Paradise Square Tickets

By: Christina Anderson, Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas and Larry Kirwan
Songs by: Jason Howland, Nathan Tysen and Masi Asare
Director: Moises Kaufman
Cast list: Joaquina Kalukango, Chilina Kennedy, John Dossett, Sidney DuPont, A.J. Shively, Nathaniel Stampley, Gabrielle McClinton, Jacob Fishel, Kevin Dennis, Karen Burthwright, Kennedy Caughell, Dwayne Clark, Garrett Coleman, Colin Cunliffe, Chloe Davis, Bernard Dotson, Jamal Christopher Douglas, Sam Edgerly, Shiloh Goodin, Jacobi Hall, Sean Jenness, Jay McKenzie, Ben Michael, Jason Oremus, Eilis Quinn, Sara Sheperd, Lael van Keuren, Sir Brock Warren and Hailee Kaleem Wright
Design: Allen Moyer
Lighting: Donald Holder
Costume: Toni-Leslie James
Choreography: Bill T. Jones
Sound: Jon Weston

In the Lower Manhattan slums of 1863, as the nation is torn apart by war, one saloon became an unlikely hub of peace. Raucous dance contests at a local watering hole called Paradise Square brought free Blacks and Irish immigrants together in one spirited community — until the Draft Riots brought an abrupt end to the party. Paradise Square Broadway tickets will be available soon. Set an alert for Paradise Square tickets.

Paradise Square is a ten-time Tony®-Nominated musical that captures all of America’s best ideals and ugliest divisions, as well as the country’s cultural triumphs and forgotten heroes. The saloon’s dance contests between Black American juba dancing and Irish step dancing gave birth to what we now know as American tap dance. Choreography by Bill T. Jones brings the birth of tap dance to glorious life in his extravagant dances for Paradise Square.

Among the bar’s regulars, a story of the many faces of American identity is told: from freedom fighters, to anti-abolitionists, to the Black woman saloon owner, and many more. As America tears itself apart, these regulars co-exist as one. The New York Draft Riots of 1863 ultimately bring an end to their equilibrium, forcing friends and loved ones to choose sides.

Paradise Square's thrilling contemporary score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen features both original numbers and reimagined 1800s tunes by Stephen Foster, known for such enduring classics as “Oh! Susanna” and “Camptown Races.” Masi Asare and Larry Kirwan provide additional musical material for Paradise Square on Broadway, which is directed by Tony Award-nominated director and Tectonic Theater Project founder Moisés Kaufman.

What to Watch For

• The Paradise Square musical received its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2018. The Broadway production plays a tryout run in Chicago in the winter of 2021 before arriving in New York in spring 2022.
• An earlier version of the show, entitled Hard Times, was presented at the cell in New York in 2012 and became a New York Times Critics Pick.
• Paradise Square was conceived by Larry Kirwan. Larry Kirwan is an Irish writer and the lead singer of American Celtic rock band Black 47. Paradise Square marks Kirwan’s Broadway writing debut.
• For Broadway, the show’s book is co-written by playwright and educator Christina Anderson. Anderson joins Marcus Gardley, and Craig Lucas, who wrote the version performed at Berkeley Rep.
• Paradise Square director Moisés Kaufman is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Jean Schiffman of the San Francisco Examiner described Paradise Square as “beautifully designed and directed” by Kaufman.