Billy Porter, Billy Zane and Jessica Vosk will star in an unusual one-night-only Broadway musical being produced by the financial technology company Ramp as a promotion for the company’s bill-pay platform.
Bill Pay The Musical, a fully staged, original musical comedy “about bills” has been created for the the fin-tech company by a creative team that includes director Keaton Wooden, book writer Kevin Zak, and composer and lyricist Jason Michael Snow. The show, according to producers, will “feature original music, sharp comedy, and playful references to Ramp’s AI-powered bill pay product.”
Bill Pay The Musical‘s sole performance will be September 25 at Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre. (Until recently, the venue was the home of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, which closed early on August 8.)
The concept harkens back to the old mid-century corporate-sponsored “industrials” staged on Broadway, as well as, more recently, the Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical, the half-hour live Super Bowl commercial starring Michael C. Hall that was staged at Manhattan’s Town Hall on Super Bowl Sunday in 2019.
Eric Glyman, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Ramp, said in a statement, “Ramp made a real Broadway musical starring Billy Porter and Billy Zane. It’s a show about bills, by Bills, starring Bills — with original songs, full choreography, and an actual Broadway playwright. In the 1950s and ’60s, America’s biggest companies staged lavish musicals about cars, appliances, and soda. Somewhere along the way, we lost our nerve. We’re bringing back the industrial musical.”
In the announcement today, Ramp explained the motive behind the project: “Bill Pay The Musical began with a simple belief: paying bills should not require this much drama. So Ramp made it a Broadway musical instead. The production brings Ramp’s signature sense of humor to the stage. The company has previously turned financial operations into unexpected cultural moments through campaigns including Brian’s Office, Funeral for the Penny, and Brian’s Hair.”
In addition to Porter, Zane and Vosk, the cast will include Rema Webb, Karli Dinardo, Katie Griffith, Indya Lincicome, Drew Minard, Shannon Mullen, Cole Newburg, Will Porter and Brandon Stonestreet.
Ramp Producers are Kendall Tucker and Amber Layne, along with producers Ryan Bogner, Tracey Stroock McFarland and Zachary Thomas Hedner. Choreographer is Antoinette DiPietropolo; Music Director is Adam Laird; Music Supervisor, Orchestrator and Arranger, Ben Cohn; Scenic Design, Paul Tate de Poo III; Costume Design, Andrea Hood; Lighting Design, Karen Spahn; Sound Design, Sun Hee “Sunny” Kil; and Wig, Hair and Makeup Design, J. Jared Janas and Dotty Petersen.
Production Partners are Broadway & Beyond Theatricals; DR Theatrical Management; Tandem Production Partners; 7 Miles Global; and Super Awesome Friends.
