott Redmond, Don Rey, Nygel Robinson, Clayton Snyder, Erin Vaderhyde, and Joy Yandell.
For tickets and more information about the performances, visit AllenAndGray.com.
