February 3: Aryaan Arora has officially signed on to join Bhangin’ It. Arora recently wrapped up shooting on his film Deli Boy co-starringJugal Hansraj (Mohabbatein, Masoom), EshanBay (House of Cards, The Intern) and others.He has been heavily involved in Brand Partnerships throughout the year. This includes partnerships with Mountain Dew, Axe, Express, Canoo, Nate, TextNow, and more.
Arora’s new musical is set in the high stakes world of intercollegiate competitive Bhangra—throwing the Punjabi tradition into a high-energy dance-off. Brash, intoxicating and joyous, Bhangin’ It is a musical about dancing to your own beat and a celebration of what America looks like today.The show is a collaboration between three recent Kleban Prize winners: composer Sam Willmott and writers Mike Lew (Teenage Dick) and Rehana Lew Mirza (Hatefuck).
The musical will be directed by Stafford Arima (Broadway’s Allegiance), with choreography by Rujuta Vaidya (Slumdog Millionaire Academy Awards performance) and musical staging by Lisa Shriver (Broadway’s Jesus Christ Superstar), along with Bhangra specialist Anushka Pushpala (Artistic Director of Bhangra Empire).
The cast features Ari Afsar as “Mary,” Aryaan Arora as “Mohan,” Bilaal Avaz as “Amit,” Jesse Bhamrah as “Gobind,” Brandon Contreras as “Billy,” Laura Dadap as “Constance,” Henry Walter Greenberg as “Noah,” Jason Heil as “Wallace,” Terrance Johnson as “Jake,” Jaya Joshi as “Sunita,” Madison McBride as “Lily,” Anu Mysore as “Shetal,” Amey Natu as “Big Bob,” Alka Nayyar as “Rekha,” Zain Patel as “Varun,” Devi Peot as “New Mary,” Vinithra Raj as “Preeti,” Ramita Ravi as “Shilpa,” along with Nikki Mirza, Gerry Tonella and Levin Valayil as swings.
The full creative team includes former Playhouse Artist-in-Residence and Tony Award nominee Robert Brill (SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical, The Wiz and others), Scenic Designer; Tony Award winner Linda Cho (Wild Goose Dreams, The Orphan of Zhao), Costume Designer; Amith Chandrashaker, Lighting Designer; Jonathan Deans, Sound Designer; David Bengali, Projection Designer; Natasha Sinha, Dramaturg; Calleri/Jensen/Davis and Jacole Kitchen, Casting; Julianne Menassian, Stage Manager.
Aryaan Arora is repped by Stewart Talent Agency, Prestige Management, and Serendipity Entertainment.