Cinderella Stars Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes Reunite for The Big Time Concert January 31

Will Swenson, Jackie Hoffman, Debbie Gravitte, and more are part of the concert reading of the Douglas Carter Beane and Douglas J. Cohen musical.

The new Princeton Pops series, a collaboration between the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and McCarter Theatre Centre, continues January 31 with a concert reading of the new musical comedy The Big Time at McCarter’s Matthews Theatre.

Tootsie Tony winner Santino Fontana and Tony nominee Laura Osnes, who co-starred in Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, are part of a cast that also features Tony winner Debbie Gravitte (Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Chicago), Will Swenson (Waitress, Les Miserables), Jackie Hoffman (Fiddler on the Roof, Feud), Michael McCormick (Wicked, Hello, Dolly!), Bradley Dean (The Phantom of the Opera, Dear Evan Hansen), and Raymond Bokhour (Chicago).

The Big Time, featuring a book by Douglas Carter Beane (Sister Act, Xanadu), music and lyrics by Douglas J. Cohen, and music direction by Fred Lassen, is set during the height of the Cold War when Russian spies take over an ocean liner holding all of NATO. Lounge singers on board end up saving the day by teaching the communists to put down their Kalashnikovs and pick up singing, dancing, and comedy.

Describing the show’s genesis, creator Beane says, “I am a big fan of NATO. I also happen to be a big fan of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. I believe the three will save the world. Or maybe, just maybe, a long time ago—so long ago just about everyone forgot it—they actually did. From there, I just started writing.”

For tickets, click here.



Photos: Go Inside Santino Fontana's Sardi's Portrait Unveiling Photos: Go Inside Santino Fontana's Sardi's Portrait Unveiling 8 PHOTOS

Fontana, Osnes, Swenson, and more have been special guest performers on Playbill Travel’s Broadway on the High Seas cruises. Cabins are now on sale for Broadway in the Great Northwest, Playbill Travel’s first domestic cruise featuring Kate Baldwin, Tedd Firth, Aaron Lazar, Beth Leavel, and Faith Prince (April 26–May 4, 2020), and for Broadway on the Mediterranean (August 31–September 7, 2020), featuring Audra McDonald , Will Swenson , Gavin Creel , Caissie Levy and Lindsay Mendez , and for Broadway on the Nile (December 27, 2020–January 7, 2021) and Broadway on the Caribbean (February 15–22, 2021), with performers soon to be announced. To book a suite or stateroom, call Playbill Travel at 866-455-6789 or visit PlaybillTravel.com .

(Updated January 31, 2020)