Beth Leavel and Brad Oscar lead the cast of the “My Favorite Year” workshop in New York

The musical “My Favorite Year”, based on the 1982 comedy film, is being prepared for a new stage life. Asolo Repertory Theatre has announced that it is developing a revised version of the musical in a workshop being held from September 25 to October 1 in New York City, as BroadwayWorld reports.

The workshop cast is led by two well-known Broadway names: Tony Award winner Beth Leavel — known for her roles in “The Drowsy Chaperone” and “The Prom” — who plays Belle Carroca Steinberg, and Tony nominee Brad Oscar (“The Producers”, “Something Rotten!”), in the role of King Kaiser. Alongside them, Tony nominee Chris Hoch plays Alan Swann and Ben Levi Ross plays Benjy Stone, while the cast also includes Julie Benko as Alice Miller and Marina Kondo as K.C. Downing. Directing is Josh Rhodes, the choreographer and director known for his work on “Spamalot”.

The musical tells the story of young comedy writer Benjy Stone, who in the New York of 1954, in the golden age of live television, gets the assignment of his life: to keep the alcoholic screen star Alan Swann sober for a full week before the live broadcast of the show. The original version opened on Broadway in 1992 at Lincoln Center Theater, with music by the Tony-winning team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, and a book by Joseph Dougherty.

The workshop includes new material developed by Ahrens, Flaherty and Dougherty themselves in collaboration with Asolo Rep — a clear sign that the theatre is seriously aiming to revive the work. This is a continuation of Asolo Rep’s long relationship with the Ahrens–Flaherty duo: their musical “Knoxville” (now titled “All the Way Home”) premiered at this theatre in 2022 and is expected to be developed in New York in April 2027 as part of The York Theatre’s NEW2NY series.

The creative team is completed by David Holcenberg as music director, Jack Richman as music assistant and James Monaghan as dramaturg. The cast also includes Orville Mendoza, Briana Carlson-Goodman, Robert Anthony Jones, Lyrica Woodruff, Stuart Zagnit and Rob Tucker.