Harry Connick To play Paul Newman Role In The Musical The Sting

Harry Connick, Jr. will star as Henry Gondorff in the world-premiere production of The Sting at the Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Todd Schmidt-Managing Director). Paper Mill Playhouse is the recipient of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award.  The musical is based on the 1973 film, with book by Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis (Urinetown) with Harry Connick, Jr.  In addition, the score will contain music by Scott Joplin including “The Entertainer.”

Harry Connick Jr.

Choreographed by Warren Carlyle (Hello, Dolly!) and directed by John Rando (On the Town), the Broadway-bound engagement of The Sting will run at Paper Mill Playhouse (22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ) from March 29 through April 29, 2018.

Chicago. 1936. Get ready to enter a smoke-filled world of cons and capers, where nothing is what it seems and no one is who they appear to be. Based on the 1973 Academy Award-winning film, The Sting tells the tale of a pair of con men, small town grifter Johnny Hooker and big-time hustler Henry Gondorff (Harry Connick, Jr.), who plot to bring down the city’s most corrupt racketeer.  The Sting takes you back to an era where jazz reigns, the stakes are high, and the dice are always loaded.

The Sting will be produced on Broadway by The Araca Group, Matthew Gross Entertainment, and by Special Arrangement with Universal Theatrical Group.

Harry Connick, Jr. made his Broadway acting debut in The Pajama Game in 2006 earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical, followed in 2011 by On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. In addition, Mr. Connick has performed extended concert engagements on Broadway and wrote the music and lyrics for the musical Thou Shalt Not, which earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score.

The question leads to who will play opposite Harry in the Robert Redford role. Personally I think it should be Steven Pasquale.