A Brooklyn actor is fronting one of Off-Broadway's more unusual country music experiences this summer, playing a Nashville musician who turns to selling drugs to pay for studio time. Jonathan Judge-Russo stars as Drew in Music City, a jukebox musical built around Billboard-charting country hits that reopened at St. Luke's Theatre in Midtown Manhattan in June and runs through October 31.
Judge-Russo, a Brooklyn native who graduated from Regis High School in 2001 before earning a theatre and creative writing degree at Loyola University Maryland and training at the Circle in the Square Theatre School, originated the role of Drew during the show's earlier development, according to Circle in the Square Theatre School. He is also the founding artistic director of Animus Theatre Company, which he co-founded in 2011 with fellow Circle in the Square graduates and which has since produced more than 50 plays, musicals, and reading events focused on stories of human resilience. As reported by News 12 Brooklyn, Judge-Russo is now starring as Drew in the current Midtown run.
Music City follows two aspiring Nashville brothers, Drew and T.J., as they chase careers in country music while facing personal and moral challenges. Per Up and Coming Weekly, the storyline pushes past typical country tropes into darker territory: the brothers turn to selling drugs to fund studio recording time, a choice that spirals into addiction, poverty, and eventually military deployment overseas following 9/11.
From Detroit Friendship to Nashville Hits
The musical's score draws on original and existing country tracks written by J.T. Harding, described in the seed reporting as a multi-platinum, Billboard chart-topping songwriter with credits including songs recorded by Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. MusicRow reports that Harding's catalog also includes Billboard No. 1 hits such as “Smile,” recorded by Uncle Kracker, and “Somewhere With You,” recorded by Kenny Chesney, tracks written after Harding relocated to Nashville following a run of pop-crossover successes.
Harding and book writer Peter Zinn were childhood friends in Detroit who reconnected years later to create Music City, according to MusicRow. The collaboration reportedly took shape after Zinn heard Harding's song “How Did I Get Here?,” written about performing for U.S. military troops in Afghanistan, and the pair built the musical's narrative around a mix of original and existing country tracks.
The show's journey to Midtown Manhattan has been a long one. Music City premiered as a regional production at Cape Fear Regional Theatre in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in September 2018, according to Up and Coming Weekly, before playing an extended Off-Broadway run with the company BEDLAM at the West End Theatre in late 2024.
A Fictional Honky-Tonk Comes to Midtown
Directed by BEDLAM Artistic Director Eric Tucker, the production transforms St. Luke's Theatre into The Wicked Tickle, a fictional East Nashville dive bar complete with $4 beers, as detailed by Exeunt Magazine NYC in its coverage of the show's earlier staging. The immersive setup includes a live open mic segment before the main performance, during which cast members perform alongside audience members, blurring the line between show and bar-room crowd.
The current Midtown engagement opened officially on June 24 following preview performances that began June 15, per TheaterMania. St. Luke's Theatre is operated by Out of the Box Theatrics, and the run is scheduled to continue through Halloween.
A Last-Minute Cast Scramble
The path to opening night wasn't entirely smooth. Recording artist and original Spring Awakening cast member Lauren “Lolo” Pritchard joined the production as the character “23” on just two days' notice ahead of the June opening, stepping in after a sudden cast departure, according to front mezz junkies. Pritchard reportedly learned the music and staging in 48 hours before taking the stage.
Beyond Music City, Judge-Russo's screen and stage résumé includes recurring television roles on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, along with a 2016 Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble for his work in Jumpers for Goalposts at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. For a performer with deep roots in New York's smaller theater companies, leading an Off-Broadway jukebox musical inside a fake honky-tonk marks a distinctive chapter in a career built largely around ensemble-driven, resilience-focused storytelling.
