Complete casting has been announced for the upcoming Broadway bow of “Floyd Collins.” As previously announced, the Lincoln Center Theater (LCT) production will begin previews on March 27, 2025, and open on April 21 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Tina Landau will direct the musical, which features music and lyrics by Adam Guettel and a book and additional lyrics by Landau.
Tony Award nominee Jeremy Jordan will lead the company in the title role, alongside Jason Gotay as Homer Collins, Tony nominee Sean Allan Krill as H.T. Carmichael, Tony nominee Marc Kudisch as Lee Collins, Lizzy McAlpine as Nellie Collins, Wade McCollum as Bee Doyle, Jessica Molaskey as Miss Jane, Taylor Trensch as Skeets Miller and Cole Vaughan as Jewell Estes. Rounding out the cast will be ensemblists Kevin Bernard, Dwayne Cooper, Jeremy Davis, Charlie Franklin, Kristen Hahn, Happy McPartlin, Kevyn Morrow, Zak Resnick, Justin Showell, Colin Trudell and Clyde Voce. Casting is by the Telsey Office/Patrick Goodwin.
“Floyd Collins” follows the real-life title character, a spelunker who hopes to make Sand Cave, Kentucky, a tourist attraction, only to find himself trapped in the caverns 200 feet below ground. The musical chronicles his experience in solitude inside the cave, as well as his community’s rescue response and the ensuing media circus. Following a 1994 world premiere at Philadelphia’s American Music Theater Festival, the musical played Playwrights Horizons in 1996. The LCT mounting will mark the musical’s first Main Stem production.
The production’s newly revealed creative team comprises Tony-nominated scenic designer dots, costume designer Anita Yavich, lighting designer Scott Zielinski, Tony-nominated sound designer Dan Moses Schreier and projection designer Ray Sun. Tony winner Ted Sperling will serve as music director, while Jon Rua will choreograph dance sequences. Bonnie Panson will be stage manager.
Landau shared insights about what to expect from the production and this cast.
“The show is designed quite simply and poetically — nothing representational, no real caves or anything, which are better left to the imagination,” Landau told Broadway News. “Instead we’re focusing on the ground and the sky and, foremost, on the people whose story it is. I think it will be both haunting and beautiful.”
As for the cast, before beginning “Floyd Collins,” Jordan will conclude his run as the titular role in “The Great Gatsby.” He received a Tony nomination for his leading turn as Jack Kelly in 2012’s “Newsies.” His other Broadway credits include “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Rock of Ages,” “West Side Story,” “Waitress” and “American Son.”
“I couldn’t be more excited than to have the great Jeremy Jordan as our guy,” Landau said. “He can sing this score like nobody else, of course — and he can do it while crawling and slithering and spelunking his way through our roughly 14-minute solo opening. And equally important, Jeremy has a subtlety, an enthusiasm, a darkness, a playfulness and an edge in his acting that are just so right for the character. This is a combination of qualities and skills that few others possess — so I’m completely thrilled and grateful that Jeremy will share them with us as we create this production together.”
Rounding out the principals: Gotay made his Broadway debut in 2012’s “Bring It On” and is currently featured in the Off-Broadway mounting of “Teeth.” Singer-songwriter McAlpine will make her inaugural Broadway appearance in “Floyd Collins.” She is known for her studio albums “Give Me a Minute,” “Five Seconds Flat” and “Older,” as well as her single “Ceilings.”
A Tony nominee for his featured turn in 2019’s “Jagged Little Pill,” Krill’s most recent Broadway appearance was in the 2023 revival of “Parade.” Kudisch is one of only a handful of individuals who have received three best featured actor in a musical Tony nominations, having been acknowledged for his roles in 2002’s “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” 2005’s “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and 2009’s “9 to 5.” McCollum is currently featured in “Water for Elephants,” having made his Broadway debut in “Wicked.”
“Floyd Collins” will mark Molaskey’s return to Broadway after 17 years. Her Main Stem credits include the original productions of “The Who’s Tommy,” “Les Misérables” and “Cats.” She recently appeared in the Chicago mounting of the Broadway-bound “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” Trensch will return to LCT after playing Mordred in the 2023 revival of “Camelot.” His Broadway résumé includes star turns in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and “Dear Evan Hansen.”“Floyd Collins” will mark the Broadway debut of Vaughan.
“The cast is made up of extraordinary actors — each distinct and idiosyncratic in their own way, helping us to build a very specific and authentic world on stage,” Landau said. “Each one of them is mesmerizing to me as an individual, and I know they’ll form an amazingly varied and compelling community when they’re together. They’re all like treasures to me — and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with them.”
“Floyd Collins” is being produced by LCT, under the leadership of producing artistic director André Bishop, and in association with Creative Partners Productions, Mark Cortale and Charles D. Urstadt. As previously announced, Bishop will complete a 33-year tenure with the nonprofit at the end of the 2024-2025 season. Lear deBessonet and Bartlett Sher will begin their new roles as LCT’s artistic director and executive director, respectively, in July 2025.
