Norwegian Breakaway to Debut with Star Chef Seafood Spots, Broadway Shows

A luxurious seafood restaurant and raw bar by Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian and three Broadway shows headlined by Rock of Ages were revealed as new Norwegian Breakaway features.

With the Norwegian Cruise Line ship to sail year-round from New York, its fitting that a New York chef and Broadway acts will star on board.

Food Network sensation Zakarian will create and oversee Ocean Blue by Geoffrey Zakarian, a luxury seafood dining experience, and the adjacent The Raw Bar, highlighting crustaceans and wines by the glass. Also, his more casual Ocean Blue on The Waterfront will offer fun and easy fare.

Zakarian will orchestrate the menus and every aspect of his dining areas, from the uniforms to the glassware. He will also sail occasionally, meeting diners and providing cooking demonstrations and intimate cooking experiences for smaller groups.

It is an unbelievably exciting prospect to create a concept for such a groundbreaking ship, Zakarian said. I am nostalgic at heart, so the thought of making a modern experience that harkens to the age of steamship travel is just terrific.

Zakarian, who began his career at Le Cirque and the legendary 21 Club, has two popular New York City restaurants, The Lambs Club and The National, and one in Atlantic City, The Water Club at Borgata. He emerged victorious in the recent fourth season of Food Network's The Next Iron Chef, Super Chefs, appears regularly on Iron Chef America, serves as a judge on Chopped and highlights his favorite dishes on The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

Norwegian president and ceo Kevin Sheehan described bagging Zakarian as like hitting the culinary lottery. In this case, not only do we win big, but so do our guests on Norwegian Breakaway who will get to experience his world-class cuisine in three dining outlets on the ship.

Meanwhile, entertainment on the newbuild, which debuts in early May 2013, will feature the five-time Tony Award-nominated musical, Rock of Ages, along with two additional Broadway shows, the dance sensation Burn the Floor and Cirque Dreams & Dinner Jungle Fantasy.

Norwegian Breakaway will also bring back the improvisational comedy troupe The Second City and dueling piano show Howl at the Moon at Headliners Comedy Club, along with New Yorks Slam Allen in Fat Cats Jazz & Blues Club.

As a lifelong New Yorker, its critically important to me that Norwegian Breakaway becomes New Yorks shipthe only way to cruise from New York when she arrives next May, Sheehan said during a webinar reveal on Thursday. Our goal is to bring elements of New York on board so that guests will feel a real connection to the ship as New Yorks true flagship.

Rock of Ages, one of the longest running shows in Broadway history, is a classic rock love story with sing-out-loud songs such as Every Rose Has Its Thorn, I Wanna Know What Love Is, Here I Go Again, Dont Stop Believin and more. The show also became a film released by New Line Cinema on June 15.

Rock of Ages is lead produced on Broadway by Michael Cohl and Jonathan Linden of S2BN Entertainment and Matthew Weaver. On Norwegian Breakaway, the show will be staged in the 800-seat Breakaway Theater.

That is also the venue for Burn the Floor, described as ballroom dance super-charged, with all forms of ballroom and Latin dance performed to eclectic music. More intimate Burn the Floor performances will be staged in The Manhattan Room. The show premiered in London in 1999 and has toured the world, with its Broadway premiere in 2009.

Following Cirque Dreams & Dinner on Norwegian Epic, producer/director Neil Goldberg will present an adaptation of the Broadway show Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy with the best of both productions. The new show, Cirque Dreams & Dinner Jungle Fantasy, will play in Norwegian Breakaways Spiegel Tent.