City Center Encores!

City Center Encores!
Name	City Center Encores!
Type	Concert production series
Founded	1994
Location	New York City
Venue	New York City Center
Artistic director	Jack Viertel (1994–2019), Lear deBessonet (2021–)

City Center Encores! is a semi-staged concert series presenting rarely heard or partially lost musical theatre works in limited-run revivals at New York City Center in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1994 by James M. Nederlander and producer Jack Viertel under the auspices of Encores!, the series became known for assembling star casts drawn from Broadway theatre, Hollywood, and regional stages to perform orchestral concert versions of classic American musical scores. The series has been instrumental in resurfacing works by composers and lyricists such as Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin.

History

Encores! began as a collaboration between New York City Center and theatrical producers to rescue overlooked pieces of the Great American Songbook and mid‑20th‑century American musical theatre; its origins intersect with the rising interest in historic preservation seen in institutions like the Library of Congress and the Museum of the City of New York. Early seasons featured revivals drawn from catalogs associated with publishers such as Chappell & Co. and Tams-Witmark, and employed arrangers and orchestrators connected to the legacy of Giacomo Puccini adaptations and the Broadway orchestral tradition exemplified by figures like Don Walker and Ted Royal. Over time the series influenced full productions that transferred to Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional houses including Lincoln Center Theater and the Roundabout Theatre Company, establishing Encores! as a laboratory for rediscovery and reinvention within the American theatrical canon.

Format and Programming

The Encores! model emphasizes semi-staged presentations with full orchestras conducted from the pit, compact rehearsal periods, minimal sets, and period-appropriate choreography. Programming often spotlights composers and librettists such as Kurt Weill, Alan Jay Lerner, Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Stephen Sondheim antecedents. Each season curates two- to four-week runs that juxtapose revivals of landmark shows like On the Town and revivals of obscure titles like By Jupiter alongside themed retrospectives celebrating figures such as Cole Porter or revivals of works associated with stars like Ethel Merman and Judy Garland. The series has commissioned restorations, new orchestrations, and reconstructed scores involving scholars and institutions like The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, and musicologists with ties to The Juilliard School.

Notable Productions and Casts

Notable Encores! presentations launched or reinvigorated careers and productions; a 2008 staging of The Pajama Game led to a Broadway transfer starring Harry Connick Jr. and choreographed by Susan Stroman, connecting the revival to producers such as Lincoln Center Theater and the Nederlander Organization. Encores! productions have featured performers including Nathan Lane, Kelli O'Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster, Norbert Leo Butz, Patti LuPone, Chris Jackson (actor), Christine Ebersole, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sean Hayes, Kevin Kline, Bernadette Peters, Idina Menzel, Megan Mullally, Matthew Broderick, Victoria Clark, John Lithgow, and Alice Ripley. Directors and choreographers involved include George C. Wolfe, Jerry Mitchell, Susan Stroman, Jerry Zaks, Joshua Bergasse, and Christopher Wheeldon. Restorations of works by Jerome Kern and George Gershwin have reunited performers with revival orchestrators such as Jonathan Tunick and arrangers in the tradition of William David Brohn.

Venue and Production Team

Productions are mounted at New York City Center on West 55th Street, utilizing the theater's orchestra pit and stage facilities; the building is operated by the non-profit City Center (organization). The resident artistic direction was long guided by Jack Viertel, who collaborated with executive producers, casting directors, music directors, and resident orchestrators drawn from institutions like The Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, and the New York Philharmonic. Production design is typically pared down but historically informed, with periodic involvement from designers associated with Tony Awards‑winning productions and craft unions such as Local 1 IATSE.

Critical Reception and Impact

Critics from publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Variety, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic have debated the series' balance between archival fidelity and commercial viability. Supporters credit Encores! with reviving neglected works, shaping subsequent full-scale revivals at companies like Roundabout Theatre Company and influencing scholarship at academic centers such as Yale School of Drama and Princeton University. Detractors have argued over editorial choices and the ethics of reconstructing damaged scores, prompting dialogues among scholars affiliated with Bard College and music libraries like The Newberry Library. The series' impact is visible in award recognition trends at the Tony Awards, where transfers originating in Encores!-linked workshops have received nominations and wins.

Recordings and Broadcasts

Several presentations generated archival cast recordings, concert albums, and selections released on labels tied to Broadway catalogs and specialty imprints; collaborators have included Sony Classical, Ghostlight Records, and revival sound engineers who have worked with the Metropolitan Opera. Broadcasts and excerpts have appeared on platforms such as PBS, NPR, and streaming services, while individual performances have been preserved through the archival efforts of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and private collectors. These recordings have aided musicologists at institutions like Columbia University and Harvard University in studying performance practice and orchestration of mid‑century American musicals.

Category:American musical theatre Category:New York City Center