Corbin Bleu and more join the cast of Kiss Me, Kate! on Broadway

The "High School Musical" and Broadway star will take on the dual roles of Lucentio and Bill Calhoun in Roundabout Theatre Company's upcoming revival.

Corbin Bleu will return to the Great White Way to star in next spring's eagerly anticipated Broadway revival of the classic Cole Porter musical comedy Kiss Me, Kate!, taking on the dual roles of Lucentio and Bill Calhoun.

Perhaps best known for his role as Chad Danforth in Disney's "High School Musical" franchise, Mr. Bleu had an impressive (and Chita Rivera Award-winning) turn as Ted Hanover in the Broadway premiere of Holiday Inn, also produced by Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54, in the fall of 2016. His other Broadway credits include the role of Jesus in Godspell in 2012 and Usnavi in Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights in 2010.

Additional casting announced by Roundabout Theatre Company to join previously announced Tony Award winner Kelli O'Hara (as Kate / Lilli Vanessi) and Tony Award nominee Will Chase (as Fred Graham / Petruchio) includes Terence Archie (as Harrison Howell), Mel Johnson Jr. (as Harry Trevor/Baptista), Stephanie Styles (as Lois Lane/Bianca), Adrienne Walker (as Hattie), Lance Coadie Williams (as Gangster [Second Man]), and John Pankow (as Gangster [First Man]), alongside Phillip Attmore, Darius Barnes, Preston Truman Boyd, Will Burton, Derrick Cobey, Jesmille Darbouze, Rick Faugno, Haley Fish, Marissa McGowan, Sarah Meahl, Christine Cornish Smith, Sherisse Springer, Sam Strasfeld and Ron Todorowski. Additional casting will be announced soon.

Roundabout Theatre Company has also confirmed that Tony Award nominee Amanda Green will be contributing new material to the book in an effort to update the musical to reflect current times.

Kiss Me, Kate! features a book by Sam and Bella Spewack, with music & lyrics by Cole Porter, including such classics as "So In Love," "Too Darn Hot," and "Always True To You In My Fashion."

Previews are set to begin on February 14, 2019 at Studio 54, ahead of an official opening on March 14 and a limited engagement through to June 2, 2019.

Synopsis: "Kiss Me, Kate! tells the story of the staging of a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and follows the conflicted relationship (on and off-stage) between the production's stars - Fred Graham (who also produces and directs) and his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi."

Directed by eight-time Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis and choregraphed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle, the production also features music direction by Paul Gemignani, orchestrations by Larry Hochman, dance arrangements by David Chase, scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Jeff Mahshie, lighting design by Donald Holder, sound design by Brian Ronan and hair & wig design by David Brian Brown.

Kiss Me, Kate originally premiered on Broadway in 1948 and went on to win the first-ever Tony Award for "Best Musical" in 1949 and ran for a total of 1,077 performances. The musical enjoyed a short-lived revival at the Broadway Theatre in 1952 and, more recently, at the Martin Beck Theatre from October 1999 through to December 2001, playing a total of 881 performances and winning the Tony Award for "Best Revival of a Musical". Roundabout Theatre Company's 2016 benefit concert reading of the musical, starring Ms. O'Hara and Mr. Chase, was also directed by Scott Ellis.

Kiss Me, Kate! Tickets are available now for performances from February 14 through to June 2, 2019.

^{(Photo by Marc Blackwell)}