Traitorz: The Unauthorized Musical Parody now has its full company. Dylan Adler plays Alan Cumming, joined by Sean McManus, Daniel Barrett, Becca Kötte, Jeffrey Omura and Rachel Schur. Performances begin November 4 at St. Luke’s Theatre, with opening night on November 13.
Producer Rafaella Rosenberg named the company on October 19. DeShawn Bowens and Cassidy Stoner are the standbys.
The show takes the format of the reality competition The Traitors and hands it to a lineup of famous contestants, every one of them played by an impressionist: Jennifer Coolidge, Britney Spears, Ozzy Osbourne, Liza Minnelli, Morgan Freeman, Patti LuPone and Jesus of Nazareth, with Alan Cumming running the game. Audience members join the cast onstage at each performance, and each one has to find out whether they are a Traitor or a Faithful.
Adler is a comedian, actor and writer who wrote for The Late Late Show with James Corden and co-composed the Off-Broadway musical Good Morning New York. McManus made his Broadway debut as a swing in Beetlejuice at the Marquis Theatre and was an original company member of its first national tour; his impressions of Patti LuPone, Jennifer Coolidge and Moira Rose have drawn more than 300,000 followers online. Barrett makes an Off-Broadway debut with the show, after the premiere of A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical at Miami New Drama.
Kötte comes back to the stage after a decade touring the world in Rod Stewart’s band, from Glastonbury and the Royal Albert Hall to the Hollywood Bowl. Earlier theater credits include Sherrie in Rock of Ages and Tawney in the original cast of Gettin’ the Band Back Together. Omura, whose television work includes Succession and The Blacklist, plays Jesus Christ Off-Broadway for the second time. Schur has played Roxie Hart in Chicago and Francine in Jersey Boys on Broadway, and Val on the national tour of A Chorus Line.
Bowens was part of the Mean Girls national tour. Stoner has been a swing and the Jasmine understudy in Aladdin on Broadway and on tour, and covered Céline, Rose and Ruth in Titaníque Off-Broadway.
Tim Murray wrote the book and lyrics and directs with Alan Kliffer; the music is by Ben Fankhauser. Kyle Branzel is music director, arranger and orchestrator, with choreography by Alex Hartman, scenic design by Riw Rakkulchon, costume and wig design by Kindall Almond, lighting by Zack Lobel and sound by Germán Martínez. There is more on the writers in our report on the show’s announcement.
St. Luke’s Theatre is at 308 West 46th Street. Tickets start at $39 and are sold through the production’s website, traitorzmusical.com. The show is billed as an unauthorized parody and is not affiliated with NBC Universal or Out of the Box Theatrics.
