“An original, fresh, and beautiful piece of work; musical comedy has met its masters.”

– The New York Times, reviewing the original 1938 Broadway production

With a heavenly Rodgers and Hart score, I Married an Angel—starring New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns as the Angel—is a light-hearted, love story for the ages that weds balletic grace with drawing-room comedic charm. Meet Count Willy Palaffi (Mark Evans), a jaded banker who swears off women claiming the bride for him would have to be an angel. When he eventually ties the knot with an actual celestial being, there are chaotic and hilarious consequences that compel Willy’s shrewd sister, Countess Peggy Palaffi (Nikki M. James), to save him from his wife’s otherworldly innocence. Phillip Attmore, Max Baker, Ann Harada, Hayley Podschun, and Tom Robbins also headline this Encores! production.

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—laying the groundwork for a new American musical tradition. Ten years before he would establish New York City Ballet at City Center, George Balanchine filled the original I Married an Angel with a series of spectacular dances that featured his soon-to-be spouse, Vera Zorina. In the same spirit, Director-Choreographer Joshua Bergasse creates all-new choreography for his wife, Sara Mearns, who is making her musical theater debut after her stunning 2017 performance in Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes. 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.

Indulge in the rich history of I Married an Angel and all our Encores! shows this season. Read more

Concert adapters Sandy Rustin Sarah Saltzberg explain the process of restoring the 1938 script. Read more

Rodger’s & Hart’s I Married an Angel is part of the 2019 Encores! season along with Call Me Madam and High Button Shoes.

Join the conversation #AngelNYCC

The New York Times
She Dances. He Directs. How They Created a Balletic Battle of the Sexes.
Read More

The New Yorker
A Bold Ballerina Makes Her Speaking-Role Debut
Read More

Observer
Sara Mearns Combines the Personal and Professional In a New Role That Sees the Dancer Speak
Read More

NY1 News – On Stage 
Frank DiLella interviews Josh Bergasse and Sara Mearns
Watch Now

Dance Magazine
Sara Mearns and Joshua Bergasse Gave Us the Scoop on What It’s Actually Like to Work Together
Read More

Music by Richard Rodgers 
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart
Book by Rodgers & Hart
Adapted from the play by Janos Vaszary
Starring Sara Mearns as the Angel
Concert Adaptation – Sandy Rustin and Sarah Saltzberg
Featuring The Encores! Orchestra
Directed and Choreographed by Joshua Bergasse
Encores! Artistic Director Jack Viertel
Encores! Music Director Rob Berman
Guest Music Director Rob Fisher 

Starring Phillip Attmore, Max Baker, Mark Evans, Ann Harada, Nikki M. James, Sara Mearns, Hayley Podschun, and Tom Robbins

With Rachel Coloff, Barton Cowperthwaite, Jōvan Dansberry, Alexa De Barr, Christine DiGiallonardo, Erica Dorfler, Julia Estrada, Ta’Nika Gibson, Jennifer Gruener, Stephen Hanna, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Naomi Kakuk, Francis Lawrence, Cory Linger, Robin Masella, Gia Mongell, Lindsay O’Neil, Michelle Mercedes Russell, Ryan Steele, Christian Tworzyanski, and Kathy Voytko

Rodger’s & Hart’s I Married an Angel is part of the 2019 Encores! season along with Call Me Madam and High Button Shoes.

Learn about all the extraordinary programming and ancillary events we have lined up for our 75th Anniversary Season.

75th Anniversary Season Sponsors
Stacey and Eric Mindich

Major Support for Encores! is provided by
Stacey and Eric Mindich Fund for Musical Theater

Season Sponsors
Roz and Jerry Meyer
The Shubert Foundation
Stephanie and Fred Shuman Fund for Encores!

Support for I Married an Angel is provided by
Margot and John Ernst

Additional Support is provided by
The Frederick Loewe Foundation
The SHS Foundation
The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.