I Married an Angel—starring New York City Ballet principal, Sara Mearns—is a light-hearted, love story for the ages that marries balletic graces with sophisticated comedic charm. Meet a jaded banker who swears off human women only to realize maintaining a relationship with a celestial being has chaotic and hilarious consequences. The production will also feature Phillip Attmore, Max Baker, Mark Evans, Ann Harada, Nikki M. James, Hayley Podschun, Tom Robbins anda heavenly Rodgers and Hart score. Vera Zorina headlined the original production and George Balanchine created a series of spectacular dances to show off his soon-to-be wife. In the same spirit, Director-Choreographer Joshua Bergasse features his wife, Sara Mearns, who is making her musical theater debut at City Center after her stunning 2017 performance in Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes.

I Married an Angel is one of a handful of shows from the 1930s that was yearning to perfect a new kind of musical—more sophisticated and innately theatrical than the vaudeville-inspired productions of the Jazz Age. This experimentation in the ’30s ultimately laid the groundwork for the American musical tradition. I Married an Angel was innovative in that it combined a drawing room comedy with substantive dance sequences, for which Rodgers and Hart turned to George Balanchine ten years before he would establish New York City Ballet at City Center. Our Encores! presentation of I Married an Angel is a tip of the hat to Balanchine’s historic relationship with our theater, bringing our 75th Anniversary celebrations full circle.