Cagney The Musical Produced in Association with Riki Kane Larimer

June 16, 2026

When Riki Kane Larimer first encountered Cagney The Musical at the York Theatre Company, she did not just see a promising new musical.

She saw something she recognized.

Article content — Robert Creighton as CAGNEY

Her father adored James Cagney. The patriotic music of the 1940s and 1950s was the soundtrack of her childhood. The bold theatricality of that era, the rhythm, the drive, the unapologetic showmanship, all of it lived somewhere inside her long before she ever read the script.

So when she experienced Cagney The Musical, it felt less like discovery and more like destiny.

Part biography, part musical celebration, the show is roughly fifty percent original score and fifty percent drawn from the Cagney song and dance legacy. It explodes with big dancing and theatrical energy. But beneath the spectacle lies something tougher.

This is the story of a man who grew up rough. There were no unions to protect performers. He supported his family. He was kicked around before he found his moment. He fought for every opportunity.

That fight is what moved Riki.

She believed the show was important on many levels. Not just entertaining. Necessary. Uplifting. Exactly what audiences need.

After York, she decided it deserved more.

She began reaching out to venues including New World Stages and Westside Theatre, determined to bring the production to the next level. The result was strong reviews and sold out houses.

But the evolution did not stop there.

The show closed in New York and reopened in Los Angeles, where it sold out every night during its four-week run. It moved to Salt Lake City. It was workshopped in London. Acclaimed director John Rando came on board with Broadway in mind before prior commitments shifted the timeline.

Through every chapter, Riki remained deeply connected to the heart of the story.

One of the most essential elements for her is Cagney’s mother, now portrayed by Melissa Manchester. Cagney’s mother is the emotional anchor of the piece. She shaped his drive, his loyalty, and his devotion to family. In this production, a new song has even been written specifically for Manchester.

The title role continues to evolve with Robert Creighton, whose performance captures both the athletic electricity and the vulnerability of the icon. Audiences often arrive expecting the tough guy. What they discover is warmth. Devotion. A man deeply connected to his wife, his brother, and his colleagues. A performer who helped create SAG and stood up for the little guy. A patriot who toured with Bob Hope during the war to entertain American troops.

The complicated relationship between Cagney and Jack Warner adds another layer of dramatic tension. Warner initially dismissed him as not handsome enough. Cagney insisted he was there to act. Warner wanted gangsters. Cagney wanted to sing and dance. They were not friends, but they needed each other. That friction shaped an era of American cinema.

For Riki, that duality is what makes the story so compelling.

Her favorite lyric asks, “How will I be remembered when they run my final reel?”

It is a question that resonates far beyond one man’s life.

There is also a special timeliness to bringing Cagney The Musical to Bay Street in this moment. As the country approaches its 250th birthday, this patriotic, high-energy celebration of an American original feels especially meaningful. With its classic American spirit, dazzling tap, and story of perseverance, the musical arrives at a moment when audiences may be especially ready to reconnect with that sense of shared history and heart.

Now, after New York, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and London, Cagney The Musical arrives in the Hamptons in what may be its most intimate production yet. The scale is different. The concept remains steady. The closeness between performer and audience offers something the show has never quite had before.

And perhaps that is fitting.

Because at its core, this is not just the story of an American icon. It is the story of belief. Of persistence. Of talent meeting opportunity. Of a producer who saw something in a musical and refused to let it stay small.

For Riki Kane Larimer, the love letter was written the moment she first said yes.

Cagney The Musical runs June 30 through July 26 at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.