The producers of The Wanderer, the new Broadway-bound musical based on the life and music of Rock & Roll Hall-of-Famer Dion DiMucci, are pleased to announce that Michael Wartella (Wicked) will star as Dion alongside Christy Altomare (Anastasia) as Dion’s wife Susan and Joey McIntyre (New Kids on the Block; Waitress) as Dion’s right hand man, Johnny, in its world premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. Further casting to be announced at a later date. The show will begin performances at Paper Mill Playhouse on March 24, 2022 and play through April 24, 2022.
“We are thrilled and honored that the next step for our show on its way to Broadway will be a production at New Jersey’s prestigious Paper Mill Playhouse,” said producer Jill Menza. “If you told me as a young man that one day my journey from The Bronx to the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame would become a musical, I would not have believed you,” said Dion. “It’s only 12 miles from Belmont Avenue to Broadway. It shouldn’t have taken this long!”
Tickets can be purchased by calling (973) 376-4343, at the Paper Mill Playhouse Box Office at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, or online at www.papermill.org.
The Wanderer is written by Charles Messina (A Room of My Own) and directed by Kenneth Ferrone (Cruel Intentions National Tour, “Rent on Fox”) and choreographed by Sarah O’Gleby. Tony Award-winner Beowulf Boritt is the scenic designer. The Wanderer is produced by Paper Mill Playhouse in association with Jill Menza and Charles Messina.
Dion. One name set the standard of cool for a generation. But how does a kid from The Bronx make it to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? In The Wanderer, the incredible musical journey of a troubled young man turned teenage heartthrob (and, ultimately, Rock n’ Roll icon) is told in intimate and no-holds-barred detail. Dion’s music helped define a generation of Rock n’ Rollers. His lifelong battle with addiction shed a stark light on the darker side of fame and success. This musical takes both subjects head on, set to the iconic sound of an incomparable era in American music, and celebrates the triumph of the human spirit against all odds. The Wanderer is the riveting true story of Dion, New York’s rebel king, the man Bruce Springsteen calls “the link between Frank Sinatra and Rock n’ Roll.”
Dion is an American singer and songwriting icon whose work has incorporated elements of Doo-Wop, Rock, and R&B throughout his career. Both as lead singer of Dion and the Belmonts and then as a solo artist, he was one of the most popular American Rock n’ Roll performers of his time. He had 30 Top 40 hits in the late 50s and 60s including, “Runaround Sue,” “Teenager in Love," “I Wonder Why,” “Ruby Baby,” “Abraham, Martin and John” and “The Wanderer,” among many more. Dion was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.