Bobby Barksdale. Photo by Emma Dickson.
Kick off the 2024-25 off-off-Broadway theater season with the new musical-comedy, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, (www.ritzmusical.com) playing for a limited three-week run this September at the ATA Sargent Theatre in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Based on the early 1920s F. Scott Fitzgerald comic novella of the same name, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, is told through the eyes of young couple seeking to immigrate to the U.S. as they imagine Fitzgerald’s characters appearing before them on stage.
Bobby Barksdale plays three roles, jumping back and forth in time, acting as the son of the Washington family, an aviator and a disgruntled man caught up in an immigration issue.
Here's more about Bobby and his life in the theater:
He grew up in Buffalo, New York and went to Manhattan School of Music (B.M. Musical Theatre ‘23). He currently resides in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
He says, "I have known I wanted to be on the stage as far back as I can remember."
In terms of the characters he plays in the show, he says, "All three of my incredibly different characters are worldly individuals that learn in their own ways to think beyond themselves."
"The most surprising thing about this show is the nature of the characters to me," he says, "And how naturally people flow between the world of reality and the world of the story."
As for the easiest aspect of his roles, he says he's comfortable with "the physical and mental switches between them, as I find it easy to differentiate my characters and to change course from one part of the story to another at a moments notice." He says, "The hardest part was finding a through-line that connects each of the characters together because of how vastly different they all are."
His favorite roles to date have been Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde and Henrik Egerman in A Little Night Music. In the future, he would love to play either Jesus or Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, or JD in Heathers, amongst other roles!
From September 13-29, there are 16 performances of the Diamond as Big as the Ritz at the ATA Sargent Theatre on 54th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Dates and more information about the show are at ritzmusical.com. This is 90-minute, no intermission musical with catchy melodies. Take a minute to listen to this dynamite all-star Broadway cast sing, “Enough Already,” a song from the show that was nominated in England for Best New Song. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=706ExF-sdJQ).
Veteran director and Broadway actor John Hickok directs a cast of five that includes Ethan, Johana Gracia Lara, Megan Lomax, Bobby Barksdale and Richard Rowan. The Diamond as Big as The Ritz features music and lyrics by Seth Bisen-Hersh and book and additional lyrics by R.C. Staab.
Tickets are only $29 with the code EARLYBIRD at https://tinyurl.com/SeeRitz. For more information, check out ritzmusical.com.
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