Not even five and a half feet tall, James Cagney’s oversized talent catapulted him from scrappy Irish kid on the streets of New York to Hollywood legend on “the top of the world.” A Vaudeville hoofer turned actor, Cagney made a splash on Broadway before Hollywood called and made him one of the Silver Screen’s most iconic tough guys in legendary films including The Public Enemy, The G Men and White Heat. But it was his turn as song and dance man George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy that earned him the Academy Award and forever cemented his place as one of America’s most beloved movie legends alongside the likes of Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Stewart, and Fred Astaire.

Cagney’s six-member cast stars Broadway’s Robert Creighton (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Anything Goes) as the legendary James Cagney, with Jeremy Benton (Nat’l Tour of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas), Danette Holden (Broadway’s Annie, Shrek the Musical), Josh Walden (Broadway’s Ragtime, La Cage aux Folles, A Chorus Line), Ellen Zolezzi (Seussical), and Bruce Sabath (Broadway’s Company).

Directed by Bill Castellino (Grumpy Old Men, Jolson), with choreography by Tony Award nominee Joshua Bergasse (On the Town, Gigi), Cagney features a book by Peter Colley (I'll Be Back Before Midnight) and score that blends original music by Robert Creighton and Christopher McGovern (Lizzie Borden) with classic George M. Cohan favorites, including “Give My Regards To Broadway,” “Grand Old Flag,” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”

A hit with audiences and critics alike, Cagney has been described as “exhilarating!” (Time Out New York), “stupendous” (NY1 News), “nothing but joy” (New York Observer), and “blissful” (TheaterMania). The New York Times raves “Robert Creighton is born for the role,” while the New York Post says “Creighton shines as Cagney.” Praised for “some of the best dancing I have seen in my entire life” (WNBC TV), The New York Times says “Joshua Bergasse’s choreography could sell tap shoes to Tibetan monks,” and TheaterMania calls Cagney “a dream come true for lovers of tap dance.”

The album is produced by Michael Croiter and Matt Perri.

A Center Stage Records Release