Norwegian Cruise Line Adds Shows, Including ‘Jersey Boys,’ To Bliss Lineup
by Daniel McCarthy
Andy Stuart (center) and the cast of Norwegian's newest production, Jersey Boys.
Norwegian Cruise Lines is again expanding its roster of Broadway productions at sea with the addition of “Jersey Boys” to its newest ship, Norwegian Bliss. It will headline the ship’s main stage, the Bliss Theater, when the ship enters service in summer 2018.
The show, which won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical, was created by Warren Carlyle, the man behind Broadway hits including “Hello, Dolly,” “Finnian’s Rainbow” and “After Midnight.”
Norwegian also unveiled other entertainment additions to Bliss last week. The ship will also offer a new Cuban-inspired Broadway-style musical, created by Carlyle specifically for Bliss, featuring costumes by Cuban-America fashion icon Isabel Toledo, whose resume includes creating outfits for Michelle Obama.
More details on the new show will be revealed closer to Bliss’ debut, but Norwegian president and CEO Andy Stuart said the show is designed to be “a celebration of Cuban culture and music.”
Stuart said Bliss will have some mainstays that have proved popular on other Norwegian vessels, including the Cavern Club, a Beatles-inspired entertainment venue that made its debut on Norwegian Epic, and “Happy Hour Prohibition: The Musical,” which takes guests back to the era of prohibition.
A still from “Happy Hour Prohibition: The Musical.”
The focus on entertainment is part of Stuart’s plan “to change broad opinions of cruise ship entertainment,” he said.
The addition of vice president of entertainment Richard Ambrose, a former production manager on Disney Cruise Line, to the Norwegian team was part of the plan as well and “helped us on this journey of taking entertainment to the next level,” Stuart said.
So did partnering with productions like Blue Man Group on Norwegian Epic, Rock of Ages on Norwegian Breakaway, Million Dollar Quarter on Norwegian Getaway, and After Midnight on Norwegian Escape.
Bliss will be delivered in April 2018; it then will head to Alaska, and then to the Caribbean and the Mexican Riviera.
