Encores!
Encores! is a Tony-honored concert series dedicated to performing rarely heard American musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, Encores! has revived shows by Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hart, George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim, among many others. The series has spawned nineteen cast recordings and numerous Broadway transfers, including Kander and Ebb's Chicago, which is now the second longest-running musical in Broadway history. Videotapes of many Encores! productions are collected at the Billy Rose Theater Collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The series was led by artistic director Jack Viertel from 2001 to 2020; in October 2019, City Center announced that Lear deBessonet will take over as artistic director beginning with the 2021 Encores! season.
From 2000 to 2001, City Center presented a short-lived sister series, Voices!, devoted to staged readings of infrequently-produced American plays and produced by Alec Baldwin. From 2007 to 2009, the spin-off series Encores! Summer Stars featured fully-staged productions of classic Broadway musicals, beginning with a production of Gypsy starring Patti LuPone, Boyd Gaines, and Laura Benanti. Gypsy received unprecedented attention for an Encores! show and eventually transferred to Broadway; LuPone, Gaines, and Benanti all won Tony Awards for their performances.
In 2013, City Center launched Encores! Off-Center!, a sister series devoted to groundbreaking Off-Broadway musicals. Led by founding artistic director Jeanine Tesori for its first four seasons, Encores! Off-Center was subsequently led by Michael Friedman, Tesori and Anne Kauffman, and Kauffman.
Encores! Productions
| Title | Music | Lyrics | Year | Encores! run | Stars | |
| 1 | Fiorello! | Jerry Bock | Sheldon Harnick | 1959 | 1994 | Adam Arkin, Philip Bosco, Liz Callaway, Gregg Edelman, Donna McKechnie, Faith Prince, Jerry Zaks |
| 2 | Allegro | Richard Rodgers | Oscar Hammerstein II | 1947 | 1994 | Stephen Bogardus, Christine Ebersole, Celeste Holm, Karen Ziemba |
| 3 | Lady in the Dark | Kurt Weill | Ira Gershwin | 1941 | 1994 | Patrick Cassidy, Christine Ebersole, Tony Goldwyn, Edward Hibbert, Carole Shelley |
| 4 | Call Me Madam | Irving Berlin | Irving Berlin | 1950 | 1995 | Peter Bartlett, Walter Charles, Jane Connell, Tyne Daly, Christopher Durang, Melissa Errico, Ken Page |
| 5 | Out of This World | Cole Porter | Cole Porter | 1950 | 1995 | LaChanze, Gregg Edelman, Andrea Martin, Marin Mazzie, Ken Page, Ernie Sabella, Peter Scolari |
| 6 | Pal Joey | Richard Rodgers | Lorenz Hart | 1940 | 1995 | Peter Gallagher, Vicki Lewis, Patti LuPone, Bebe Neuwirth |
| 7 | DuBarry Was a Lady | Cole Porter | Cole Porter | 1939 | 1996 | Liz Larsen, Dick Latessa, Michael McGrath, Robert Morse, Burke Moses, Faith Prince, Donald Trump |
| 8 | One Touch of Venus | Kurt Weill | Ogden Nash | 1943 | 1996 | Kevin Chamberlin, Marilyn Cooper, Melissa Errico, David Alan Grier, Jane Krakowski, Danny Rutigliano |
| 9 | Chicago | John Kander | Fred Ebb | 1975 | 1996 | Michael Berresse, Joel Grey, Marcia Lewis, James Naughton, Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking |
| 10 | Sweet Adeline | Jerome Kern | Oscar Hammerstein II | 1929 | 1997 | Gary Beach, Stephen Bogardus, Patti Cohenour, Dorothy Loudon, Hugh Panaro, Tony Randall |
| 11 | Promises, Promises | Burt Bacharach | Hal David | 1968 | 1997 | Christine Baranski, Dick Latessa, Eugene Levy, Jenifer Lewis, Terrence Mann, Mike O'Malley, Martin Short, Samuel E. Wright |
| 12 | The Boys from Syracuse | Richard Rodgers | Lorenz Hart | 1938 | 1997 | Sarah Uriarte Berry, Danny Burstein, Mario Cantone, Davis Gaines, Malcolm Gets, Debbie Gravitte, Rebecca Luker, Michael McGrath, Marian Seldes |
| 13 | Strike up the Band | George Gershwin | Ira Gershwin | 1927 | 1998 | Philip Bosco, Kristin Chenoweth, Jason Danieley, Judy Kuhn, Lynn Redgrave |
| 14 | Li'l Abner | Gene De Paul | Johnny Mercer | 1959 | 1998 | Danny Burstein, Lea DeLaria, Katie Finneran, Jonathan Freeman, Cady Huffman, Dana Ivey, Dick Latessa, Burke Moses, Julie Newmar, Alice Ripley, David Ogden Stiers |
| 15 | St. Louis Woman | Harold Arlen | Johnny Mercer | 1946 | 1998 | Charles S. Dutton, Stanley Wayne Mathis, Wendell Pierce, Vanessa Williams |
| 16 | Babes in Arms | Richard Rodgers | Lorenz Hart | 1937 | 1999 | Kevin Cahoon, Don Correia, Erin Dilly, Christopher Fitzgerald, Priscilla Lopez, Donna McKechnie, Thommie Walsh |
| 17 | Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 | Vernon Duke | Ira Gershwin | 1936 | 1999 | Kevin Chamberlin, Christine Ebersole, Ruthie Henshall, Peter Scolari, Mary Testa, Karen Ziemba |
| 18 | Do Re Mi | Jule Styne | Betty Comden, Adolph Green | 1960 | 1999 | Marilyn Cooper, Tovah Feldshuh, Randy Graff, Heather Headley, Nathan Lane, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brad Oscar |
| 19 | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | Burton Lane | Alan Jay Lerner | 1965 | 2000 | Brooks Ashmanskas, Brent Barrett, Roger Bart, Kristin Chenoweth, Peter Friedman, Nancy Opel, Louis Zorich |
| 20 | Tenderloin | Jerry Bock | Sheldon Harnick | 1960 | 2000 | Sarah Uriarte Berry, Debbie Gravitte, David Ogden Stiers, Patrick Wilson |
| 21 | Wonderful Town | Leonard Bernstein | Betty Comden, Adolph Green | 1953 | 2000 | David Aaron Baker, Laura Benanti, Stephen DeRosa, Gregory Jbara, Donna Murphy |
| 22 | A Connecticut Yankee | Richard Rodgers | Lorenz Hart | 1927 | 2001 | Christine Ebersole, Henry Gibson, Ron Leibman, Jessica Walter |
| 23 | Bloomer Girl | Harold Arlen | E.Y. Harburg | 1944 | 2001 | Philip Bosco, Anita Gillette, Kate Jennings Grant, Michael Park, Jubilant Sykes |
| 24 | Hair | Galt MacDermot | Gerome Ragni, James Rado | 1967 | 2001 | Kevin Cahoon, Luther Creek, Gavin Creel, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Brandi Chavonne Massey, Idina Menzel, Miriam Shor |
| 25 | Carnival | Bob Merrill | Bob Merrill | 1961 | 2002 | Debbie Gravitte, Anne Hathaway, David Margulies, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Douglas Sills |
| 26 | Golden Boy | Charles Strouse | Lee Adams | 1964 | 2002 | Anastasia Barzee, Norm Lewis, Alfonso Ribeiro |
| 27 | The Pajama Game | Richard Adler | Jerry Ross | 1954 | 2002 | Mark Linn-Baker, Brent Barrett, Deidre Goodwin, Daniel H. Jenkins, Ken Page, Karen Ziemba |
| 28 | House of Flowers | Harold Arlen | Harold Arlen, Truman Capote | 1954 | 2003 | Brandon Victor Dixon, Stacy Francis, Maurice Hines, Nikki M. James, Armelia McQueen, Tonya Pinkins |
| 29 | The New Moon | Sigmund Romberg | Oscar Hammerstein II | 1928 | 2003 | F. Murray Abraham, Burke Moses, Christiane Noll, Danny Rutigliano |
| 30 | No Strings | Richard Rodgers | Richard Rodgers | 1962 | 2003 | Len Cariou, Penny Fuller, Marc Kudisch, James Naughton, Emily Skinner |
| 31 | Can-Can | Cole Porter | Cole Porter | 1953 | 2004 | Charlotte d'Amboise, Patti LuPone, Michael Nouri, Reg Rogers, Eli Wallach |
| 32 | Pardon My English | George Gershwin | Ira Gershwin | 1933 | 2004 | Rob Bartlett, Brian d'Arcy James, Emily Skinner, Don Stephenson, Jennifer Laura Thompson |
| 33 | Bye, Bye, Birdie | Charles Strouse | Lee Adams | 1960 | 2004 | Walter Bobbie, Victoria Clark, Daniel H. Jenkins, Doris Roberts, Karen Ziemba |
| 34 | A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Arthur Schwartz | Dorothy Fields | 1951 | 2005 | Jason Danieley, Emily Skinner |
| 35 | Purlie | Gary Geld | Peter Udell | 1970 | 2005 | John Cullum, Doug E. Doug, Anika Noni Rose, Blair Underwood, Lillias White |
| 36 | The Apple Tree | Jerry Bock | Sheldon Harnick | 1966 | 2005 | Michael Cerveris, Kristin Chenoweth, Malcolm Gets, James Earl Jones, Tony Yazbeck |
| 37 | Kismet | Alexander Borodin | Robert Wright, George Forrest | 1953 | 2006 | Marcy Harriell, Marin Mazzie, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Danny Rutigliano |
| 38 | 70, Girls, 70 | John Kander | Fred Ebb | 1971 | 2006 | Carleton Carpenter, Mary Jo Catlett, Carole Cook, Olympia Dukakis, Anita Gillette, George S. Irving, Charlotte Rae |
| 39 | Of Thee I Sing | George Gershwin | Ira Gershwin | 1931 | 2006 | Wayne Duvall, Jonathan Freeman, Victor Garber, Jefferson Mays, Jenny Powers, Lewis J. Stadlen, Jennifer Laura Thompson |
| 40 | Follies | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim | 1971 | February 8–11, 2007 | Christine Baranski, Philip Bosco, Victoria Clark, Yvonne Constant, Colin Donnell, Victor Garber, Mimi Hines, Michael McGrath, Donna Murphy, Jenny Powers, Jo Anne Worley |
| 41 | Face the Music | Irving Berlin | Irving Berlin | 1932 | March 29 - April 1, 2007 | Walter Bobbie, Judy Kaye, Meredith Patterson, Lee Wilkof |
| 42 | Stairway to Paradise | Various | Various | May 10–14, 2007 | Kristin Chenoweth, Christopher Fitzgerald, Jennifer Gambatese, Michael Gruber, Ruthie Henshall, Capathia Jenkins | |
| 43 | Applause | Charles Strouse | Lee Adams | 1970 | February 7–10, 2008 | Kate Burton, Mario Cantone, Erin Davie, Christine Ebersole, Tom Hewitt, Michael Park, Chip Zien |
| 44 | Juno | Marc Blitzstein | Marc Blitzstein | 1959 | March 27–30, 2008 | Michael Arden, Victoria Clark, Tyler Hanes, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Rosaleen Linehan |
| 45 | No, No, Nanette | Vincent Youmans | Irving Caesar, Otto Harbach | 1925 | May 8–12, 2008 | Michael Berresse, Mara Davi, Sandy Duncan, Charles Kimbrough, Beth Leavel, Rosie O'Donnell |
| 46 | On the Town | Leonard Bernstein | Betty Comden, Adolph Green | 1945 | November 19–23, 2008 | Christian Borle, Jessica Lee Goldyn, Leslie Kritzer, Andrea Martin, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Tony Yazbeck |
| 47 | Music in the Air | Jerome Kern | Oscar Hammerstein II | 1932 | February 5–8, 2009 | Sierra Boggess, Walter Charles, Kristin Chenoweth, Dick Latessa, Marni Nixon, Douglas Sills |
| 48 | Finian's Rainbow | Burton Lane | E. Y. Harburg | 1947 | March 26–29, 2009 | Kate Baldwin, Jeremy Bobb, Philip Bosco, Cheyenne Jackson, Jim Norton, Ruben Santiago-Hudson |
| 49 | Girl Crazy | George Gershwin | Ira Gershwin | 1930 | November 19–22, 2009 | Chris Diamantopoulos, Ana Gasteyer, Wayne Knight, Becki Newton |
| 50 | Fanny | Harold Rome | Harold Rome | 1954 | February 4–7, 2010 | George Hearn, Priscilla Lopez, Elena Shaddow, James Snyder |
| 51 | Anyone Can Whistle | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim | 1964 | April 8–11, 2010 | Raúl Esparza, Sutton Foster, Edward Hibbert, Donna Murphy |
| 52 | Bells Are Ringing | Jule Styne | Betty Comden, Adolph Green | 1956 | November 18–21, 2010 | Bobby Cannavale, Judy Kaye, Kelli O’Hara, Brad Oscar, Danny Rutigliano |
| 53 | Lost in the Stars | Kurt Weill | Maxwell Anderson | 1949 | February 3–6, 2011 | Daniel Breaker, Chuck Cooper, Patina Miller |
| 54 | Where's Charley? | Frank Loesser | Frank Loesser | 1948 | March 17–20, 2011 | Sebastian Arcelus, Rebecca Luker, Rob McClure, Howard McGillin, Jill Paice, Lauren Worsham |
| 55 | Merrily We Roll Along | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim | 1981 | February 8–19, 2012 | Colin Donnell, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Betsy Wolfe |
| 56 | Pipe Dream | Richard Rodgers | Oscar Hammerstein II | 1955 | March 28 - April 1, 2012 | Will Chase, Laura Osnes, Leslie Uggams, Stephen Wallem, Tom Wopat |
| 57 | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | Jule Styne | Leo Robin | 1949 | May 9–13, 2012 | Megan Hilty, Rachel York |
| 58 | Fiorello! | Jerry Bock | Sheldon Harnick | 1959 | January 30 - February 3, 2013 | Kate Baldwin, Jeremy Bobb, Erin Dilly, Jennifer Gambatese, Shuler Hensley, Danny Rutigliano, Emily Skinner |
| 59 | It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman | Charles Strouse | Lee Adams | 1966 | March 20–24, 2013 | Jenny Powers, Will Swenson |
| 60 | On Your Toes | Richard Rodgers | Lorenz Hart | 1936 | May 8–12, 2013 | Christine Baranski, Walter Bobbie, Joaquín De Luz, Irina Dvorovenko, Randy Skinner, Karen Ziemba |
| 61 | Little Me | Cy Coleman | Carolyn Leigh | 1962 | February 5–9, 2014 | Christian Borle, David Garrison, Judy Kaye, Lewis J. Stadlen, Lee Wilkof, Rachel York |
| 62 | The Most Happy Fella | Frank Loesser | Frank Loesser | 1956 | April 2–6, 2014 | Laura Benanti, Heidi Blickenstaff, Shuler Hensley, Cheyenne Jackson |
| 63 | Irma La Douce | Marguerite Monnot | Various | 1956 | May 7–11, 2014 | Malcolm Gets, Rob McClure |
| 64 | Lady, Be Good! | George Gershwin | Ira Gershwin | 1924 | February 4–8, 2015 | Colin Donnell, Erin Mackey, Douglas Sills, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Tommy Tune |
| 65 | Paint Your Wagon | Frederick Loewe | Alan Jay Lerner | 1951 | March 18–22, 2015 | Keith Carradine, Justin Guarini |
| 66 | Zorba! | John Kander | Fred Ebb | 1968 | May 6–10, 2015 | Adam Chanler-Berat, Santino Fontana, Marin Mazzie, John Turturro, Zoë Wanamaker |
| 67 | Cabin in the Sky | Vernon Duke | John Latouche | 1940 | February 10–14, 2016 | Chuck Cooper. Marva Hicks, LaChanze, Norm Lewis, Michael Potts |
| 68 | 1776 | Sherman Edwards | Sherman Edwards | 1969 | March 30 - April 3, 2016 | John Behlmann, André De Shields, Santino Fontana, John Larroquette, Christiane Noll, Bryce Pinkham, Jubilant Sykes |
| 69 | Do I Hear a Waltz? | Richard Rodgers | Stephen Sondheim | 1965 | May 11–15, 2016 | Claybourne Elder, Melissa Errico, Nancy Opel, Karen Ziemba |
| 70 | Big River | Roger Miller | Roger Miller | 1985 | February 8–12, 2017 | Annie Golden, Kyle Scatliffe, Christopher Sieber, Lauren Worsham |
| 71 | The New Yorkers | Cole Porter | Cole Porter | 1930 | March 22–26, 2017 | Kevin Chamberlin, Scarlett Strallen |
| 72 | The Golden Apple | Jerome Moross | John Latouche | 1954 | May 10–14, 2017 | Ashley Brown, Lindsay Mendez |
| 73 | Hey, Look Me Over! | Various | Various | February 7–11, 2018 | Vanessa Williams, Carolee Carmello, Judy Kuhn, Marc Kudisch, Reed Birney, Bebe Neuwirth, Nancy Opel, Douglas Sills, Alexandra Socha | |
| 74 | Grand Hotel | Robert Wright, George Forrest, Maury Yeston | Robert Wright, George Forrest, Maury Yeston | 1989 | March 21–25, 2018 | Brandon Uranowitz, Heléne Yorke, James Snyder, Irina Dvorovenko, John Dossett |
| 75 | Me and My Girl | Noel Gay | Douglas Furber, L. Arthur Rose | 1937 | May 9–13, 2018 | Christian Borle, Laura Michelle Kelly, Harriet Harris, Edward Hibbert |
| 76 | Call Me Madam | Irving Berlin | Irving Berlin | 1950 | February 6–10, 2019 | Carmen Cusack, Darrell Hammond, Carol Kane, Lauren Worsham |
| 77 | I Married an Angel | Richard Rodgers | Lorenz Hart | 1938 | March 20–24, 2019 | Mark Evans, Ann Harada, Nikki M. James, Sara Mearns |
| 78 | High Button Shoes | Jule Styne | Sammy Cahn | 1947 | May 8–12, 2019 | Kevin Chamberlin, Michael Urie, Betsy Wolfe |
| 79 | Mack and Mabel | Jerry Herman | Jerry Herman | 1974 | February 19–23, 2020 | Lilli Cooper, Douglas Sills, Alexandra Socha |
| 80 | Love Life | Kurt Weill | Alan Jay Lerner | 1948 | ; canceled due to COVID-19 | Kate Baldwin, Brian Stokes Mitchell |
| 81 | Thoroughly Modern Millie | Jeanine Tesori | Dick Scanlan | 2002 | ; canceled due to COVID-19 | Ashley Park |
Voices!
Encores! Summer Stars
Encores! Off-Center
Special Events
NotesTransferred to Broadway.
Received a cast recording.