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Ciboulette

Musical · 1923

At Les Halles, aristocrat Antonin ends his relationship with Zénobie and helps the farm-girl Ciboulette. A fortune-teller predicts Ciboulette will marry a man found under a cabbage after a woman turns white and she receives a death notice in a tambourine. Antonin is found asleep in Ciboulette’s vegetable cart, and he pretends to be a farm steward to escape the eight suitors arranged by her family. After jealousy separates them, Ciboulette disguises herself as a Spanish singer and helps Antonin recognize his love for her; the prophecy is fulfilled and they reunite.

Cinder Ellen up too Late

Musical · 1891

Cinder Ellen up too Late is a musical burlesque written by Frederick Hobson Leslie (writing under the pseudonym A. C. Torr) and W. T. Vincent, with music arranged by Meyer Lutz from compositions by Lionel Monckton, Sidney Jones, Walter Slaughter, Osmond Carr, Scott Gatti, Jacobi, Robertson, and Leopold Wenzel. Additional lyrics were written by Basil Hood. The show was a burlesque of the well-known pantomime and fairy tale, Cinderella. The piece was first produced in Melbourne, Australia at the Princess's Theatre on 22 August 1891 and then in Sydney, on 5 October at the Theatre Royal. It then debuted in London at the Gaiety Theatre in London and ran from 24 December 1891 until 9 July 1892, a total of 181 performances. It was revised and revived later in 1892. The production was directed by Walter Raynham, with choreography by Katti Lanner and Willie Warde and costumes by Wilhelm. Nellie Farren created the title role in Australia; in London the part was played by Kate James and then Letty Lind. The piece was re-written during the run; some characters were dropped and new ones were introduced. The cast included Sylvia Grey as Linconzina and Florence Levey as Fettalana (the stepsisters), E. J. Lonnen as Prince Belgravia, Arthur Williams as Sir Ludgate Hill, and Fred Leslie as "a servant". Adelaide Astor had the small role of Templina and later the larger one of Fettalana, and Topsy Sinden danced in the piece. Lottie Collins sang her sensationally popular song, "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" as an interpolation in the show every evening. The title was a "playful allusion" to the real first name, Ellen, of the Gaiety's famous star, Nellie Farren. After the company's return from Australia, and before the opening of Cinder Ellen in London, Farren experienced an attack of rheumatic fever which aggravated her spinal disease. She had to withdraw from the London production of Cinder Ellen. Her illness progressively crippled her, and Farren rarely performed after this. Farren's withdrawal left Kate James to open in the title role in London.

Cinders

Musical · 1923

Cinders is a musical in two acts with music by Rudolf Friml and both book and lyrics by Edward Clark. It re-sets the Cinderella fairy tale in 1920s era New York City. It premiered at the Garrick Theatre in Philadelphia on March 12, 1923, and later that month toured to the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. It moved to Broadway where it opened at the Dresden Theatre on April 3, 1923. It ran for 31 performances, and closed on April 28, 1923. Cinders starred Nancy Welford in the title role. It was both produced and staged by Edward Royce. Others in the cast included W. Douglas Stevenson as John Winthrop, Margaret Dale as Mrs. Horatio Winthrop, Queenie Smith as Tillie Olsen, George Bancroft as Great Scott, Fred Hillebrand as Slim Kelly, John H. Brewer as Major Drummond, Lillian Lee as Miss Breckenridge, Kitty Kelly as Tottie, Estelle Levelle as Lottie, Eden Gray as Ninette, Roberta Beatty as Mrs. Delancey Hoyt, Edith Campbell-Walker as Mme. Duval, Mary Lucas as Geraldine, and Thomas Fitzpatrick as the Butler.

Clinton: The Musical

Musical · 2012

As the show begins, Hillary Rodham Clinton introduces herself and her husband, William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton. She reveals that Bill is actually two personalities, WJ and Billy, and that she is the only person who can see both of them ("Overture"). With help from Hillary, WJ and Billy win the 1992 presidential election ("Awful-Awesome"). After arriving at the White House, WJ states his plans to be a serious and successful president, Hillary states her plan to be loved by the American people, and Billy states his plan to "get some tail" ("The Me I See"). In order to remain focused on his job, WJ starts ignoring Billy's fun-loving urges. Just a few days after being inaugurated, the media starts reporting on the Whitewater scandal, despite the fact that nobody who is reporting has any idea what the scandal actually is, and are just stretching the story out to gain viewers ("The Day After That"). Kenneth Starr is hired to investigate the scandal. Starr announces to the audience that he doesn't actually care about the American people or the Whitewater scandal, he's just in it for the fame ("A Starr is Born"). Hillary becomes increasingly worried that Billy will use his new office to cheat on her. As WJ reassures Hillary that he'll control Billy, Billy seduces White House intern Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office ("Lie to You"). In order to comfort Hillary, WJ tells her that she can write the country's new healthcare plan. Republican Newt Gingrich is infuriated by this, and he works with Ken Starr to rally other Republicans and take control of the Congress majority ("Say Nay"). During an encounter with Billy in the Oval Office, Monica Lewinsky exclaims that she can't believe she's having an affair with the president ("Monica's Song"). WJ finds out about this and confronts Billy, starting an argument between the two. Hillary finds out about their fight and explains to them that "the public likes it better when politicians work together" ("Both Ways"). After settling his differences with Billy, WJ confronts Newt Gingrich and convinces him to pass Hillary's healthcare bill. WJ and Billy are reelected in the presidential election of 1996, but Billy is the only one that takes the oath of office, which means Billy is able to start ignoring WJ as payback for the beginning of their first term ("Both Ways (Reprise)"). As his second term begins, Billy celebrates in the Oval Office, while Linda Tripp secretly collects evidence of his affair with Monica ("What Could Go Wrong?"). Linda's evidence becomes public, but Billy attempts to convince the American people that the affair never happened ("That Woman, Miss Lewinsky"). Since he is officially the president, Billy must give the State of the Union address, a job WJ had previously done. Billy can't resist making sexual innuendos while writing his speech, so Hillary is forced to write the address and let Billy take all the credit ("State of the Union"). Having been abandoned by Billy and the American people, WJ reflects on all the things he was hoping to accomplish in his second term ("A Place Called Hope"). Monica, whom Billy has also abandoned, looks back on how confident he made her feel during their affair ("Monica's Song (Reprise)"). Hillary becomes increasingly angry at both WJ and Billy for the things they do behind her back. Though she still loves them, she decides she can't handle the stress anymore and tells the audience that she plans to divorce them ("Enough"). Meanwhile, Kenneth and Newt lead the movement to impeach and remove Billy from office ("Sexual Relations"). Hillary is visited by a vision of Eleanor Roosevelt, who tries to convince her to stay with Billy and WJ, but Hillary misinterprets Eleanor and instead decides that she's going to run for president ("Brew It for Your Country"). Billy and WJ realize that their legacy will not be the work they did to advance universal healthcare, but instead, they will always be remembered for Billy's affair ("The Me I See / What Could Go Wrong? (Reprise)"). WJ and Billy forgive each other and apologize to Hillary. The three decide that the only way to ensure that Billy remains in office is to reveal to the world that William Jefferson Clinton is, in fact, two people. Newt is hesitant to forgive the Clintons but is forced to when WJ reveals Newt's affair with Calista Bisek. The Senate votes to keep Billy in office and Hillary announces her 2008 candidacy for president ("Finale").

Clorindy: The Origin of the Cakewalk

Musical · 1898

Clorindy, or The Origin of the Cake Walk is a one-act musical by composer Will Marion Cook and librettist Paul Laurence Dunbar. The piece premiered in 1898 and was the first Broadway musical with an all-black cast. It starred the famous African-American performer Ernest Hogan. Popular songs from the show included "Who Dat Say Chicken In Dis Crowd" (one of the first documented uses of the well-known "Who Dat?" comedy motif) and the finale, "Darktown Is Out Tonight".

Closer to Heaven

Musical · 2001

The story is narrated by retired rock icon and actress Billie Trix (Frances Barber), who otherwise has a fairly small part in the story. The opening number, "My Night", is sung by Billie and the rest of the cast, and is used to introduce the characters. Shell Christian (Stacey Roca), is going to see her estranged father, Vic Christian (David Burt), for the first time in years. Vic, who is gay, left Shell and her mother during her childhood, and now runs a successful gay club in London. Meanwhile, Straight Dave (Paul Keating), who has just arrived from Ireland, is working as a bartender at Vic's club, although his ambition is to be a dancer at the club. After seeing and speaking to her father, Shell meets Dave, and they immediately fall in love. Record producer Bob Saunders (Paul Broughton) is a friend of Billie Trix and a regular at Vic's club. He sees Dave dancing and decides he wants to sign him for a boy band he is forming. He makes an offer to Dave, who has no interest in signing; however, Saunders continues to pressure Dave into working for him. Dave meets and falls in love with drug dealer Mile End Lee (Tom Walker), who deals at Vic's club. Shell is devastated when she discovers that Dave is gay, although part of her has suspected it all along. Meanwhile, Vic discovers Lee dealing drugs in his club and confiscates the drugs. Lee is worried he will be killed for losing the drugs. At this point, everyone gets high on ketamine – Shell is still upset about Dave; Lee is worried about being killed; Dave is frustrated that Lee has withdrawn from him; and Billie, a habitual user, needs no excuse. Lee has a drug overdose and dies. At Lee's funeral, Dave sings a song, "For All of Us". A few months later, Dave is apparently back on the road to success and sings "Positive Role Model" to end the show on a high. (The 2015 and 2019 productions replaced "Positive Role Model" with "Vocal" as the closing song, and the 2024 production used "For Every Moment").

Clue The Musical

Musical · 1995

Mr. Boddy acts as host as he invites the audience to play "The Game" while introducing each of the other characters. He then brings three audience members onstage to choose one card each from one of three stacks, representing six suspects, six rooms, and six weapons. These selected cards, unseen by the selectors, cast, or the audience, are placed in an oversized envelope marked "Confidential", which is displayed on stage for the duration of the musical and opened to reveal the cards near the end. Mr. Boddy instructs the audience on how to play along. Between scenes throughout the musical, Mr. Boddy gives rhyming clues, which provide the audience with information they may jot down on a form supplied to them and use to solve the mystery. In the kitchen, Mrs. White prepares dinner and argues with Mr. Boddy over her forced servitude to pay debts because he once helped her son. She laments "Life Is a Bowl of Pits". In the billiard room, Mr. Boddy's business partner, Mr. Green, clashes with him over missing funds. In the ballroom, Col. Mustard and Mrs. Peacock engage in an affair, but are caught by Mr. Boddy. Over drinks in the lounge, Miss Scarlet and Mr. Green are revealed to have been business partners of Mr. Boddy's and former lovers, and that Mr. Boddy double-crossed them both and unceremoniously dumped Miss Scarlet. They muse revenge and that "Everyday Devices" such as a wrench and lead pipe are dangerous when used for the wrong reasons. In the study, Prof. Plum recounts how Mr. Boddy ruined his family fortune to Mrs. White while she tries to unsuccessfully flirt with him. In the conservatory, Mrs. Peacock plans to add Mr. Boddy to her growing list of dead husbands ("Once a Widow"). After dinner, Mr. Boddy invites his guests and staff to fulfill their destiny — murdering him. They search through "Corridor and Halls" for the right combination of suspect, room and weapon. Mr. Boddy is soon found dead ("The Murder"), the cause of which is unknown ("After the Murder"). Mr. Boddy miraculously revives to introduce a new character, a hard-nosed, attractive Detective. As she searches the mansion for clues, the suspects nervously speculate "She Hasn't Got a Clue". She returns with six possible weapons – a wrench, candlestick, lead pipe, knife, revolver and rope – found in six rooms: the lounge, kitchen, ballroom, conservatory, billiard room, and study. All of these have the suspects' fingerprints on them, which were made between 9:00 PM and midnight, the latter of which is the time of Boddy's murder. After the suspects tell her how they used the "Everyday Devices", the Detective questions Prof. Plum, who tries to seduce her ("Seduction Deduction"). After his attempts fail, she in turn interrogates Col Mustard, Mr. Green, Miss Scarlet, Mrs. Peacock, and Mrs. White, as each speculates that she is a "Foul-Weather Friend". As the Detective prepares to make her accusation, the Suspects cry "Don't Blame Me" and panic at "The Final Clue". She reveals the random killer, location, and weapon as per the three cards drawn earlier, and the killer confesses. Then, it is revealed that the previously stated murderer was only an accomplice, and that the true murderer is Professor Plum. He is then revealed to be a disguised "dorky school teacher", as the true Plum is disguised as a piano player in the orchestra. The suspects ponder life beyond the mansion, but are compelled by Mr. Boddy to repeat their fate and continue playing "The Game".

Coco

Musical · 1969

Set between early autumn of 1953 and late spring of 1954, fashion designer Coco Chanel, after fifteen years of retirement, decides to return to the world of haute couture and reopen her Paris salon. With her new collection derided by the critics, she faces bankruptcy until buyers from four major American department stores - Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Best & Company, and Ohrbach's - place orders with her. She becomes involved with the love life of one of her models, and flashbacks utilizing filmed sequences recall her own past romantic flings. Adding humor to the proceedings is a highly stereotypical rude gay designer who tries to impede Chanel's success. The finale is a fashion show featuring actual Chanel designs from 1918 to 1959.

Comfort Women

Musical · 2015

The musical takes place in 1941, in Keijō (Seoul), Korea, Empire of Japan. The musical is about young Korean women from a small town in Korea who are ostensibly enlisted to work in a factory in Japan by a Japanese agent. Goeun, Youngsun, Namsoon, Malsoon, Soonja, and Jinju are forced to service soldiers in Indonesia. Minsik creates a way to take the women back to Korea. To empower the female characters, Kim rewrote part of the script in 2018, making the female characters, rather than the male soldier, plot their escape from the military brothel. The 2019 production of the musical has also reduced the violent scenes.

Company

Musical · 1970

In the early 1990s, Furth and Sondheim revised the libretto, cutting and altering dialogue that had become dated and rewriting the end of act one. This synopsis is based on the revised libretto. Robert is a well-liked single man living in New York City whose friends are married or engaged couples. The couples are Joanne and Larry, Peter and Susan, Harry and Sarah, David and Jenny, and Paul and Amy. It is Robert's 35th birthday and the couples have gathered to throw him a surprise party. When Robert fails to blow out any candles on his birthday cake, the couples promise him that his birthday wish will still come true, although Robert wished for nothing, and said that his friends are all he needs ("Company"). What follows is a series of disconnected vignettes in no chronological order, each featuring Robert visiting with one of the couples or alone on a date with a girlfriend. In the first vignette, Robert visits Sarah, a foodie who is dieting, and her husband, Harry, a recovering alcoholic. Sarah and Harry taunt each other on their vices, escalating toward karate-like fighting and thrashing that may or may not be playful. This prompts the caustic Joanne, the oldest, most cynical, and most-often divorced of Robert's friends, to sarcastically comment to the audience that it is the little things that make a marriage work ("The Little Things You Do Together"). Harry explains, and the men concur, that most people are both thankful and regretful about getting married, and that marriage changes both everything and nothing about the way they live ("Sorry – Grateful"). Robert is next with Peter and Susan, on their apartment terrace. Peter is an Ivy League graduate, and Susan is a Southern belle; the two seem to be a perfect couple, yet they surprise Robert with the news of their upcoming divorce. At the home of the uptight Jenny and chic David, Robert has brought along some marijuana that the three share. The couple turns to grilling Robert on why he has not yet gotten married. Robert claims he is not against the notion, but three women he is currently dating—Kathy, Marta, and April—appear and proceed, Andrews Sisters-style, to chastise Robert for his reluctance to being committed ("You Could Drive a Person Crazy"). After Jenny asks for another joint, but is discouraged by David, David privately tells Robert that Jenny does not actually like marijuana, but partakes in it as a show of her love for him. All of Robert's male friends are deeply envious about his commitment-free status, and each has found someone they find perfect for Robert ("Have I Got a Girl for You"), but Robert is waiting for someone who merges the best features of all his married female friends ("Someone Is Waiting"). Robert meets his three girlfriends in a small park on separate occasions, as Marta sings of the city: crowded, dirty, uncaring, yet somehow wonderful ("Another Hundred People"). Robert first gets to know April, a slow-witted airline flight attendant. Robert then spends time with Kathy. They had dated previously and both admit that they had each secretly considered marrying the other. They laugh at this coincidence before Robert suddenly considers the idea seriously. However, Kathy reveals that she is leaving for Cape Cod with a new fiancé. Finally, Robert meets with Marta; she loves New York, and babbles on about topics both highbrow and lowbrow. Robert is left stunned. The scene turns to the day of Amy and Paul's wedding; they have lived together for years, but are just now getting married. Amy has gotten an overwhelming case of cold feet, and as the upbeat Paul harmonizes rapturously, a panicking Amy breaks the fourth wall and confesses to the audience that she can't go through with it ("Getting Married Today"). Robert, the best man, and Paul watch as Amy complains and self-destructs over every petty thing she can possibly think of, and then finally explicitly calls off the wedding. Paul dejectedly storms out into the rain and Robert tries to comfort Amy, but emotionally winds up offering an impromptu proposal to her himself. His words jolt Amy back into reality, and she runs out after Paul, at last ready to marry him. Before she leaves, Robert tosses Amy's bouquet over to her. She catches it, joyfully exclaiming: “I’m the next bride!” The setting returns to the scene of the birthday party, where Robert is given his cake and tries to blow out the candles again. He wishes for something this time ("Marry Me A Little"). The birthday party scene is reset, and Robert goes to blow out his candles. This time, he gets them about half out, and the couples have to help him with the rest. The couples share their views on Robert – both complimentary and unflattering – with each other as Robert reflects on being the third wheel ("Side By Side By Side"), soon followed by the up-tempo paean to Robert's role as the perfect friend ("What Would We Do Without You?"). In a dance break in the middle of the number, each man, in turn, does a dance step that is answered by his wife. Robert likewise does a step but he has no partner to answer it. Robert brings April to his apartment for a nightcap, after a date. She marvels at how homey his place is, and he casually leads her to the bed, sitting next to her on it and working on getting her into it. She earnestly tells him of an experience from her past, involving the death of a butterfly; he counters with a bizarre remembrance of his own, obviously fabricated and designed to put her in the mood to succumb to his seduction. Meanwhile, the married women worry about Robert's single status and the unsuitable qualities they find in the women he dates ("Poor Baby"). As Robert and April have sex, we hear Robert and April's thoughts, interspersed with music that expresses and mirrors their increasing excitement ("Tick-Tock"). In some productions, including the original Broadway production, this is accompanied by a solo dance by Kathy. The next morning, April rises early, to report for duty aboard a flight to Barcelona. Robert tries to get her to stay, at first wholeheartedly, parrying her apologetic protestations that she cannot with playful begging and insistence. As April continues to reluctantly resist his entreaties, and sleepiness retakes him, Bobby loses conviction, agreeing that she should go; that change apparently gets to her, and she joyfully declares that she will stay, after all. This takes Robert by surprise, and his astonished, plaintive "Oh, God!" is suffused with fear and regret ("Barcelona"). Robert and Marta visit Peter and Susan, and learn that Peter flew to Mexico to get the divorce, but he phoned Susan and she joined him there for a vacation. Though they are divorced, they are still living together, claiming they have too many responsibilities to actually leave each other's lives, and that their relationship has actually been strengthened. Susan takes Marta inside to make lunch, and Peter asks Robert if he has ever had a homosexual experience. They both admit they have, and Peter hints at the possibility that Robert and he could have such an encounter, but Robert uncomfortably laughs off the conversation as a joke. Joanne and Larry take Robert out to a nightclub, where Larry dances, and Joanne and Robert sit watching, getting thoroughly drunk. She blames Robert for always being an outsider, only watching life rather than living it, and also persists in berating Larry. She raises her glass in a mocking toast, passing judgment on various types of rich, middle-aged women wasting their lives away with mostly meaningless activities ("The Ladies Who Lunch"). Her harshest criticism is reserved for those, like herself, who "just watch", and she concludes with the observation that all these ladies are bound together by a terror that comes with the knowledge that "everybody dies". Larry returns from the dance floor, taking Joanne's drunken rant without complaint and explains to Robert that he still loves her dearly. When Larry leaves to pay the check, Joanne bluntly invites Robert to begin an affair with her, assuring him that she will "take care of him". Robert's reply, "But who will I take care of?" seems to surprise even him, and strikes Joanne as a profound breakthrough on his part. Robert insists he has been open to marriages and commitment, but questions "What do you get?" Upon Larry's return, Robert asks again, angrily, "What do you get?" Joanne declares, with some satisfaction, "I just did someone a big favor". She and Larry go home, leaving Robert lost in frustrated contemplation. The couples' recurrent musical motif begins yet again, as they all again invite Robert to "drop by anytime...". Rather than the cheery, indulgent tone he had responded with in earlier scenes, Robert suddenly, desperately, shouts "STOP!" He sings, openly enumerating the many traps and dangers he perceives in marriage. Speaking their disagreements, his friends counter his ideas, one by one, encouraging him to dare to try for love and commitment. Finally, Robert's words change, expressing a desire, increasing in urgency, for loving intimacy, even with all its problems, and the wish to meet someone with whom to face the challenge of living ("Being Alive"). The opening party resets a final time; Robert's friends have waited two hours, with still no sign of him. At last, they all prepare to leave, expressing a new hopefulness about their absent friend's chances for loving fulfillment, and wishing him a happy birthday, wherever he may be, as they leave. Robert then appears alone, smiles, and blows out his candles ("Finale").

Conversation Piece

Musical · 1934

The story is set in Regency Brighton in 1811. Paul, the Duc de Chaucigny-Varennes, an émigré from the terrors of the French Revolution, is passing off Melanie, a beautiful young girl, as his ward – the daughter of an executed friend, the Marquis de Tramont. In fact, Melanie is a dance hall singer. Paul's plan is to marry Melanie to a rich husband such as Edward, Marquis of Sheere, who seeks her hand. The rich Lady Julia Charteris, who is much taken with Paul, encourages Edward's marital plans and tries to woo Paul for herself. But Melanie has long loved Paul, and in a last gamble to turn him away from Lady Julia, she pretends to return to France. Her trick works: Paul realises the depth of his feelings for her and there is a romantic happy ending.

Countess Maritza

Musical · 1924

Count Tassilo works under an assumed name as a bailiff to earn money for his sister Lisa’s dowry. Countess Maritza arrives at her estate to celebrate a fictitious engagement to Baron Koloman Zsupán, but the actual Zsupán appears. Maritza and Tassilo grow attracted to one another, while Zsupán turns his attention to Lisa. After Maritza learns Tassilo’s identity and mistakenly believes Lisa is his lover, she insults him; she later writes a marriage proposal disguised as a reference. The operetta ends with both couples engaged.

Courtin' Time

Musical · 1951

Courtin' Time is a musical adapted by William Roos from Eden Phillpotts's 1916 play The Farmer's Wife, with lyrics and music by Jack Lawrence and Don Walker. Set in the state of Maine in the year 1898, the musical centers around the character of the widower Samuel Rilling who asks his long time housekeeper, Araminta, to aid him in finding a new wife. Araminta herself loves Samuel, but agrees to help him. After several potential candidates all end in failure for a variety of reasons, Rilling discovers that the ideal candidate is in fact Araminta. Courtin' Time premiered on Broadway at the National Theatre on June 13, 1951 in a production directed by Alfred Drake with choreography by George Balanchine. Ralph Alswang was the production's lighting and scenic designer, and Saul Bolasni designed the costumes. The cast was led by Joe E. Brown as Samuel Rilling and Billie Worth as Araminta. Other cast members included Carmen Mathews as Theresa Tapper, Rosemary Kuhlmann as Sadie, and Joseph Sweeney as Mr. Hearn. In mid run the production moved to the Royale Theatre where it closed on July 14, 1951 after 37 performances.

Crazy for You

Musical · 1992

Act 1 Backstage at the Zangler Theater in New York in the 1930s, the last performance of the Zangler Follies is wrapping up for the season, and Tess, the Dance Director, is dodging the advances of the married Bela Zangler. Bobby Child, the rich son of a banking family, is backstage hoping for an audition with Mr. Zangler. Bobby performs "K-ra-zy for You," but fails to impress Zangler, having landed on Zangler's foot during the final flourish of his dance routine. Dejected, Bobby heads outside. Bobby is met by Irene, the wealthy woman to whom he has been engaged for five years, and then by his mother, who demands that Bobby take over her piece of the banking business. Bobby is told to go to Deadrock, Nevada, to foreclose on a rundown theater. As the women argue over him, Bobby imagines himself dancing with the Follies Girls and joins them in a rousing rendition of "I Can't Be Bothered Now." Brought back to reality, Bobby decides to escape to Nevada. When Bobby arrives in Deadrock, it's clear that the gold mining town has seen better days. The men, who are cowboys, sing "Bidin' My Time" in a long, slow drawl. Everett Baker receives a letter from New York warning of the bank foreclosing on the Gaiety Theater. The only woman left in this forlorn town is Everett's daughter, the spunky Polly Baker, who vows to get even with Bobby Child if she ever meets him. Lank Hawkins, proprietor of the town's saloon, argues with Everett, trying to convince Everett to let him buy the theater before the bank takes it. The stubborn old man refuses to give up the theater due to his memories of Polly's mother being the star of all the theater's old shows. Bobby enters the town almost dying of thirst, and falls in love with Polly at first sight, not realizing who she is, and expresses his excitement in "Things Are Looking Up." Lank isn't pleased to see a rival for Polly's affections. Bobby finds himself in quite a bind. If he forecloses on the theater he will lose the girl of his dreams. Inspired, he comes up with the idea of putting on a show to pay off the mortgage. Polly agrees to this plan until she finds out who he is and suspects a trick. Bobby and Polly are both heartbroken, but Bobby decides to put on the show anyway... disguised as Mr. Zangler. Polly, deeply hurt, expresses her loneliness in "Someone to Watch Over Me." A few days later, ten Follies Girls on vacation from The Zangler Follies appear like a mirage in the desert. Bobby has asked them to help stage a spectacular show in Deadrock. When the men of Deadrock see the girls, the sleepy town becomes very lively. Lank Hawkins continues to express extreme dislike for the show, threatening to shoot Bobby. Rehearsals for the show aren't going well and the cowboys in particular are terrible dancers. Bobby changes all that in the course of one rehearsal with the song "Slap That Bass." Spirits are now at a high point. Meanwhile, to Bobby's dismay, Irene arrives, threatening to expose Bobby's charade, and Polly has fallen in love with Bobby's impersonation of Zangler. She expresses her love for Zangler with the song "Embraceable You." Opening night arrives, with everyone's hopes high ("Tonight's the Night!"). Sadly, everyone is disappointed to find that the only people to arrive at the show are Eugene and Patricia Fodor, British tourists writing a guidebook on the American West. What starts out as a disappointment changes into the realization that the show has galvanized the once sleepy town. They celebrate with a spirited rendition of "I Got Rhythm" while the real Zangler stumbles unnoticed into the town, almost dehydrated, and collapses just as the scene ends. Act 2 In Lank's saloon Bobby is professing his love to Polly. Unfortunately, she is still in love with the man who she thinks is Zangler. Bobby is about to convince Polly that he has been impersonating "Zangler" when the real Zangler stumbles into the saloon looking for Tess. Zangler finds Tess, but refuses her request to produce the show. Tess storms off, and Zangler, now drunk after being disgusted by the town, bemoans his fate. Bobby, dressed like Zangler, reels in to drown his sorrow over losing Polly. Drunk and depressed, the two men act as mirror images of each other, and lament their lost loves in "What Causes That." The next morning, Polly sees the two Zanglers and realizes what has happened. She slaps Bobby and leaves in a huff, while the townsfolk prepare for a meeting at the theater to discuss what to do with the show. Irene comes to Bobby in one final attempt to make him go back to New York with her, but Bobby rejects her, and states his love for Polly. Immensely frustrated with Bobby, Irene seduces Lank in "Naughty Baby." The townsfolk are all now gathered at the theater. Bobby is all for trying the show again, while Polly thinks they should abandon the venture. The Fodors counsel the dejected townspeople to keep a "Stiff Upper Lip," which includes a parody of the barricade scene from Les Misérables, but by the end of the song only Polly, Everett, Bobby, and Tess still think the show should continue. Everyone but Bobby and Polly leave the theater. Bobby prepares to leave for New York, professing that his memories of Polly will never fade in "They Can't Take That Away from Me." Polly realizes, too late, that she does love Bobby, and after he leaves, laments her loss in "But Not For Me." Meanwhile, Bela Zangler decides to put on the show as a favor to Tess; the two seem to be in love once more. Although he had been planning to cast Bobby as the lead, he makes Polly the star of the show after learning that Bobby has left for New York. Six weeks later, Bobby is still thinking of Deadrock as he works in his mother's bank. For his birthday, Mrs. Child gives him the Zangler theater (Zangler has used all his money on the show in Deadrock). While initially ecstatic, Bobby realizes that his love for Polly is worth more in "Nice Work if You Can Get It," and leaves with Mrs. Child for Deadrock to pursue Polly. Back in Deadrock, Polly has decided to leave for New York to look for Bobby. She leaves with Custus, one of the cowboys, just before Bobby arrives. After learning that Polly has left to find him, he leaves to "wash up" before driving back to New York to catch her. Bobby's mother and Irene (who is now married to Lank) notice each other and start an argument. Everett notices Mrs. Child, and falls head-over-heels in love with her, as shown in a reprise of "Things Are Looking Up." His affections are reciprocated, and immediately afterward, Polly reenters with Custus. On their way to the train station, his car ran out of gas, and Polly missed the train to New York. Seeing the situation, the townspeople concoct a plan to get Polly and Bobby together, and the two are finally reunited in the "Finale."

Crest of the Wave

Musical · 1937

Crest of the Wave is a musical with book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London, on 1 September 1937, starring Novello as both hero and villain, Dorothy Dickson, Olive Gilbert, Walter Crisham and Edgar Elmes. Directed by Novello's frequent collaborator Leontine Sagan, it ran for 203 performances. The best-known songs from the musical are "Rose of England", "Why isn't it you?", "Haven of your heart" and "If you only knew". The story concerns an impoverished nobleman, The Duke of Cheviot, who is shot by a lover and pursued by the villainous Otto Fresch. The staging featured a spectacular train crash, one of several Novello musicals featuring a spectacular disaster: Glamorous Night has a shipwreck and Careless Rapture depicts an earthquake.

Cry-Baby

Musical · 2007

In Baltimore 1954, the first annual Anti-Polio Picnic and Vaccination Carnival is being overseen by Mrs. Vernon Williams, the president of Baltimore Women’s Club. Baldwin and the Whiffles lead a group called "The Squares" made up of well-behaved teens (“The Anti-Polio Picnic”). Their performance is interrupted by a rival group, "the Drapes", who enjoy terrorising the Squares (“Watch Your A**”). Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker arrives to receive his polio vaccine. Allison, Mrs. Williams' granddaughter is particularly taken by him which unnerves her (“I’m Infected”). Baldwin and the Whiffles perform (“Squeaky Clean”) at the Maidnenhead Country Club for Safety Awareness Day. Cry-Baby and his loyal trio interrupt and he invites Allison to the Jukebox Jamboree, though Mrs Williams forbades this. This deeply upsets Cry-Baby. (“Nobody Gets Me”). Allison questions being a Square and sets off the emergency alarm, sending the everyone into a panic. Amidst the chaos, she sneaks off with Cry-Baby (“Nobody Gets Me – Reprise”). At the Jamboree, Cry-Baby's friends are trying to deter a girl, Lenora, who's obsessed with him. They then give advice to Allison on how to be a bad girl (“A Whole Lot Worse”). Lenora then sings a ballad about her mental health and love of Cry-Baby (“Screw Loose”). Dupree, who's emceeing, introduces Cry-Baby and the Teardrops onto the stage (“Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby (Baby, Baby) Baby”). Afterwards, Allison and Cry-Baby drive to a spot in Turkey Point, where they grow closer (“Girl, Can I Kiss You with Tongue?”). He gifts Allison a gold-plated guitar-pick (“I’m Infected – Reprise”). However, their moment is interrupted by a sudden wildfire. Immediately blaming Cry-Baby, Baldwin has him and the Drapes arrested, where they are put on trial (“You Can’t Beat the System”). The Judge finds them guilty and they are sent off to jail. Lenora claims she is pregnant with Cry-Baby's child which shocks Allison and the courthouse, as he is taken away. At home, Allison longs for Cry-Baby (“Misery, Agony, Helplessness, Hopelessness, Heartache and Woe”). Baldwin informs her that the Whiffles will be performing at a newly built theme park to celebrate the Fourth of July, to which she hesitantly agrees to sing. Her grandmother finds her crying and comforts her (“Misery, Agony, Helplessness, Hopelessness, Heartache and Woe – Reprise”). At a jewellery store, Baldwin and Lenora bond over their dislike of each others respective love interests as they shop for wedding rings (“All in My Head”). Dupree, now imprisoned, works on the farm creating license plate presses (“Jailyard Jubilee”). Cry-Baby hears Baldwin and Allison get engaged over the radio and becomes enraged. Dupree attempts to calm him down but he starts a riot (“A Little Upset”). During the uproar, Cry-Baby escapes, heading straight for Allison. He turns up at her house and her Mrs. Williams helps him avoid the police. She overhears Baldwin admitting to the Whiffles that he framed Cry-Baby for the arson at Turkey Point (“I Did Something Wrong Once”). She settles on doing the right thing. At the Star-Spangled Funland, the Whiffles, with Allison, perform (“Thanks for the Nifty Country”). After exposing Baldwin's confession, the Judge, Mrs. Williams and a newly exonerated Cry-Baby arrive at the theme park. Judge Stone sentences Baldwin, the true culprit to hard time in prison. Still vying for Allison, Baldwin challenges Cry-Baby to a musical battle for her heart (“This Amazing Offer”). Cry-Baby wins (“Do That Again”). Lenora, not actually pregnant, arrives with his "baby", a teddy bear, and states that she now loves Baldwin instead. Mrs. Williams, now accepting of Cry-Baby and Allison's relationship, asks him to be a part of their family. (“Nothing Bad’s Ever Gonna Happen Again”).

Curtains

Musical · 2006

In 1959, a new musical called "Robbin' Hood!", a western version of Robin Hood, is in the midst of its preview performances at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. During the closing number of one of the performances, Madame Marian, played by faded film star diva Jessica Cranshaw, looks on as Rob Hood, played by Bobby Pepper, wins a sharp-shooting contest and proposes to Miss Nancy, a schoolmarm, played by Niki Harris. The cast then sings the finale of the show, during which it is clear that Jessica can neither sing, dance, nor act ("Wide Open Spaces"). She takes her bow and, after receiving two bouquets, collapses behind the curtain. Later that night, Carmen Bernstein, the show's hard-bitten co-producer, divorced songwriting team Aaron Fox and Georgia Hendricks, and the show's financial backer, Oscar Shapiro, read the reviews, most of which are terrible, especially the Boston Globe's, which is the review they needed to make it to Broadway. The group wonders how anyone could be so heartless to become a critic ("What Kind of Man?"). The show's flamboyant English director, Christopher Belling, arrives, and says that he had an epiphany about how to fix the show after walking into a church. Just then, stage manager Johnny Harmon tells Carmen that there is a phone call for her. Carmen suspects that it's her philandering husband, Sidney Bernstein, the show's theatrical promoter. Meanwhile, Aaron argues with Georgia about the reason she joined the show, as he believes that she only wanted to rekindle a romance with the show's leading man, Bobby. Belling asks Georgia to sing Madame Marian's opening number. Everyone is pessimistic, but she does so spectacularly, and it is clear that she is thinking about her failed marriage with Aaron. Aaron begins to sing with her, but Bobby cuts him off and they finish the number together ("Thinking of Him"). Belling then announces his plan: they are going to replace Jessica. Niki, the actress who plays Miss Nancy, steps forward and says she would feel terrible taking over, but Belling goes on to say that he is actually casting Georgia as Madame Marian. Bambi Bernét, the show's featured dancer, steps forward and says that Niki should get the role, but Belling sees right through her: Bambi is Niki's understudy, meaning if Niki got the lead, she'd get to play Miss Nancy. Georgia is cast, in spite of Aaron's disapproval. Carmen then enters and tells everyone that it was the hospital that had called and confirms that Jessica has died. The cast performs a brief ceremony, and it is clear that no one is sorry to see their leading lady die ("The Woman's Dead"). Lieutenant Frank Cioffi of the Boston Police Department then arrives to announce that he is there to investigate foul play in Jessica's death, as he reveals her death was caused by cyanide poisoning. Cioffi tells Belling to finish up his cast meeting before Cioffi begins questioning. The ensemble tries to leave, saying that they want to quit the show, but Carmen tries to convince them that the show must go on, though various members of the cast stand up to her, including Bambi, who is actually named Elaine and is in fact Carmen's daughter. Cioffi, an amateur performer himself, enthusiastically convinces them to do the show, and helps them realize how lucky they are to be actors and actresses ("Show People"). Thanks to the newfound energy and commitment, Carmen decides to treat everyone to a drink at the local bar. However, since Jessica was poisoned in the last ten minutes of the show and never left the stage thereafter, Cioffi believes that she must have been murdered by a member of the company, and he enforces a lockdown on the building and will not let anyone leave. Sidney, Carmen's husband, then arrives after flying in from New York, and Cioffi begins to suspect him, although Sidney claims to have been with a certain woman whose name he refuses to give. Cioffi is left alone with the winsome Niki, who is now the understudy for Georgia. The lieutenant is struck by Niki's charm and confides in her about his investigation and his lonely life, as he feels as if he's married to his job ("Coffee Shop Nights"). She seems to return his affection, so he hopes she is not the murderer. The next day, Georgia attempts to learn a dance from the show, but is failing miserably despite Bobby's constant belief in her. Daryl Grady, the critic who wrote the terrible review for the Boston Globe, arrives at the theatre. Cioffi asks him how he got inside and Daryl points out that, as a member of the press, he's exempt from the building's quarantine. It is revealed that Carmen and Sidney called him in to request a re-review the show with Georgia as the new lead, and Daryl agrees to re-review the show, the following night, to which they reluctantly agree. In his original review, Daryl only praised the choreography and Niki's performance. Niki tries to thank Daryl for his kind words about her, however he tells her that he does not associate with the artists he reviews, and leaves after having a brief argument with Cioffi about his previous review. Bobby, Belling, and Georgia enter, enraged with the fact that they have so little time to prepare for a review. Belling works to re-stage a difficult production number, featuring Niki, Georgia and Bambi ("In the Same Boat #1"). Cioffi suggests that the song needs to be rewritten, and he is left alone with Aaron, who shows Cioffi the process for composing a song. After he lets it slip that he misses Georgia, Aaron confesses that he still loves her and would like to reconcile ("I Miss the Music"). Georgia and the cast then hold a dress rehearsal of the big saloon hall number ("Thataway!"). Georgia pulls it off spectacularly and everyone finally believes they have a shot of putting on a great show. Cioffi and tells the cast that he has figured out that Sidney has been blackmailing every member of the show into working for him. Belling then interrupts and requests to re-work the ending pose of the song. While the curtain is closing, Sidney Bernstein is simultaneously rung up, with the curtain rope tied around his neck. Sasha, the conductor, turns to the audience to reveal that Sidney's hanging was fatal ("The Man is Dead"). A makeshift dormitory has been set up on the stage of the still-sequestered Colonial Theatre. Each member of the company grows more paranoid by the hour, and often suspects the others during various periods of the night ("He Did It"). Cioffi returns from the coroner's office and tells everyone that Sidney was knocked out before being tied to the rope, so everyone is still a suspect, but his focus is more on whether the show will be ready for its re-opening. Niki then finds a death threat for Sidney, stating he will die unless he closes the show. Oscar reveals Sidney died for nothing as he was going to comply, going so far as to giving back last checks he made out. Carmen takes them back, saying she is going to keep the show open. Aaron previews his new version of "In the Same Boat", now featuring Bobby, Randy, and Harv ("In the Same Boat #2"), though Cioffi is still unsatisfied with the product. Bambi asks that a pas de deux be added for herself and Bobby during the show's square dance number. Carmen agrees, but she insist that she is no stage mother, as her duty has always been to the box office ("It's a Business"). Daryl Grady then comes in and tells everyone that he's taking interviews from the cast in the Green Room. At the rehearsal of the re-staged square dance number, Bambi and Bobby are doing incredibly well, and everyone is impressed, however, towards the end of the number, Bobby is shot, and left wounded in the arm ("Kansasland"). Through use of angles, Cioffi is quick to figure out that Carmen was actually the target of the shot, not Bobby. Niki comes forward with the gun, and the company immediately jumps to the conclusion that she is guilty ("She Did It (Reprise)"). She says that she innocently found the gun backstage and hands it over, albeit after she accidentally pulls the trigger and almost kills Cioffi. Cioffi gathers Aaron, Georgia, and Bobby and tells them that Sidney had no blackmail material on them, and yet they were still content working for such low pay. Georgia then quotes a death threat which Cioffi had not read out loud, leading Cioffi to arrest her when Aaron attempts to takes the blame for her, reviving their romance ("Thinking of Him/I Miss the Music (Reprise)"). Cioffi reveals that it was all an act, and that Bobby had only been pretending to be Georgia's boyfriend so that she could stir something back up in Aaron. She leaves, and Bobby confesses that he does love Georgia, and that he would do anything for her, even commit murder. Niki laments how love makes people feel bad, but Cioffi begins flirting with her and reminisces about the first time he saw her on stage, leading them into an elaborate fantasy sequence, in which they daydream about being a couple in a musical ("A Tough Act to Follow"). He then confronts Niki about a coded memo in Sidney's blackmail book, as there was a black zero next to her name. Johnny tells Cioffi that he knows the secret, but refuses to tell Cioffi what it is. He is then shot while alone onstage. He tears out a page from his notebook reading "Drop in Planet Earth", and then bleeds out ("In the Same Boat #3"). Cioffi takes Niki and Belling up to the theatre's catwalk high above the stage. While searching for messages on the back of the drops, he announces that he's solved the mystery. Left alone, he is hit with a sandbag and is sent tumbling down. He narrowly escapes death by clutching onto a prop, which lowers him to safety. When on the ground, he exclaims that he has solved it... he finally knows how to stage "In the Same Boat". Putting together all three versions, the cast is able to sing an incredible, show stopping number ("In The Same Boat- Complete").

Cyrano

Musical · 1992

Cyrano: The Musical is a musical with music by Ad van Dijk, an original book and lyrics (in Dutch) by Koen van Dijk. For the Broadway production, English lyrics were provided by Peter Reeves, with additional lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Produced by Joop van den Ende, the original Dutch production Cyrano de Musical premiered in 1992 at the Stadsschouwburg (City Theatre) in Amsterdam. It is based on Edmond Rostand's classic 1897 play of the same name focusing on a love triangle involving the large-nosed poetic Cyrano de Bergerac, his beautiful cousin Roxane, and his classically handsome but inarticulate friend Christian de Neuvillette who, unaware of Cyrano's unrequited passion for Roxane, imposes upon him to provide the romantic words he can use to woo her successfully in mid-17th century Paris. After 38 previews, the Broadway production, directed by Eddy Habbema, opened on November 21, 1993, at the Neil Simon Theatre, where it ran for 137 performances. The cast included Bill van Dijk as Cyrano, Anne Runolfsson as Roxane, and Paul Anthony Stewart as Christian, with James Barbour and Jeff Gardner in supporting roles. Timothy Nolen played Comte de Guiche and later took over the role of Cyrano. Robert Guillaume also took over the title role during the run. The production garnered Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Costume Design. In addition to the Netherlands and the United States, the musical has been produced in Belgium, Germany, and Japan. Despite the show's critical success, no Broadway recording was ever produced.

Daddy Cool

Musical · 2006

Act I Sunny lives on the islands with his Grandma Ella, who receives a letter from Sunny's mother Pearl in England, telling them that she wants him home. Young Sunny is hostile towards her at first, and begins to feel the music, bursting into song during church. Years later, Sunny is part of the Subsonics, a music crew led by Shake. At a recording session with Rasputin, they run into The Blades, another music crew, led by Benny Baker, Ma Baker's son. Later at a launch party for Asia Blue, Benny's girlfriend, Sunny and Rose meet. When Ma Baker finds out her daughter is seeing Sunny, she goes to visit him, and gives him a coat once owned by his father, Johnny Cool. Upon asking his mother about it, Pearl explains how Ma Baker was Johnny's dance partner—and took her away from her when she was pregnant with him. Act II After a music battle between the Subsonics and the Blades, Shake is shot by Benny, but when Sunny gets the opportunity to get payback, he does not take it, instantly being disowned by the Subsonics, and subsequently breaking up with Rose. Rasputin tells him to make it up with Rose, but he is arrested, accused of shooting Shake, as Benny and Ma have set him up. As the Notting Hill Carnival takes place, Shake, Rose, Asia, and Sunny appear. It is revealed that someone has given evidence against Benny over the shooting—Benny's best friend, Naz.

Daddy Long Legs

Musical · 2009

Note: While relatively retaining elements from Webster's book, some details have been changed, added, or removed (e.g.: In the book, Jerusha changes her name to Judy, whereas in the stage musical, she does not). The current synopsis reflects the current Off-Broadway production. In an orphanage called the John Grier Home, Jerusha Abbott calls the first Monday of every month a "perfectly awful day" due to orphanage's trustees' monthly visit and how she bears the load of the preparations. After the visit, Mrs. Lippett, the home's matron, calls for Jerusha in her office. On her way there, she glimpses one of the Trustee's long, spindly, and spidery shadow cast by the headlights of his awaiting car ("The Oldest Orphan in the John Grier Home"). Mrs. Lippett hands her a letter from the Trustee she just saw leaving the home. Impressed by her amusing satirical essays about life at the orphanage, he devised a nine-point plan for her further education. The Trustee will be sending her to a local college with all expenses paid, with the intention that she educate herself to become a writer. The only condition is that Jerusha must write to him reporting her progress and impressions of the college, and that he will remain anonymous, only to be addressed as "Mr. Smith". Her letters will never be answered, nor take the slightest attention to them ("Who Is This Man?"). Jerusha arrives at the college, and begins to pen her first letter. She complains regarding her benefactor's alias: "Why couldn't you have picked out a name with a little personality?" After musing over what she'll call her mysterious benefactor, she finally decides on "Daddy Long Legs" due to his tall figure and she imagining him to be old and gray ("Mr. Girl Hater"). In his study in Manhattan, young philanthropist Jervis Pendleton, Jerusha's benefactor, is amused and puzzled over her first letter ("She Thinks I'm Old"). Jerusha writes about her lessons from her freshman year classes ("Freshman Year Studies"), and describes her anxiety over trying to fit in with the other girls at her college due to her upbringing in an orphanage ("Like Other Girls"). She then writes about her embarrassment at her lack of education and her excitement about learning ("Things I Didn't Know"). During the Christmas vacation, Jerusha stays behind in the college to catch up on her reading, and sends her love to Daddy Long Legs in her loneliness. The shy and awkward Jervis finds her affection-filled letters disconcerting ("What Does She Mean By Love?"). Jerusha flunks two of her first exams and is mortified. She becomes ill and writes angrily to Daddy Long Legs, accusing him of not caring for her and simply supporting her merely out of charity. Moved by this, Jervis sends her a bouquet of flowers, and Jerusha is penitent ("I'm A Beast"). Enthralled by her letters, Jervis arranges to meet his young beneficiary, under the pretence that he is meeting his niece Julia, who happens to be Jerusha's least favorite friend ("When Shall We Meet?"). After meeting Jervis, Jerusha is immediately drawn to him: "He's a real human being, not a Pendleton after all... he looked at me as if he really knew me, almost better than I know myself." Despite this, Jerusha becomes more and more curious regarding her old and gray Daddy Long Legs ("The Color of Your Eyes"). The summer arrives, and Jerusha begs Daddy Long Legs not to send her back to the John Grier Home, as she has nowhere to go to. Jervis, adopting another guise as a "secretary" to Mr. Smith, sends her to Lock Willow Farm, where she explores her talent as a writer. Jerusha then proclaims that she finally knows what the secret of happiness is, and that is to live in the now ("The Secret of Happiness"). She also stumbles upon a connection between Jervis Pendleton and Lock Willow Farm, yet doesn't connect this information to her Daddy Long Legs. Jerusha expresses her longing to finally see her Daddy Long Legs, while Jervis becomes increasingly frustrated on whether he should reveal himself as her benefactor or not, realizing he is falling in love with her ("The Color of Your Eyes (Reprise)"). Upon returning to the college for her sophomore year, Jerusha continues her studies and her writing, as well as become socially involved with the family of her friend Sallie McBride ("Sophomore Year Studies"). Jervis, upon reading of Jerusha's attachment to Sallie's attractive brother Jimmy, realizes that he is already falling for her. He then invites Jerusha, Julia, and Sallie for a long cultural weekend ("My Manhattan"). The summer arrives again, and Jerusha asks for permission to spend her vacation at the McBrides' country home on the Adirondacks. Jervis, through his secretarial alias, insists that she spend the summer at Lock Willow Farm instead due to his fear of Jerusha falling in love with Jimmy. Feeling alone and trapped, Jerusha writes an angry letter in response to his domineering nature and finds it hard to forgive Mr. Smith ("I Couldn't Know Someone Less"). Jervis struggles to finally reveal himself to Jerusha as her Daddy Long Legs and subsequently confess his feelings. He thinks that Jerusha will never forgive him if he comes clean regarding his true identity ("The Man I'll Never Be"). Jervis visits Jerusha in Lock Willow, the farm where he grew up as a boy. The couple enjoy the countryside together and find themselves growing more and more attached to one another ("The Secret of Happiness (Reprise)"). Jerusha receives an invitation from Sallie to join her family at Camp McBride, and another from Jervis to meet him at Lock Willow. Despite Mr. Smith's warnings, Jerusha proceeds to Camp McBride due to some negative remarks she received from Jervis when he found out she turned down an invitation to Paris from Julia, to work as a teacher in French and algebra to support herself. Jervis then contemplates his controlling nature, both as Jervis and as Mr. Smith ("Humble Pie"). After four years, Jerusha completes her studies and invites Mr. Smith to her graduation ceremony to finally meet him. Jervis does attend the ceremony as Julia's guest, but does not reveal himself to the bitterly disappointed Jerusha ("Graduation Day"). Back in his Manhattan study, Jervis reflects on the concept of charity and its effects on both the benefactor and the beneficiary, and how Jerusha became a recurring character in his life ("Charity"). In Lock Willow, Jerusha writes to Mr. Smith that she will never think of him again after his no-show at her graduation ceremony ("I Have Torn You From My Heart"). After a few months, she writes that her first novel has been accepted by a publisher, and enclosed a check of $1000 as a first installment of her repayment of her college fees. She then tells him that she will continue to repay her debt to him, and all future royalties will proceed to the John Grier Home, making her a trustee and therefore, meeting him at last. Jervis is overwhelmed by this gesture and overjoyed at her success as a writer ("My Manhattan (Reprise)"). Jervis visits Jerusha in Lock Willow to ask her hand in marriage. Unable to tell him of her origins, she turns him down, thinking that he and his family might feel indifferent towards her when she does tell him. In her final letter, Jerusha declares her love for Jervis, and appeals for a personal meeting with Mr. Smith. Jervis, writing as Mr. Smith, agrees to meet her. Jerusha finally arrives at their meeting place, and is surprised to see Jervis, whom she initially and skeptically assumes to be Mr. Smith's secretary. Jervis finally reveals to her that he is Mr. Smith or Daddy Long Legs. Distressed over this revelation, as well as realising that he has read her private letters about him, Jerusha accuses him of playing with her feelings and the mere fact that he didn't even write back over the course of four years, which Jervis acquiesces to ("I'm A Beast (Reprise)"). At last, he declares his love for Jerusha, which she reciprocates. Jerusha finally understands the grand scheme of things that led her to where she is now ("All This Time").

Dames at Sea

Musical · 1966

In the early 1930s, a Broadway musical is in rehearsal. Mona Kent is its temperamental diva star, Joan a wise-cracking chorus girl, and Hennesy the producer/manager/director. The naive Ruby arrives from Utah, with "nothing but tap shoes in her suitcase and a prayer in her heart", determined to be a Broadway star. She promptly faints into the arms of Dick, a sailor and aspiring songwriter ("It's You"). Ruby gets a job in the chorus, but Hennesy informs the cast that the theater must be torn down, and they must find another place, which turns out to be a ship, for the show. Joan and Lucky, another sailor and her former boyfriend, renew their romance ("Choo-Choo Honeymoon") while Ruby admits her feelings for Dick ("The Sailor of My Dreams"). Dick and Lucky persuade their Captain to volunteer the use of their ship ("Dames at Sea"). Mona recognizes the Captain as a former boyfriend ("The Beguine"). When Mona kisses Dick, to persuade him to give her one of his songs, Ruby notices and becomes despondent ("Raining In My Heart"). Dick explains the misunderstanding and the couple make up ("There's Something About You"). While rehearsing on the actual ship, Mona becomes seasick ("The Echo Waltz"); Ruby steps in to save the show and becomes a star ("Star Tar"). The three couples decide to marry ("Let's Have A Simple Wedding"). John Wilson in The New York Times pointed out that the music is a mixture of parody, such as the torch song "That Mister Man", pastiche ("Raining in My Heart"), and the real thing. Wilson wrote that "The pastiche songs, built around phrases borrowed from or close to actual songs of the genre, usually project an appealing period flavor." The joke was that, while spoofing the large, lavish movie musicals, Dames at Sea did it with a cast of six, two pianos and percussion, and a tiny stage. In the 2015 Broadway production, director Randy Skinner noted that this was "the first time in New York that 'Dames at Sea' will be heard with an orchestra, and the show will have more dancing than ever before with all new dance and vocal arrangements by Rob Berman". This production opened with movie credits projected onto a screen, reproducing exactly the font used by Warner Bros. in the early 1930s. Skinner received a 2016 Tony Award nomination for his choreography.

Das Dreimäderlhaus

Musical · 1916

In the spring of 1826, Schubert, a poor young composer, has quarters in an old Viennese house together with two friends. The three daughters of Christian Tschöll, the court glass maker, visit the three friends. Two of the girls are in love with Schubert's roommates, and the third, Hannerl, is chaperoning her sisters. More of Schubert's friends come to visit. The father arrives in search of his daughters. Schubert's two roommates drink with Tschöll in their courtyard, underneath a Lilac tree, and he agrees to their engagements with his daughters. Schubert takes on Hannerl as his singing pupil, and although the two fall in love, they are each too shy to reveal their feelings. A couple of months later, the first two daughters are marrying their fiancés at Tschöll's house, and the three roommates are all guests at the wedding. Actress Giuditta Grisi, the mistress of Baron Franz Schober, one of Schubert's friends, arrives. She is jealous and believes that he must be cheating on her. She assumes that Hannerl is the other woman and warns her to stay away from her man. Schubert, still unable to tell Hannerl that he loves her, instead asks Schober to sing a song that he has written for her ("Ungeduld"). Hannerl misunderstands Grisi's warning, believing it to be about Schubert rather than Schober. She turns away from the composer and falls in love with Schober. In the Prater the following morning, everyone assembles. Eventually, Schubert ends up alone, disappointed, but consoled by Hannerl's happiness and by his music.

Das Spitzentuch der Königin

Musical · 1880

In 1580, Cervantes mocks Count Villalobos in a song and is arrested, but the King releases him because the Queen admires his writing. The Queen sends Cervantes a lace handkerchief confessing her love; Villalobos finds it, and the King sends his wife to a convent. Cervantes and his friends disguise themselves as thieves and bring the Queen back. Disguised as a servant, she serves the King his favorite dish, and Cervantes tells a story that reconciles the couple.

Days of Wine and Roses

Musical · 2023

The following is taken from the Days of Wine and Roses CD pamphlet Joe Clay, public relations man and Korean War Veteran, meets lovely secretary Kirsten Arnesen, daughter of Norwegian immigrant farmers, at an office party (“Magic Time”). He’s buzzed. She’s first bemused, then game. Part of what drives their click (“The Story of the Atlantic Cable”) is that Joe introduces Kirsten to alcohol. A farm girl from a chilly upbringing intrigued by her new life in the city, she takes to drink immediately (“There Go I”) and she and Joe connect exuberantly through it (“Evanesce”). They marry. And during her pregnancy and the early months with their daughter, Lila, Kirsten is happy and sober (“Sammen i Himmelin”). Kirsten only abstains briefly, though, before joining Joe in the bottle (“As the Water Loves the Stone”). Joe’s drinking gets him demoted to an account in Houston, away from his family. Both keep drinking alone, nevertheless (“Are You Blue?”), and one night Kirsten, taking care of Lila alone (“Underdeath”), passes out with a lit cigarette and nearly burns down their apartment building. Joe and Kirsten quit drinking and move in with Kirsten’s austere father on the farm where she had grown up, relieved to be healthy again (“First Breath”). But Joe has smuggled in alcohol, with a spare bottle hidden in Arneson’s greenhouse, ending up in a drunk ward (“435”). They now move back to the city, and Joe begins working with Jim Hungerford, his sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous (“Forgiveness”). But that night on her father’s farm, Kirsten had also begun to drink again, and her morning-after take on the matter is different from Joe’s. The only happiness she has known are the early years of their marriage, which included drinking. Joe’s association with A. A. feels like a shaming (“Morton Salt Girl”). She leaves on an open-ended bender, hoping but struggling to rejoin being a mother to Lila, as Lila hopes for her mother’s return (“The Letters”). Kirsten manages to put together five days without alcohol (“Forgiveness (Reprise)”). Joe and Lila nurse a wan hope that Kirsten will eventually rejoin them (“Lila Hangs the Moon”), but the best Kirsten can do is stop by briefly to leave Lila a present (“There Go I (Reprise)”). “The world looks so dirty to me when I’m not drinking,” she pleads – and with this ends the story of Kirsten and Joe.

Dear Evan Hansen

Musical · 2015

Evan Hansen, a 17-year-old high school senior in Maryland with social anxiety and depression, is assigned by his therapist to write letters to himself detailing what will be good about each day, starting each with "Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day, and here's why". Evan's overworked mother, Heidi, suggests that Evan, having fallen out of a tree and broken his arm, ask people to sign his cast to make friends. Meanwhile, Cynthia and Larry Murphy struggle to connect with their own 17-year-old son, Connor, a sullen and equally depressed drug abuser who is abusive to his younger sister, Zoe ("Anybody Have a Map?"). At school, Evan meets compulsively-overachieving classmate Alana Beck and his reluctant "family friend" Jared Kleinman, both of whom neglect to sign his cast. Evan runs into Connor, who misinterprets his awkwardness for hostility and pushes him to the ground. Zoe, with whom Evan is infatuated, feels obliged to apologize for her brother's behavior. Evan wonders if his destiny in life is to always be ignored ("Waving Through a Window"). Evan writes the letter to himself in the school library, wondering how he could talk to Zoe and if anyone at school would notice if he disappeared ("Waving Through a Window" [Reprise #1]). Connor bumps into Evan again, this time ironically offering to sign Evan's cast. He finds Evan's letter on the printer and, thinking that Evan intentionally made the letter so Connor would find it, becomes furious and storms out, taking the letter with him. Meanwhile, Alana ponders her own inner anxieties ("Waving Through a Window" [Reprise #2]). A few days later, Evan is called to the principal's office, where Connor's parents tell him that their son has died by suicide. They found Evan's letter in Connor's pocket, and mistakenly believe it is a suicide note Connor wrote to Evan. Despite Evan's fumbling attempts to explain the truth, the Murphys believe the two boys had a close friendship and invite Evan to their house for dinner. There, Evan tells them what he thinks they want to hear to avoid discomfort, pretending that he and Connor had secretly been best friends, and recounting a fictional version of the day he broke his arm at an abandoned apple orchard the family had visited years ago ("For Forever"). Evan enlists Jared's help in creating fake, backdated email conversations between him and Connor ("Sincerely, Me"). After Evan shows the Murphys the fake emails, Cynthia is ecstatic to "learn" that her son had a friend, but Larry is hurt, believing Connor took his family and his privileged life for granted, and Zoe still refuses to mourn Connor because of how he abused her ("Requiem"). However, after reading the "suicide note", Zoe notices that she is mentioned fondly and asks Evan why Connor would say that about her, so he tells her all the reasons he likes her under the guise of Connor saying them ("If I Could Tell Her"). Evan impulsively tries to kiss Zoe, but she pulls away. Disgusted by the idea of Connor being forgotten, and motivated by Alana and a vision of Connor, Evan enlists Alana and Jared's help in founding "The Connor Project" to keep Connor's memory alive, which the Murphys eagerly encourage ("Disappear"). While making a speech at a school assembly for Connor, Evan suffers from a panic attack but composes himself, and the speech goes viral online; Zoe, overcome by the impact her brother and Evan have had, kisses him ("You Will Be Found"). Evan and Alana pitch a fundraising campaign on The Connor Project's website, to raise $50,000 to restore the abandoned apple orchard. Meanwhile, Jared continues to help Evan write fabricated emails, narrowly avoiding a fabricated incest subplot from Jared ("Sincerely Me" [Reprise]). After Heidi learns about Evan's speech about Connor online, she asks him why she never knew about this or the "friendship", and they get into a fight. Evan runs to the Murphys' house, where he bonds with Larry, who offers Evan Connor's old, unused baseball glove ("To Break In a Glove"). While on a date in his house, Evan offhandedly mentions that Heidi is struggling for funds to pay for his college ("Only Us"). Evan becomes preoccupied with Zoe and neglects Heidi, Jared, and The Connor Project. On one of his many visits to the Murphys, Evan finds Zoe invited Heidi for dinner. The Murphys reveal they want to give Connor's college fund to Evan, offending Heidi that Evan would discuss her money troubles with others. At home, Heidi and Evan fight, with Evan telling her he has found family in her absence. Heidi, Alana, and Jared converge in Evan's conscience, compounding his guilt and doubt over his decisions ("Good for You"). Evan debates with the vision of Connor about whether he should tell the truth, where it’s revealed that Evan intentionally fell from the tree in his own suicide attempt ("For Forever" [Reprise]). Alana has become suspicious about Evan's "friendship" with Connor, so Evan shows her Connor's "suicide note" to try and prove it. Realizing that the letter is the key to fulfilling the fundraising goal for The Connor Project, Alana posts it online without Evan’s consent. This also goes viral and achieves the goal, but the public begins to blame Connor's wealthy, previously dysfunctional family for his suicide ("You Will Be Found" [Reprise]), making them the targets of harassment. Evan walks in on the Murphys fighting among themselves about the blame and finally admits to them his fabrication; as the Murphys leave in disgust, Evan absorbs his perceived brokenness as inescapable ("Words Fail"). Heidi recognizes the "suicide note" online as one of Evan's therapy assignments and apologizes to him for not seeing how badly he has been hurting. She recalls the day his father moved out and promises that she will always be there for him when he needs her ("So Big/So Small"). A year later, Evan is still living with his mother, working at a store to earn enough money for college the next semester. Zoe invites him to meet her at the orchard, which has been reopened. He apologizes for the pain he caused and Zoe forgives him, saying the ordeal brought her family closer together. After they part ways, Evan mentally writes himself one last letter reflecting on the impact he has had on his community and questions what is to come next ("Finale").

Dear World

Musical · 1969

A corporation has discovered oil under the streets of Paris, directly under a bistro. The Countess Aurelia (known as The Madwoman of Chaillot) lives in the bistro's basement, driven mad because of a lost lover and reminiscing about her past. When the corporation decides to blow up the bistro to get the oil, a young executive, Julian, helps to foil the plan because he has fallen in love with Nina, the bistro's waitress. Aurelia lures the corporation executives to the underground in the sewer system.

Dearest Enemy

Musical · 1925

Dearest Enemy is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. This was the first of eight book musicals written by the songwriting team of Rodgers and Hart and writer Herbert Fields, and the first of more than two dozen Rodgers and Hart Broadway musicals. The musical takes place in 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, when Mary Lindley Murray detained British troops long enough in Manhattan to give George Washington time to move his vulnerable troops.

Death Becomes Her

Musical · 2024

The show opens with Viola Van Horn and her group of immortals sharing "a secret you would die for" by offering the audience a magic potion that grants eternal beauty and perfection ("If You Want Perfection"). Vain and self-absorbed actress Madeline Ashton performs in the Broadway show Me! Me! Me! ("For the Gaze"). She is visited by her old friend and struggling writer Helen Sharp, whom she frequently belittles and insults for her own amusement. However, Helen has one-upped Madeline by revealing she is engaged to famed plastic surgeon, Ernest Menville, and relishes the opportunity to get back at her frenemy ("That Was Then, This is Now"). Madeline invites the two over to her home, where she seduces Ernest ("Tell Me, Ernest"), steals him from Helen and ends up marrying him ("Madeline Ashton's Intimate Wedding Extravaganza"), with Ernest promising during the wedding to stay "til death do us part" ("Ernest's Real Vows"). Helen has a psychotic break and is forcibly committed to a mental hospital, where she obsesses over killing Madeline ("Madeline"). Ten years later, Madeline and Ernest remain unhappily married. Madeline has begun to age visibly, costing her acting jobs ("(I See) Me!"), while Ernest copes with his regrets by drinking ("Til Death"). The couple are invited to the publication of Helen's debut novel, and upon arrival, Madeline is given Viola Van Horn’s business card by a mysterious waiter named Chagall. Helen appears, having become mysteriously young, successful, and beautiful. She further humiliates Madeline by mocking her age and her recent embarrassing film roles, and openly flirts with Ernest ("Tell Me, Ernest (Reprise)"). Madeline has a panic attack in the parking lot and vows not to let her career and image "fall apart" before she visits Viola at her home ("Falling Apart"). Viola offers Madeline the potion on the condition that she vanish from the public eye after ten years to keep its existence a secret. She takes the potion, becoming young and beautiful again. Viola leaves Madeline with a warning: "take care of your body" ("Siempre Viva"). Back at Ernest and Madeline's home, Helen breaks in and rekindles her relationship with Ernest, and the two plan to run away together by murdering Madeline ("Let's Run Away Together"). Upon Madeline's return, she and Helen get into a fight, which results in Madeline falling down the stairs and breaking her neck. As Helen devises a new plan to report the death as an accident, Madeline suddenly reanimates, accusing Helen of pushing her intentionally. As they stare at Madeline, seemingly alive but with a twisted neck, Viola appears onstage and taunts that she has "a secret you would die for" ("Confrontation"). Ernest and Helen frantically drive Madeline to the hospital, where it is confirmed that she is clinically dead, yet still alive. The sequence is intercut with Viola appearing on the stage, addressing the audience and admonishing Madeline for ignoring her warning ("Don't Say I Didn't (Warn You)"). Returning home, Madeline realizes Helen has taken the potion as well and shoots her with a shotgun, leaving a massive hole in her torso. Their bickering leads to further violence and more injuries: Helen is impaled by an umbrella, and Madeline is decapitated before Ernest stops them ("Hit Me"). The two women coerce Ernest to use his surgical skills to repair their bodies, and he agrees on the condition that he be allowed to leave afterward. Drunk and delirious, Ernest plans to fix them with glue, clay, and spray paint ("The Plan"). He also fires Stefan, Madeline's long-suffering assistant, to prevent him from discovering their immortality ("Stefan's Turn"). Madeline and Helen realize they'll need Ernest for maintenance and plot to drug him and have him drink the potion so he can become immortal too. After knocking Ernest out, they take him to Viola's, where she is hosting a ball with the other immortals ("Live to Serve"). Ernest awakens, and Viola tempts him with the potion, but he refuses and escapes ("Siempre Viva (Reprise)" / "The Chase"). Madeline and Helen chase Ernest to the roof, and when he declares that he would rather die than have to spend eternity with them, Viola pushes him off to his apparent death ("Til Death (Reprise)"). Helen despondently realizes she's doomed to outlive all of her friends and family and be alone forever. Madeline, finally apologizing for her actions, tells her that they can fix one another and can be each other's "person" ("Alive Forever"). The two drop their rivalry, embrace, and head home. Fifty years later, while visiting their own gravesites, Madeline and Helen run into an elderly Ernest, who had survived the fall, fell in love with his nurse, married her, and had children and grandchildren ("Fifty Years Later"). As Ernest and his wife leave, Helen and Madeline momentarily lament that they will never have an "ending" of their own before exiting the cemetery together, while Viola suddenly appears once more and taunts the audience to "[not] say [she] didn't warn [them]" ("The End").

Desperate Measures

Musical · 2004

Act I Johnny Blood, a hotheaded young cowboy, killed a man in a bar fight for a saloon girl Bella Rose, and is sentenced to death (“The Ballad of Johnny Blood”). Knowing that Johnny killed in self-defense, the sheriff decides to ask Johnny's sister Susanna, a novice nun – Sister Mary Jo, to plead with the governor for Johnny's life (“That’s Just How It Is”). The governor, who sees strict law and order as his political legacy (“Some Day They Will Thank Me”), ignores her pleas (“Look in Your Heart”), but suggests exchanging Susanna's chastity for Johnny's freedom. Seeing the dilemma Susanna faces, Johnny argues “It’s Good to Be Alive”. The sheriff suggests a plan to switch Susanna with a saloon girl after the dark (“It Doesn’t Hurt to Try”). They find Bella Rose, who agrees to participate for free because she is in love with Johnny (“It’s Getting Hot in Here”). The sheriff and Susanna coach Bella to walk and smile like a nun, while Bella teaches Susanna to lighten up (“The Way That You Feel”). Alone, Sheriff wonders about the feeling he has grown towards Susanna (“Stop There”). At night, Susanna goes to the governor's house, only to switch with Bella after the light is off. Everyone wonders how their lives are changed “In the Dark”. Act II The next morning, Susanna visits the governor for Johnny's pardon, but he confesses that he has fallen in love with her (“What a Night!” – “About Last Night”), and threatens to still have Johnny hanged if Susanna does not agree to marry him the next day. Bella Rose visits Johnny in the jail, who becomes jealous of her sleeping with another guy, even though it is for saving his life (“Just for You”). The sheriff comes up with a new idea. He has the governor sign a new agreement: if Sister Mary Jo agrees to marry him, Johnny will go free (“What a Day”). At the same time, he has Susanna telegram the abbey to allow Bella to become a nun, also named Sister Mary Jo, to marry the governor. As plan B, he also leaves Johnny a key and a horse to escape. Susanna realizes her feeling for this man (“What is This Feeling”). Everyone wonders what will happen (“Life Takes You by Surprise”). The governor barges into the dressing room, almost exposing the plan, which is only saved by the identical wedding dresses and some quick wit. Susanna and Bella decide they should have fun with the fake wedding (“It’s a Beautiful Day”). Instead of escaping to Mexico, Johnny stops the ceremony. The sheriff finally gets the upper hand, and the wedding becomes the happy ending for both couples (“Finale”).

Dew Drop Inn

Musical · 1923

Dew Drop Inn is a musical with music by Alfred Goodman and Rudolf Friml, lyrics by Cyrus Wood, and a book by Walter DeLeon and Edward Delaney Dunn. While Goodman was the principal composer for the work, composers Rudolf Friml, John Frederick Coots, and Jean Schwartz also contributed songs to the show in collaboration with lyricist McElbert Moore. Produced by Jacob J. Shubert and directed by Fred G. Latham, the musical premiered on Broadway at the Astor Theatre on May 17, 1923, where it ran until August 25, 1923 for a total of 88 performances. The cast included James Barton, Alice Brady, Spencer Charters, Harry Clark, Danny Dare, Evelyn Cavanaugh, and Mabel Withee. The musical is set at a seaside resort somewhere in Southern California. Barton starred in blackface as the hotel porter, Ananias Washington. Critic Burns Mantle described Dew Drop Inn as being primarily a vehicle for Barton, "an entertainment evidently intended for a summer run, being as fresh as flowers in its costuming, and as generously hued," but added that "the fun I thought pretty thin."

Dichter und Bauer

Musical · 1900

In the earlier plot, landowner Theophil controls his ward Hermine’s inheritance; she must wait three years or marry him immediately. Hermine loves poet Ferdinand, who mistakenly believes their relationship has ended and dedicates poems to peasant girl Lieschen. Their relative Barbara resolves the confusion by showing Theophil a written marriage agreement. A separate 1936 Quedenfeldt libretto relocates the action to a rural marriage market, where a lost estate heir returns from Budapest and true love prevails.

Die Bajadere

Musical · 1921

In Paris, Indian Prince Radjami falls in love with singer Odette Darimonde and asks a theater manager to arrange an introduction. Odette rejects him, but Radjami enlists Napoleon St. Cloche to help and uses roses to hypnotize her. During a party at the prince’s palace, Odette awakens from a trance and leaves him humiliated. Radjami later stages a false return to India, and Odette, believing he is gone, realizes she loves him. Meanwhile, Napoleon and Marietta marry but grow bored with each other; Marietta’s former husband is given a position in India, and Napoleon tells him he may take her back.

Die Försterchristl

Musical · 1907

Forester Hans Lange’s daughter Christine meets a stranger hunting in the forest and tells him what she thinks of the emperor. She is in love with Franz Földessy, who is revealed to be a deserter after striking an officer who seduced his sister. Christine goes to Vienna to seek a pardon and discovers the stranger is Emperor Joseph II; he pardons Franz, while Christine falls for the emperor. The emperor says he cannot follow his own heart and arranges Christine’s marriage to Franz, who has been made head forester. Christine makes peace with her disappointment and marries Franz.

Die Herzogin von Chicago

Musical · 1928

Wealthy Chicagoan Mary Lloyd bets that she can buy Europe’s most expensive object. In bankrupt Sylvaria, Prince Sándor Boris disguises himself as an aide-de-camp and meets Mary in Budapest. She falls for the aide, then discovers his identity after buying the royal palace and decides she must also have its prince. A misunderstanding over her letter to her father sends the prince back to his previous engagement. Bondy and Princess Rosemarie elope, while an American producer’s demand for a happy ending reunites Mary and the prince.

Dinorah

Musical · 1859

After a storm interrupts their wedding, Hoël disappears, and Dinorah loses her reason. A year later, Hoël returns, having found a treasure, and recruits Corentin to help recover it despite a legend that whoever first touches it will die. Dinorah wanders through the woods looking for her pet goat and dances with her shadow, believing it is Hoël. When Hoël and Corentin reach the treasure, Corentin learns the legend from Dinorah. During a storm, Dinorah falls into the river. Hoël rescues her, and she regains her sanity. The villagers gather and lead the reunited couple to the chapel to marry.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Musical · 2024

Inside a lively casino near the French Riviera ("Overture"), con-artist Lawrence Jameson is tricking wealthy women out of their money with the help of his "bodyguard" Andre ("Give Them What They Want"). Muriel Eubanks and a few other women express their devotion and amorous feelings for Lawrence, who has conned them ("What Was a Woman To Do"). Andre warns Lawrence about a highly successful con-artist known as "The Jackal", who is said to be visiting the area. Later, aboard a train, Lawrence watches an American named Freddy Benson (who he figures is The Jackal) swindle a woman, but notes that Freddy makes much less money than Lawrence does. Lawrence brings Freddy to his lavish mansion, where Freddy envies Lawrence's success as a swindler and describes everything he'll have when he's rich ("Great Big Stuff"). Freddy asks Lawrence to show him his ways. Andre thinks Freddy is unworthy of Lawrence's attention and compares Freddy to a chimp in a suit ("Chimp in a Suit"). Lawrence is reluctant Freddy's request until Jolene Oakes, a woman he's conned, informs him at gunpoint that he's going to marry her and move with her to Oklahoma ("Oklahoma?"). Lawrence decides to use Freddy's help: Freddy poses as Lawrence's repulsive brother Ruprecht. Seeing that Lawrence plans to make Ruprecht a large part of their life together, Jolene calls off the wedding and leaves him behind. ("All About Ruprecht") After the pair argue over who did the most work, Lawrence begins to think that there isn't enough room in town for both him and Freddy. They make a bet: the first to swindle a woman out of $50,000 gets to stay in town, while the other has to leave. Immediately after they agree on this, the arrival of "The American Soap Queen" is announced. Her name is Christine Colgate, and she is optimistic, naive and hopelessly clumsy, constantly bumping into people ("Here I Am"). Both con men decide to target her. Freddy presents himself as a war veteran paralyzed from the waist down to win Christine's sympathy and get close to her. Christine and Freddy discuss his medical options and he explains that only one therapist, Dr. Shuffhausen, can help him, but he can't afford Dr. Shuffhausen's $50,000 fee. Christine tells him to keep his hopes up ("Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True") and offers to pay for the therapy just as Freddy had hoped ("The Miracle"). She reveals that Dr. Shuffhausen is at the hotel, and Freddy is shocked to discover that Lawrence is posing as Shuffhausen. After a short introduction ("Entr'acte"), Lawrence as Shuffhausen performs several torturous tests on Freddy's legs ("Ruffhousin' Mit Shuffhausen"), who has to endure them without complaint. In the side show Muriel meets Andre and the two fall in love ("Like Zis/Like Zat"). Taking Christine to a dance, Lawrence makes every effort to get close to her while Freddy helplessly watches ("The More We Dance"). When he realizes that Christine is not as rich as the men thought after she tells him she sold her possessions to afford the fee, Lawrence tells Freddy that they should call off their $50,000 bet. Freddy reluctantly agrees and they agree on new terms: whoever beds Christine gets to stay. Freddy convinces two sailors to kidnap Lawrence so that he can have Christine to himself. Freddy meets with Christine at the hotel where he tells her his condition isn't physical, but he needs emotional motivation to get out of his chair. She says she'll be his motivation ("Love Is My Legs"). She sits on the bed until he is finally able to stand up out of his chair and walk to her on the bed (where he "accidentally" falls on top of her in exhaustion). Lawrence then shows up and it turns out to be a test planned by him and Christine. Afterwards, Lawrence has the same two sailors kidnap Freddy while he takes Christine to the train station so she can leave, though feels conflicted after seeing how virtuous she was ("Love Sneaks In"). Freddy shows up, having escaped the sailors too late to get to Christine. The next day Freddy meets Christine back at the hotel, who says she couldn't leave without seeing him again. When the two agree to have sex, Freddy is excited over it and winning the bet, but realizes he has real feelings for Christine ("Son of Great Big Stuff"). The two get in bed together before the scene is switched to Lawrence's mansion where Christine arrives, telling him tearfully how she came back to see Freddy, how they had sex, and then when she woke up all her money was gone: “I’m beginning to think he was never really paralyzed.” Out of remorse and believing Freddy was responsible, Lawrence packs 50 thousand dollars in a suitcase and tells her to take it. Christine takes it, but returns and gives him back the suitcase saying, "I’ll have something so much better to remember you by" before leaving. A few minutes later Freddy shows up in his underwear. Lawrence is angry at him for taking Christine's money, but Freddy claims that they never had sex at all; they were about to when she knocked him out, and when he woke up all his belongings were gone. Lawrence then opens up the suitcase to find the money gone, replaced by Freddy's clothes and a note that reads, “Goodbye boys. It was fun! Love, 'The Jackal'”, thus revealing that she knew about their scam the entire time, and instead ended up scamming them ("The Reckoning"). The two men reflect on the events at Lawrence's chateau, agreeing that despite what happened, the entire thing was a ton of fun ("Dirty Rotten Number"). A while later Christine shows up, posing as a real-estate agent and bringing a group of tourists with her. After distracting the tourists, she reunites with Lawrence and Freddy, telling them that although she's made millions from scams in the past year, taking their money was the most fun. The men join Christine's scheme to scam the crowd of people together in the "Finale".

Disaster!

Musical · 2011

Disaster! takes place in 1979 Manhattan during opening night of the Barracuda, the first floating casino and discothèque in New York. The plot follows several characters' dynamics and interactions throughout the opening night as they deal with various plot elements reminiscent of 1970s disaster cult films such as The Poseidon Adventure and Airport 1975. It's 1979 and the opening night for "The Barracuda", New York City's first floating casino. Chad Rubik is looking for female company ("Hot Stuff") and decides to join his best friend, Scott, as a waiter aboard the casino boat. Meanwhile, on the pier, Professor Ted Scheider is collecting water samples to determine whether the new pier has been drilled directly into a dangerous fault line. Marianne, a freelance reporter, has heard that Tony Delvecchio, the owner of the Barracuda, ran out of money and had to cut corners. He asks her to join him on board for some drinks and she agrees, hoping to get a scoop. While the guests wait in line, a dour Sister Mary Downey appears, collecting money for the orphans fund and warning people that gambling is a sin ("The Lord's Prayer"). She meets Shirley and Maury Summers, who are celebrating Maury's retirement. Despite the Sister's protestations, Shirley buys her a ticket and she enters the casino. Faded disco star Levora Verona runs onto the pier with her precious dog, Baby. She successfully avoids a cab driver she can't afford to pay and gets on board, hoping she'll win back her fortune ("Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)"). Inside her casino dressing room, sexy lounge singer Jackie excitedly tells her children, 11-year-old twins Ben and Lisa, that Tony told her, "If tonight goes perfectly, he will ask me to marry him... possibly!" Tony enters just as a tremor shakes the room, causing Ben's Lite-Brite toy to fall to the ground. Ben cries as he notices that "The Lite-Brite pieces are lost in the shag carpeting!" Tony explains that the tremor was probably caused by nearby construction and tells Ben that he should never, ever cry. Jackie then goes onstage to wow the opening night crowd ("Saturday Night"). During her number, Scheider warns Tony that the vibrations from everyone dancing is going to trigger an earthquake and Tony angrily throws him off the ship. Meanwhile, Sister Mary is practically salivating over a Hawaii Five-O-themed slot machine but when noticed by Shirley, adamantly denies having a gambling addiction. Marianne tries to interview Tony but he's only interested in one thing, ("Do You Wanna Make Love"). She accuses him of having a trap door installed at the bottom of the ship to dump illegal contraband and produces proof that he skipped safety precautions. Tony panics but is able to sneak away when Marianne freezes at the sight of Chad who has offered them drinks. Shaken, she apologizes to Chad for leaving him at the altar years ago. He tells her it's "fine", and then retreats to the bathroom to express his true feelings ("Without You"). Hurt by Chad's indifference, Marianne drinks an entire bottle of wine, then runs into Lisa and tries to convince her (and herself) that being an independent woman is the most important thing in the world ("I Am Woman/That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be"). Jackie is in her dressing room when Scheider runs in to hide. He explains that an earthquake is coming and enlists Ben and Lisa to run and tell the captain to ready the lifeboats. Tony suddenly enters and Scheider quickly throws on a bird mask. Jackie covers by telling Tony that Scheider is a performer she hired and drags him onstage ("Mockingbird"). Shirley and Maury run into a depressed Marianne, who is surprised to find out they're married because they "seem so happy". They admit that marriage is hard but tell her that they still love each other dearly ("Still the One"). While Scheider hides out with Jackie, he reveals that his first wife, Dr. Wo-Ching Lee, died in a volcanic explosion and he feels responsible. Since then, he's become a disaster expert and tells Jackie one of the main rules is not to try to save individual lives. When Jackie leaves to perform, we see three private moments: Chad sings about Marianne, Marianne sings about Chad, and Scheider sings about Wo ("Feelings"). In the casino, Sister Mary's out-of-tune guitar upsets Baby. Levora is extremely insulted because Sister doesn't know any of her hit songs (including "Makin' Sweet Sweet Love" and "Put It Where I Want It"). Levora leaves in a huff, unknowingly dropping a quarter. Sister Mary knows she should give it to the orphans but imagines gambling it and winning them more. Nonetheless, she tries to walk away from the slot machine but is unable to ("Never Can Say Goodbye"). Sister ultimately gambles away all the fund money. She bumps into Shirley on the elevator and they ride in uncomfortable silence, interrupted only by elevator music ("Feels So Good"). Suddenly, Shirley reveals that she has a fatal disease, and explains that she'll soon show the final warning signs, like uncontrollable winking and inappropriate verbal outbursts. She hasn't told Maury because she wants whatever time they have left to "only be happy". Shirley shyly suggests she might soon end it all because she doesn't want Maury to have to watch her suffer. The Sister tells her unequivocally that taking one's life is a sin and an eternity in Hell will await her if she does it. Ben and Lisa run into Chad and tell him that an earthquake is coming and he immediately runs off to warn Marianne. In the casino, a wealthy woman approaches Levora and offers to buy Baby for an extraordinary sum. Levora can't bear to part with the only thing she's ever loved, yet she has only one quarter left to gamble and gain back her fortune. She knocks on the wood-paneled slot machine for luck and talks to Baby ("Knock on Wood"). Soon, various patrons are knocking along with her, on the machines, the floor... everything. While this is happening, Marianne confronts Tony about the safety precautions and runs away as he tries to throw her off the boat. Chad sees Marianne hiding and tells her to get off the boat, but she misunderstands, thinking Tony has sent him. Scheider has heard the knocking and runs to the casino to warn everyone they're going to trigger an earthquake. They stop and start to tiptoe off the boat, but Levora has put in her quarter and wins ("Hawaii 5-0"). All the coins pouring out of the machine hit the floor and trigger an enormous earthquake. Act Two opens ("All Right Now") to reveal massive destruction in the casino as well as the Hawaii Five-O slot machine lever impaled in Scott's stomach. Chad arrives and tries to get Scott to safety ("You're My Best Friend")†, but Scott dies. Shirley, Maury, Jackie and Lisa are all in Jackie's dressing room but Jackie soon leaves to find Ben, who's missing. In a deserted hallway, Tony explains to his right-hand man that the earthquake actually solved his problems. It will be considered a force majeure and all of his debt will be paid. And he's positive he'll end the night being seen as a hero. Chad is on the deck to give Scott a burial at sea and runs into the wealthy man, whose wife was killed by a falling ice sculpture ("Three Times a Lady"). While waiting in Jackie's dressing room, Shirley starts showing signs of her impending death (inappropriate verbal outbursts) and Lisa discovers Ben, who is passed out because of his diabetes. Lisa volunteers to carry Ben to the infirmary to get insulin and Maury and Shirley follow. On the way they meet the sister, who is praying for death because she thinks that the earthquake was her punishment. She's certain that God wants her in hell but Shirley convinces her that God actually wants her to help other people and they all set off for the insulin. Lisa spies the infirmary and they run to it ("Ben"). Ben is revived in the nick of time. Everyone in the casino is panicking because the earthquake has caused the boat to detach from the pier, but Tony is calm and directs people to the lifeboats. However, Scheider warns that a tidal wave is coming and quickly ushers them into a hallway. Upon learning this, Marianne runs out onto the deck and gets Chad off his lifeboat ("Baby Hold On to Me") and back onto the ship. The tidal wave hits and the ship turns upside down. Scheider assures everyone that the safest thing to do is stay put, but Tony boasts that he'll save everyone through an exit ladder in the kitchen. Scheider objects, but Tony assures them the kitchen has fire doors and is therefore safe, so half the survivors, including Jackie, Ben and Lisa leave with him. The others choose to wait it out with Scheider ("25 or 6 to 4"). There is an explosion from the kitchen and only Tony reappears. Scheider realizes Tony lied about the fire doors, and they all express their anger at him, as Chad also shares his anger with Marianne for not showing up to their wedding ("Sky High"). Jackie and her children survived the blast but are hanging from a wall. She hopes Tony will come and rescue them, but the kids know better ("When Will I Be Loved"). Scheider decides to buck his own rules, braves the fire, and arrives to rescue them with a daring routine on a high beam ("Nadia's Theme"). On their way back to the casino, they hear Tony, who's trapped in a flooded room with sharks ("Don't Cry Out Loud"). The explosion has separated Levora from her dog, Baby. The sister appears and helps Levora find him by strumming her guitar until he barks ("Come to Me"). Marianne admits to Chad she did love him but was scared their marriage would make them as miserable as her parents. They find themselves in a room that's flooding and filled with man-eating piranhas. The only way to escape is through a water-tight door, but it's locked. Perched together atop a pile of chairs, Chad admits he regrets not calling her for years. ("I Really Want to See You Tonight").

Divorce Me, Darling!

Musical · 1964

The action takes place over two days in the summer of 1936 on the French Riviera. The characters are older versions of the characters introduced in The Boy Friend. In Nice on the French Riviera in the foyer of the Hotel du Paradis greeted by the hotel manager Gaston singing "Here We Are In Nice Again" with an assortment of hotel guests. The three naughty wives (Dulcie, Fay, and Nancy) confess to hotel receptionist Hortense that they're on a spree after telling their French husbands that they were going to England to visit their families there. Polly, our heroine, arrives without her husband, Sir Tony, who is busy at home handling their estate. The three naughty wives reappear with giddy greetings all around. Reflecting on their dreary mates who seem more concerned with matters of business than with matters of the heart, they croon "Whatever Happened To Love?" Hortense consoles the frustrated wives and cheers them up with the news that tomorrow night an international star, the mysterious Madame K, will appear in un Grand Cabaret. The American, Bobby van Husen, enters tipsily from the bar and sings "Someone to Dance With" offering to waltz, fox-trot, tango, or rumba if only he could find a partner. Hardly recognizing each other, Bobby and Polly meet and each asks after the other's spouse. Bobby says his wife Maisie is supposedly in London seeking a husband for his older sister Hannah. Bobby and Polly plan to have dinner together. Meanwhile, Mme Dubonnet confides in Hortense that she is the mysterious entertainer Madame K; she also admits she is Polly's stepmother, married to Percy who fled to South America after losing his fortune in the stock-market crash of 1929. With the loss of their fortune and his escape to the New World, she was forced to pursue a lowly career in cabaret. She wants to keep the awful truth from Polly; she's changed her hair to blonde and her name to Mme K and expresses her hard, heart-breaking life behind the "glittering facade" of her theatrical calling in her number, "Lights! Music!" Offstage cheering heralds the arrival of the South American nation of Monomania. Pierre, Marcel and Alphonse, the errant husbands of Nancy, Fay, and Dulcie, show up in Nice feeling like bachelors again and sing of a special girl, "Maisie," they remember from their carefree single days. Lady Brockhurst (Polly's mother-in-law) arrives with a trio of young girls dressed in hiking gear. Their anthem is "Back To Nature," urging one and all to forget the city and explore the rugged life of the great outdoors. She brings her troops to a halt and Lord Brockhurst, dressed in plus-fours, is a reluctant member of her troop—far more interested in pinching the rear than bringing it up. The troop march off in search of a spot to pitch camp, and true to form, Lord Brockhurst sneaks off in the opposite direction in pursuit of a skirt. He runs into Dulcie, Fay, and Nancy, and they agree not to snitch on one another for deserting their mates for a frolic. They sing "On The Loose." The President of Monomania and Percy, in a tropical suit and dark glasses, greet each other as compatriots. Since they are of the same stature, Percy agrees to don a false beard and the President's uniform to take his place at the Café Pataplon gala, as the President must be elsewhere for a reason he cannot reveal. Then Percy spots a poster of Madame K and recognizes his wife Kiki (Mme Dubonnet) but with blonde hair. Scene 3 reveals two balconies side by side. Hortense and Gaston (both of the hotel staff) are inspecting each of the suites and simultaneously come out on the balconies to glimpse of the Riviera view. Ever dedicated to their chosen professions, their duet describes their dream resort, "Paradise Hotel" as other members of the staff join in the song. They exit before Polly enters one suite, kissing the photo of her husband Sir Tony; Bobby in the other suite follows suit, kissing the photo of his Maisie. Polly goes out on her balcony, Bobby goes out on his, and he invites her over for champagne—as old friends, of course. They drink to absent mates, sing "No Harm Done," and dance a bit. She protests, saying they must say goodnight before anything silly happens. They dance a bit more from his suite to hers. He accidentally drops his scarf in her quarters. Her telephone rings; it's Sir Tony, then Bobby gets a call on his telephone; It's Maisie. In the adjoining suite Sir Tony spots the scarf. He argues with Polly as to what it's doing there. Angrily he exits to take a bath. She rushes to the balcony to tell Bobby about his scarf. His news is that Maisie's on her way up. He welcomes Maisie to the suite and pours champagne. The glass has lipstick on it. She accuses him of having a secret lover—so that's why he came to Nice! In tears she rushes out of the room. He calls for Polly from the balcony and lets her know he has made Maisie as jealous as she has made her Tony. Isn't it delicious? Soon, from inside each suite, we can hear their mates apologize for their suspicious behavior. Polly and Bobby signal each other that they've each won this round. The next morning each couple in turn in pajamas and negligees on their respective balconies have breakfast and sing "Together Again." As the number ends the two couples spot each other. Bobby acts surprised, as does Polly. Suddenly, Bobby's older husband-hunting sister Hannah bursts in looking for her brother. Sir Tony's mum, Lady Brockhurst, still in her camping togs, looking for her son and complaining about the hotel management follows the intrusion. She seems to have set up her tent in the hotel gardens. Arguments ensue. Hannah introduces herself to Sir Freddy once she discovers he's a baronet. From the suite above, Madame K (Mme Dubonnet) complains about all the noise below. Enter valets, chambermaids, manicurists, and chefs, all squeezing into the tiny room. Hortense and the hotel staff join in for a reprise of "Paradise Hotel" as pandemonium ends the act. Outside the Cafe Pataplon, Hannah mentions the scarf as well as the lipstick stain on the glass and provokes another argument between each couple (Tony vs. Polly; Bobby vs. Maisie). They sing to their mates "Divorce Me, Darling." Others arrive at the cabaret discovering their mates' flirting. Husbands and wives are shocked at each other's capricious behavior accuse each other and pick up loose ends of the song. The President (actually Percy in a false beard, the President's military uniform, and dark glasses) is ceremoniously announced as the Monomania "Anthem" is struck up by the band. Upon seeing his daughter Polly, Percy does a double-take and enters the ballroom. Hannah laments her unattached state with "Here I Am, But Where's My Guy?" As the sibilance-challenged Sir Freddy arrives, she nabs him and sweeps him into the ballroom. Mme Dubonnet (Madame K) confides in Hortense that if she did her nightclub act, Polly would find out that her stepmother is a lowly cabaret performer. She convinces Hortense to don a mask and go on in her place. They rehearse a brief reprise of "Lights! Music!" Bobby and Maisie are still at odds and she's still determined to divorce him. He sings "Out Of Step" and urges her to dance. She joins him reluctantly. The manager of the Cafe Pataplon introduces the act, and Hortense, wearing a mask, goes on as Madame K singing "Fancy Forgetting" (reprise). Percy (disguised as the President) leaps up to expose the impostor. He tears off Hortense's mask and Mme Dubonnet steps in singing a line from the song. Percy is overwhelmed. She, in turn, exposes him. He's not the President of Monomania! He admits it tearing off the beard. Polly cries out "Daddy!" Lady Brockhurst and her uniformed girls march in and perform a military drill. A champagne bottle literally explodes! Someone has placed a bomb in the jereboam to kill the President of Monomania. The real President enters and commends Percy for his bravery in impersonating him and putting himself on the line. The President invites all to continue the party aboard his yacht. Percy, Mme Dubonnet, and Polly are reunited ("Together Again" (reprise)). The proper British Sir Freddy and the all-American Hannah also reunite ("You're Absolutely Me"). On board the President's yacht Polly and Tony are reunited, each apologizing for playing games and acting foolish. They are in each other's arms ("Back Where We Started"). Polly and Bobby run into each other on deck and she assures him everything is patched up between her and Tony. Maisie is approaching them as the yacht lurches and Polly stumbles into Bobby's arms. Maisie, in tears, runs off. Entertaining the President and his guests, Mme Dubonnet sings (a la Marlene Dietrich) "Blondes For Danger", warning sailors to beware of this breed ("You can make a household pet/Of a redhead or brunette... " but cautions them about the dangerous blonde). Commending Percy for his heroism, the President awards him a deed to the Monomanian Platinum Mine. Percy and Mme Dubonnet embrace. Hannah has Sir Freddy in tow; they're to be married. Bobby is searching for Maisie. Lady Brockhurst is shocked to see her girls have traded their scouting uniforms for scanty shorts, sailor caps and tap shoes as they break into song with a trio of sailors: "Swing Time Is Here To Stay". Maisie, in an abbreviated seafaring uniform, leads the cast in the song and dance. Bobby patches things up with Maisie, supported by Polly and Tony. Suddenly Polly faints. In turn Maisie and the other girls faint as well. Their husbands come to their rescue—all delighted to discover they're all in the family way ("Divorce Me, Darling" (reprise)). "I would like to make it plain/You'll never hear me say again/Divorce me, darling!"

Do Re Mi

Musical · 1960

Do Re Mi is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and a book by Garson Kanin, who also directed the original 1960 Broadway production. The plot centers on a minor-league con man who decides to go (somewhat) straight by moving into the legitimate business of juke boxes and music promotion. The musical was headlined by the comedy couple of Phil Silvers and Nancy Walker, both of whom were Tony nominated. Popular songs introduced included "Cry Like the Wind" and "Make Someone Happy".

Doctor Jazz

Musical · 1975

Doctor Jazz is a 1975 musical with music by Luther Henderson and Buster Davis, with a book and lyrics by Davis. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1975 and was nominated for three Tony Awards for Best Choreography (Donald McKayle), Best Actress in a Musical (Lola Falana) and Best Costume Design (Raoul Pene Du Bois). The plot follows Edna Mae Sheridan and her mother, who owns a brothel in the Storyville district of New Orleans, while the show takes its name from the 1920s jazz standard "Doctor Jazz".

Doctor Zhivago – A New Musical

Musical · 2006

In 1930s Moscow, a woman and a girl stand over the grave of a Russian poet, Dr. Zhivago. The scene shifts to another gravesite, decades earlier, in 1903. A young Yurii Zhivago says goodbye to his father and meets the couple who is taking him in. He becomes friends with the couple's daughter, Tonia, who is around his age. The scene shifts to yet another gravesite, 6 months later, where young Lara and her mother, Mrs. Guishar, mourn the death of Lara's father. Komarovsky, a friend of Lara's mother, buys a dress shop for Mrs. Guishar and hits on Lara, who is still a child. Young Lara, Tonia, and Yurii wonder about what the future will bring. ("Two Worlds") Years later, in August 1914, Yurii has graduated medical school and is engaged to Tonia. A teenaged Lara has become involved with Pasha, a revolutionary with the Communist party, who asks her to hide his gun. We see Pasha and other student revolutionaries start a protest that is violently broken up by the police. Yurii rushes out to help the wounded protestors. Meanwhile, Lara, who has been coerced into becoming Komarovsky's lover, is sick of being threatened by him and resolves to kill him. She hides Pasha's gun in her coat and follows Komarovsky to Yurii and Tonia's wedding, where Komarovsky gives a toast ("Komarovsky's Toast"). Lara tries to shoot Komarovsky, interrupting the festivities, but her aim is poor and she hits another man. Yurii stitches up the wounded man and watches Lara and Komarovsky's conversation from afar. Yurii is intrigued by Lara and wonders what her relationship to Komarovsky is, and why she would shoot him. ("Who Is She?") After telling Komarovsky to stay away from her, Lara flees and Yurii confronts Komarovosky, who tells Yurii not to make an enemy of him. A few weeks later, at Pasha and Lara's wedding celebration, Pasha and his friends mock the tsar and dance. ("It's a Godsend") Later that night, Lara tells Pasha how she got involved with Komarovsky, and how she shot him because he acted like he owned her and would not stay away. She couldn't keep living like that, and thought killing him was the only way she could regain control of her life. ("When the Music Played") Lara then asks for Pasha's forgiveness, but he rushes out in a rage. Lara goes after him and runs into Yurii; he gives her his umbrella. ("Who Is She? (Reprise)") At a train station, Yurii is saying goodbye to Anna, Alex, and Tonia before heading to the front as a field medic. He tells a worried Tonia that whenever she misses him, she should watch the moon and think of him, and that he will do the same. Time passes and Yurii sends letters to his family at home, telling Tonia that he is still watching the moon and thinking of her. ("Watch The Moon") It is now 1915 and the soldiers at the front are trying to hold the front. Pasha, a soldier on the front lines, is trying to convince other soldiers to join the Communist cause. ("Forward!") The scene shifts to a field infirmary, where Lara is reporting for duty as a volunteer nurse. Yurii and Lara recognise each other, and she tells him that her husband's letters stopped when he was serving in this unit, and she came to the front looking for him. Yurii thanks her for trying to shoot Komarovsky, saying that Komarovsky drove his father to suicide. They talk about Yurii's poetry, and he reveals that his most famous poem was inspired by her. Yanko, a young soldier who is badly wounded, walks in and they attempt to treat him, pulling out the bullet. Yurii says that, by some miracle, the boy will live. Back in Moscow, Tonia reads to her parents and infant son a letter that Yurii has written her; in it, he speaks of Lara and praises her. In the field hospital, the nurses iron shirts and sheets and sing a folk song. The nurses tease Lara about her relationship with the doctor, and she says they're nothing more than friends. Yurii comes in and announces that the war is over. The nurses sing and dance in celebration. ("Somewhere, My Love") It is October 1917 and the soldiers are trying to evacuate the lines in a supply train. Yurii, Lara and the other nurses are evacuating the wounded onto the same train. Lara and Yurii say goodbye and she tells him that she is not going back to Moscow, but moving to Yuriiatin, a small village in the Ural Mountains, where she was born. She also reveals that she was trying to find Pasha not because she loved him, but because she has done terrible things and does not feel worthy of his love. Looking for him was a way of feeling worthy. Yurii tells her that whatever she did before is how she became who she is, and she is a good person. Lara says they should say goodbye before they do something they will both regret. Yanko rushes in, severely wounded, saying the Germans broke through the lines. He dies before they can do anything to help him. Yurii and Lara find a letter Yanko wrote to Katarina, the girl he liked, confessing his feelings. They read it out loud and confess their feelings for each other but, instead of kissing, hug. ("Now") Lara rushes out. Somewhere on the front lines, Pasha and the other soldiers wonder why they should die for a cause they do not believe in, and lament the deaths of the soldiers who died for a senseless war. ("Blood on the Snow") In January 1918, Yurii has made it back to his home in Moscow, but finds it derelict and full of strangers. Yurii is reunited with his family and meets his son, Sasha. He learns that their house is now the headquarters for the Worker's Agricultural Research Institute, and his family has been living in the attic. Yurii is questioned by the Writer's Committee, who want to know what his poetry means. He explains that it means different things to different people, but the committee is unimpressed. Komarovsky, who is at the meeting, implies that Yurii's poetry has to celebrate the Revolution. Four writers who have fallen out of favor walk in, and Yurii recognizes his first publisher among them. He watches in horror as the four writers are hanged. Outside the Committee building, Yurii asks Komarovsky how he can live like that, and Komarovsky says he is trying to protect his friends. Drunk, Komarovsky laments the world they lost. ("Komarovsky's Lament") Back in the attic, Yurii and his family are starving. They remember their old country estate, which is now abandoned, and decide to move there. Yurii realizes that it is close to Yuriiatin, where Lara lives, and dismisses the idea, saying it is too dangerous for them to move there. Walking the streets of Moscow, Yurii wonders why his path keeps leading him to Lara and why he still thinks of her, despite the fact he has tried to live with honor all his life. He decides that they should move to the estate near Yuriiatin, but vows to stay away from Lara. ("Yurii's Decision") Two weeks later, Anna has died. Alex, Sasha, Tonia, and Yurii say goodbye to their house and remember all the memories they have shared there. Markel, a servant, rushes in and announces that the tsar and all his children have been killed. Taking advantage of the communists' celebration, they join other families fleeing Moscow on a train. ("In This House") The act ends with communists waving red flags onstage, led by Lara's husband, Pasha, who is very much still alive. It is 1919. In the fields near Yuriiatin, some women—Lara among them—work the earth for spring planting. ("Women And Little Children") A woman called Yelenka says soldiers dragged her husband, Vasya, from their house. Lara tries to comfort Yelenka by saying that Vasya will return, and that part of him will always be there with her. Halfway through the song, she starts remembering Yurii. ("He's There") The scene changes to the train station in Yuriiatin, where Yurii and his family have arrived from Moscow. Tonia, Sasha, and Alex go off in search of information, while Yurii is approached by Captain Liberius and other soldiers, who force him to go with them. Tonia finds out that Yurii was taken by soldiers who work for Strelnikov, the ruthless Commander of the Red Army Partisans who burns down villages for pleasure. In Strelnikov's railway car, Yurii is questioned by Strelnikov. The audience finds out that Strelnikov is actually Lara's husband, Pasha. He wants to know if Yurii worked with a nurse called Larissa Antipova during the war, and Yurii says that she was a wonderful nurse. Strelnikov tells him that her husband did not survive the war. A young peasant is brought in and accused of blowing up a train and spying for the White Army. Though the peasant swears he is innocent, Strelnikov says that all privileged men have to die because they showed no mercy to others during all the years they were in power, which to him is clearly tied to what Komarovsky did to Lara. Strelnikov believes that in order to forge the way for a new world, everything old has to fall. ("No Mercy At All") Tonia comes looking for Yurii and Strelnikov releases him, but orders the peasant thrown into the ravine. Yelenka tells Lara that she is going on a date with a mystery gentleman, and asks her to lock up the library where they both work. Meanwhile, Alex, Sasha, Yurii, and Tonia open up the cottage and Alex reminisces about the estate back in its golden days. ("In This House (Reprise)") A few days or weeks later, Sasha asks to go to the library because he has read every book in the house already. Yurii reprimands him, saying that they should be content with the books they have. While Alex tucks Sasha in, Tonia asks Yurii how long he will keep finding excuses not to write. She begs him to follow his heart and go into the library in town to write, but Yurii protests that his heart is here, with his family. Tonia insists that tomorrow he will go to the library first thing in the morning. At the library, Yurii runs into Lara and tells her he tried to stay away but could not. She says it is too dangerous for them to do anything because Strelnikov is her husband and his spies are everywhere.

Dogfight

Musical · 2012

In 1967, Eddie Birdlace, a U.S. Marine just returned from Vietnam, rides a Greyhound bus heading for San Francisco. As he travels through the night, he remembers Rose Fenny ("Prelude: Take Me Back") and the night he spent in San Francisco four years earlier. Memories overwhelm him and suddenly it is November 21, 1963. The Greyhound bus becomes a military bus, carrying Private First Class Birdlace and his rowdy fellow Marines, fresh out of training and ready for action. Arriving in San Francisco, they are eager to take the town by storm on their last night in the United States ("Some Kinda Time"). Birdlace and his two best friends, Boland and Bernstein, who call themselves the Three Bees ("We Three Bees"), are participating in a dogfight, a cruel game with simple rules. Each Marine puts $50 in the pot. The one who brings the ugliest date to the party wins the money. Birdlace and his friends set off to scour the city for potential dates ("Hey Good-Lookin'"). Birdlace ends up in a diner, where he sees Rose, a shy waitress, quietly playing guitar in a corner booth. He flirts with her, eventually inviting Rose to be his date ("Come to a Party"). Not knowing the true purpose of the evening, she is excited to go on her first date. She tears items from her closet, searching for the perfect dress ("Nothing Short of Wonderful"). Meanwhile, other Marines find their dates, including Boland, who breaks the established rules of the dogfight by inviting Marcy, a wisecracking, near-toothless prostitute eager to win a share of the cash prize that comes with being deemed the ugliest date ("Come to a Party (Reprise)"). As Birdlace and Rose walk to the party, she is chatty, revealing her folk music aspirations and her burgeoning pacifism. When they reach the Nite Lite, a club rented for the party, Birdlace finds himself questioning his plan to subject her to the event. He suggests they go somewhere else and get a bite to eat. Rose believes his change of heart means he is embarrassed by her, that he does not want his friends to meet her. Conflicted, Birdlace acquiesces and they enter the party. At the table with his friends and their dates, Birdlace drinks heavily and grows sour. He tries unsuccessfully to keep Rose off the dance floor during the slow dance, when the contest is officially judged. As they dance, each Marine presents his date for judging ("That Face"). It is determined that Marcy is the ugliest, crowning Boland the big winner. Later, in the ladies room, Marcy reveals to Rose the true nature of the party ("Dogfight"). A distraught Rose returns to Birdlace. She is furious and deeply hurt and slaps him hard across the face. "I hope there's a war and you get killed," she tells him, before escaping in shame. Back home in her bedroom, surrounded by rejected dresses and dashed hopes, Rose beats herself up for having believed Birdlace's lies ("Pretty Funny"). The Marines, reckless and invincible, continue their debaucherous last night with a trip to the arcade and then by visiting a prostitute ("Hometown Hero's Ticker Tape Parade"). But Birdlace cannot bring himself to revel like his friends do. Feeling terrible about how he treated Rose, he leaves them and goes to her. He apologizes as best he can and offers to make it up to her by taking her out to a fancy dinner. At first incredulous, Rose sees Birdlace's apology, though misguided and inarticulate, is in fact genuine. She consents to the date, demanding they never again discuss the dogfight ritual and its indignities. They cautiously set out on their date ("First Date, Last Night"). At a swanky restaurant, Rose challenges Birdlace's tough exterior and cuts through his posturing, lies, and bravado. They share a meal and inch closer to understanding each other. Later, they take in the late-night view from the Golden Gate Bridge. Rose tells Birdlace that, despite its unpleasantness, what happened earlier that night has helped her to a new understanding. She can no longer allow herself to be defined by what other people think of her ("Before It's Over"). In the remaining hours before Birdlace must report and ship out, Rose nervously invites him home with her. They share an awkward and romantic first sexual experience ("Give Way"). The next morning Birdlace returns to his buddies and the world of casual cruelty that shaped him ("Some Kinda Time (Reprise)"). The Marines head overseas, where they will be pawns in the growing Vietnam War. Birdlace sees his friends, including Boland and Bernstein, killed in action. These harsh memories linger as Birdlace arrives in San Francisco in 1967, a broken, confused, lost man, unwelcome and derided ("Come Back"). Birdlace makes his way through the changed city to find an older, wiser Rose at the diner. Compassionate as ever, she welcomes him home ("Finale: Take Me Back").

Don't Play Us Cheap

Musical · 1970

Don't Play Us Cheap is a musical play with music, lyrics, and a musical book by Melvin Van Peebles. The musical is based on Van Peebles' 1967 French-language novel La fête à Harlem (1967). Set in Harlem, the musical premiered in November 1970 at San Francisco State College. The musical was staged on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in 1972; making its New York City debut at that theatre on May 16 of that year where it ran for a total of 164 performances; closing on September 30, 1972. The musical was adapted into a 1973 film of the same name. The film features much of the same cast as the Broadway production; and the film, although released after the Broadway run, was made prior to the Broadway production in 1971.

Donna Diana

Musical · 1894

At the court of Barcelona, Princess Diana rejects marriage and dismisses the attentions of three princes, including Don Cesar, whom she secretly loves. Advised by the jester Perrin to return her coldness, Cesar pretends indifference. Diana then stages a series of attempts to win him back, but he remains unmoved and claims to be engaged to her cousin Laura. When Diana’s father approves these matches, Diana admits that she loves Cesar and chooses him as her husband.

Doonesbury

Musical · 1983

The play takes place over the course of two days, represented by two acts. During scene transitions, a backdrop of the White House descends in front of the stage and unseen voice actors engage in brief skits parodying the Reagan administration. Act I Reporter Roland Hedley travels to the fictional Walden College to profile a group of students in the graduating class of 1983, the members of "Walden Commune," an ersatz commune started by a diverse group of students in the 1970s: everyman Mike Doonesbury, jock B.D., campus radio host Mark Slackmeyer, stoner Zonker Harris, and B.D.'s ditzy girlfriend Boopsie ("Graduation"). Having spent the duration of college living together, the group are preparing to go their separate ways for the first time in years, with varying degrees of optimism towards their futures: B.D. has been drafted by the Dallas Cowboys professional football team; Mike is preparing to propose to his girlfriend, aspiring artist J.J., to whom he also plans to lose his virginity ("Just One Night"); Mark faces unemployment, as his job at the radio station ends with graduation; and Zonker, fearful of adult responsibility, escapes into fantasy and looks for excuses not to leave Walden ("I Came to Tan"). Meanwhile, Zonker's career criminal uncle, Duke, appears before a federal court after unknowingly selling cocaine to undercover FBI agents in a sting operation. Against the counsel of his henchwoman and sidekick Honey Huan, Duke represents himself, claiming he intended to use the profits for altruistic purposes ("Guilty"). Back at Walden, Mike and J.J. argue over the phone after she learns that he invited her estranged mother, attorney Joanie, to his graduation. Later, Joanie—who once lived at the commune as den mother—arrives with her son, Jeffrey, from her second marriage, reuniting with the Walden Commune group. Boopsie reveals her plans to become a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader so she can follow B.D. on the road ("I Can Have it All"), while Mark reveals Mike's proposal plans to the rest of the group. Back at the courthouse, Duke is found guilty and sentenced to probation, with the additional requirement that he open and manage a drug rehabilitation center for the next five years. J.J. arrives at Walden, only to discover that Mike has meticulously planned out every aspect of their weekend down to the minute. Joanie returns from grocery shopping and attempts to mediate the tensions between the two, which only leads to an argument between mother and daughter ("Get Together"). At the campus radio station, Hedley and Mark campaign on-air to get Mark hired by another radio station after he graduates ("Baby Boom Boogie Boy"). That night, the members of Walden, Joanie, and J.J. come together for their final meal together, which descends into a roast as they mock Mike's cooking ("Another Memorable Meal"). Zonker proposes that the group continue living together after graduation, only to realize everyone else is looking forward to moving on with their lives. As the evening ends, Duke blasts down the front door with a grenade launcher, announcing that he's purchased the commune to turn into a rehab center. Act II The next morning, the resident of the Commune awake to Duke bulldozing the meadow surrounding the building, and they engage in a debate with him about whether it's "just a house" ("Just a House"). Joanie intervenes, telling Duke that she'll represent the residents pro bono and will seek an injunction against him for redeveloping the house without a rezoning permit. A nonplussed Duke resumes bulldozing as Mike and Joanie leave for the courthouse. Boopsie and B.D. attempt to discuss the future of their relationship when B.D. receives a call from his agent Sid Kibbitz, informing him that he's been traded to Tampa Bay in exchange for a tour bus. Crushed that he was valued so little by the team, B.D. leaves, prompting Honey and Boopsie to commiserate on their complicated relationships with men ("Complicated Man"). Outside, Zonker attempts to confront Duke, who informs his nephew that he plans to use the "drug rehab facility" as a front to turn the rest of the land around Walden into multimillion-dollar condos ("Real Estate (Mondo Condo)"). The gullible Zonker agrees to help Duke with his plan. Mike and Joanie return from the courthouse, having successfully obtained an injunction against Duke. Joanie and J.J. reconcile their differences ("Mother"). Roland arrives with his news crew to conduct a final interview of the graduates, and informs Mark of a job offer from a radio station on Long Island. Roland and B.D. discuss their mutual admiration for Ronald Reagan's domestic policies ("It's The Right Time To Be Rich"); they are shortly thereafter joined by "Muffy and the Topsiders," a band made up of preppies ("Muffy and the Topsiders"). Duke, crushed after being presented with the injunction against him, takes a massive amount of hallucinogens and crashes his bulldozer through the commune. A stunned Mike blurts out his proposal to J.J., who accepts ("Just One Night (Reprise)"). Duke collapses as Honey admits she's worried about him. As the play closes, Roland covers the graduation, and the various characters look forward to their futures ("Graduation (Reprise)").

Doña Francisquita

Musical · 1923

In 19th-century Madrid, Francisquita loves student Fernando, who is infatuated with actress Aurora, herself involved with Lorenzo. Francisquita pretends to accept the advances of Fernando’s father, Don Mathias, to make Fernando jealous. Fernando in turn woos Francisquita to provoke Aurora, but falls genuinely in love with her. A series of disguises, rumors, and a duel lead Don Mathias to recognize he is too old for Francisquita and bless the young couple’s marriage.

Dr. Syntax

Musical · 1894

Dr. Syntax is a musical in two acts with music by Woolson Morse and a libretto by J. Cheever Goodwin that was adapted from Thomas William Robertson's 1869 play School. The work was a revised version of Morse's earlier work Cinderella at School. The original 1894 production was produced by DeWolf Hopper. His wife at that time, Edna Wallace Hopper, appeared in the cast. It debuted at the Broadway Theatre on June 23, 1894. The Best Plays of 1884-1899 (1955) says it had a "comfortable run of 159 performances."

Dracula

Musical · 2004

Jonathan Harker, a young English solicitor, travels to Transylvania to finalize a real estate transaction with the reclusive and elderly Count Dracula, who intends to purchase property in London ("Prologue"). Upon his arrival, Harker is welcomed with an elaborate supper. During their conversation, Dracula speaks wistfully of his desire to abandon his isolation and begin a new existence in a foreign land (“Solitary Man”). Dracula escorts Harker to his chamber, where he notices a portrait of Harker's fiancée, Mina Murray, provoking a powerful reaction. After Dracula departs, Harker and Mina, from different locations, reflect on the circumstances of their first meeting (“Whitby Bay”). In England, Mina suddenly hears Dracula’s voice in her mind. He ominously announces his imminent journey and expresses his longing to be with her. Early one morning, Dracula startles Harker while shaving, causing him to cut himself. Drawn to the sight of blood, Dracula approaches but recoils when he notices the crucifix around Harker's neck. Harker attempts to redirect the Count’s attention to their legal business, but Dracula dismisses the matter and warns him to sleep only in his assigned chamber. As Harker’s stay continues, the castle becomes increasingly nightmarish, and he desperately searches for an escape (“Jonathan’s Bedroom”). While wandering the castle, Harker encounters Dracula’s Brides, who attempt to seduce him. He willingly removes his crucifix, and the women prepare to drink his blood (“Forever Young”). Dracula intervenes, rebuking them for disobeying his command to leave Harker to him alone. When the Brides protest, Dracula appeases them by giving them an infant to consume. Dracula then feeds on Harker to restore his own youth (“Fresh Blood”). Fully rejuvenated, Dracula ascends into the air, while Harker narrowly escapes and eventually reaches Budapest. Telepathically, Dracula contacts his devoted servant Renfield, who is confined to Dr. Jack Seward’s psychiatric asylum. Promising him eternal life, Dracula secures Renfield’s loyalty. Renfield envisions the Count’s arrival in Whitby Bay aboard the ship Demeter and witnesses Dracula’s slaughter of the vessel’s captain and crew (“The Master’s Song”). After learning of the maritime disaster, Mina discusses the news with her friend Lucy Westenra, who also confides her struggles with sleepwalking—an affliction inherited from her late father. Their conversation turns to Lucy’s predicament of having received three marriage proposals in a single day. That evening, all three suitors attend tea: Quincey Morris, a bold American adventurer; Dr. Jack Seward, the intelligent asylum director; and Arthur Holmwood, Lucy’s well-mannered childhood companion. Lucy ultimately accepts Holmwood’s proposal (“How Do You Choose?”). Later that night, Mina discovers Dracula feeding upon a sleepwalking Lucy. Speaking directly into Mina’s mind, Dracula reveals that Mina was his true desire, but Lucy had answered his call instead. Mina begs him to spare her friend. Dracula agrees, but only if Mina will come away with him, an offer she resolutely refuses. Furious and shaken by Mina’s resistance, Dracula vanishes. Lucy awakens and recounts the encounter to Mina (“The Mist”). Mina then explains that she has received word from Harker in Budapest and must leave immediately to marry him. Lucy congratulates her, thrilled that they will both soon be brides. Observing from a distance, Dracula recommits himself to the pursuit of Mina (“The Mist – Reprise”). Distressed by Mina’s preparations to depart, Dracula is compelled to follow her to the train station, where he confesses his longing from afar. Torn between her loyalty to Harker and a growing affinity towards the Count, Mina contemplates her unspoken pull towards darkness. She ultimately travels to Budapest and marries Harker (“A Perfect Life / Loving You Keeps Me Alive / Whitby Bay – Reprise”). Simultaneously, Lucy weds Holmwood in London (“The Weddings”). Believing Mina has slipped beyond his grasp, a furious Dracula appears at Lucy’s wedding reception, causing her to collapse. Concerned for Lucy’s failing health, Dr. Seward summons Abraham Van Helsing, a renowned expert on obscure diseases. Van Helsing safeguards Lucy’s room with garlic and provides her with holy water to protect her during sleep. However, enthralled by Dracula’s influence, Lucy discards the protections and invites the vampire into her chamber (“The Invitation”). Dracula drains her blood while feeding her his own in return. The following morning, Lucy attacks Holmwood, her teeth transformed into fangs. Van Helsing intervenes, saving Holmwood and driving Lucy into a frenzy with sacred prayers. Lucy soon dies, leaving Holmwood devastated and bewildered. Van Helsing consoles him while revealing the culprit is a vampire (“Nosferatu”). Lucy is buried but rises again as a vampire. Dracula returns to her and proclaims her the first of his new “dynasty.” He sends her out to claim her initial victims before taking flight into the night sky in the form of a colossal bat (“Life After Life”). Two weeks later, Van Helsing leads Holmwood, Morris, Dr. Seward, Harker, and Mina to Lucy’s tomb. In the intervening days, a disturbing epidemic has arisen: small children are being abducted in the dead of night and returned drained of blood. Van Helsing seeks to convince the still-skeptical Holmwood, Morris, and Dr. Seward that the culprit is the undead Lucy Westenra. Upon entering the tomb, they discover Lucy’s coffin is empty. She soon appears, carrying a child she intends to feed upon, and is confronted by the group. Through religious incantations, they force her back into her coffin. With great anguish, Holmwood drives a stake through Lucy’s heart, while Van Helsing decapitates her, finally releasing her soul. ("Undead One, Surrender"). Reflecting on the horrors of the previous day, Mina once again hears Dracula’s voice within her mind. When the Count asks why she makes him wait, Mina accuses him of murdering Lucy. Dracula counters that Lucy was not killed but granted eternal life—and that it was the vampire hunters who truly destroyed her. Despite herself, Mina feels a powerful and unsettling attraction to him. Torn between fear of his immense power and a growing emotional pull, she begs him not to force her love unless it is genuine (“Please Don’t Make Me Love You”). Van Helsing uncovers the extent of Renfield’s psychic bond with Dracula and visits his cell alongside Mina. Renfield explains his devotion to the Count and his belief that he has been promised eternal life. When Van Helsing questions whether they have met before, Renfield chillingly claims knowledge of Van Helsing’s wife and her fate. Deeply shaken, Van Helsing abruptly leaves. Mina attempts to reason with Renfield, asking whether eternal life is worth the damnation of his soul. Renfield warns her of Dracula’s intentions but soon realizes he has sealed his own doom. After he is left alone, Dracula appears and kills his former servant (“The Master’s Song (Reprise)”). Van Helsing then reflects privately on his past, recalling his youth and his wife, Roseanne. Her death at the hands of a vampire—implied to have been Dracula—drove him to dedicate his life to hunting the undead in her memory (“Roseanne”). Meanwhile, Holmwood, Morris, and Dr. Seward discover Dracula’s London refuge in the house Harker sold to him while imprisoned in Transylvania. Van Helsing departs with the men, leaving Mina alone with Harker. As Harker sees them out, Mina becomes increasingly consumed by a desire to save Dracula from destruction. Unable to resist her longing any longer, she invites him into the house (“If I Could Fly”). Dracula places Harker into a trance and seduces Mina. Their moment of passion culminates when Dracula cuts open his chest and allows Mina to drink his blood, intending to transform her into a vampire (“Mina's Seduction”). The hunters return and confront Dracula, forcing him to flee (“It’s Over”). Through hypnosis, Van Helsing uses Mina’s growing telepathic bond to uncover Dracula’s whereabouts. She reveals that he is retreating to Transylvania after the destruction of his London sanctuary. Fearing her own damnation, Mina extracts a solemn promise from each of the men—including Harker—that they will kill her if her soul cannot be saved (“Jonathan’s Promise”). The group prepares for the journey and the final confrontation (“Deep in the Darkest Night”). Left alone, Harker agonizes over the terrible vow he has made but resolves to honor it (“Before the Summer Ends”). Aboard a train, Van Helsing once again hypnotizes Mina, who reveals that Dracula is concealed within a coffin in the hull of a ship. The trance deepens as Dracula’s presence overwhelms her mind, forcing Van Helsing to break the connection. Mina withdraws to rest while the others plot their next move (“The Train Sequence / Life After Life (Reprise)”). Returned to his castle, Dracula broods over the solitude and emotional desolation that accompany his immortal existence. Touched by her purity, he comes to the realization that he has fallen profoundly in love with Mina (“The Longer I Live”). The hunters arrive at Dracula’s castle, where the final confrontation unfolds. Morris is killed when he attempts to stake Dracula in his coffin. Van Helsing leaves Mina protected within a sacred circle of holy water while he joins Holmwood, Harker, and Dr. Seward in battling Dracula’s Brides. Dracula soon appears before Mina, who chooses to follow the creature she loves into darkness (“At Last”). However, upon hearing the death cries of his Brides, Dracula realizes that Mina would share their fate if she becomes a vampire. Unable to condemn her to such an existence, he relinquishes his own desire. Knowing that only his death can save her, Dracula asks Mina to release him from his cursed immortality using a Bowie knife taken from Morris.

Dreamboats and Petticoats

Musical · 2009

It's 1961, where Bobby, an awkward but talented teenager, is auditioning for a band at the local Youth Club. He almost gets the part, but is edged out by a last minute arrival to the auditions: the cool and confident Norman. The teenagers that hang out at Youth Club all know each other, even if they're not necessarily friends. These teens include Bobby and his best friend Ray, Ray's younger sister Laura who has a crush on Bobby, cool girl Sue whom Bobby has a crush on, and Donna, who is Sue's friend. Bobby's father announces that the Youth Club association is holding the first National song writing competition. Bobby and Laura, who have similar tastes in music, agree to write a song together. At first they make some progress, with Bobby coming up with an idea and basic tune, which Laura takes on to expand into a full song. But Bobby then starts ignoring Laura when Sue, the girl he has a crush on, starts flirting with him. Laura warns Bobby that Sue is only pretending to be into him in order to make Norman jealous, but Bobby doesn't care. The Youth Club are taken on a road trip to a local carnival, and their emotions run high. Ray and Donna get together and become a couple. Sue's plan to make Norman jealous works, and Norman takes her away to be alone. Bobby is crushed, and Laura tells him "I told you so". However, when the whole group gathers together at the end of night, Norman boasts to the others that he went "all the way" with Sue. Sue is enraged and humiliated, insisting that they only kissed. Bobby confronts Norman, insisting that he apologize to Sue. At first Norman refuses, so Bobby challenges Norman to an "official" fight in a ring, in which Bobby wins. Norman apologizes to Sue, and Sue is ecstatically grateful to Bobby and happily becomes his girl. Laura tries to remind Bobby about their songwriting commitment but to no avail, since all his time is dedicated to Sue. Norman is also being ignored by Sue, even after apologizing and promising to become better. Norman then approaches Laura, both flirting with her with suggestions that what he really needs is a "good" girl, and that they should write a song together. Bobby is confused and upset when he hears about this from Ray, who also tells Bobby that Laura has had feelings for him for a long time. Bobby and Sue break up when Bobby accidentally causes Sue to fall out his bedroom window, but when he approaches Laura to reconcile, she claims that he only started to notice her because she's started dressing nicer and doing her hair. Laura's 16th birthday party is held at the Youth Club. She and Sue decide to put the awkwardness between them to the past, and agree to be friends. Norman and Sue reconcile. Bobby and Laura confess their feelings in the locker room, admitting that they've each liked the other for a long time and didn't know what to do about it, and finally kiss. News comes in from the songwriting competition. Bobby and Laura, who are a team again, have made it to the next round. Norman did not make the cut at all. It then jumps to the final National performance, where Bobby and Laura win with the results of the joint efforts, the pop song "Dreamboats and Petticoats".

Dreamgirls

Musical · 1981

In 1962, The Dreamettes, a hopeful teenage Black girl group from Chicago, enter the famous Amateur Night talent competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York ("I'm Looking for Something", "Goin' Downtown", "Takin' the Long Way Home"). The group is composed of full-figured lead singer Effie White and her best friends, Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson. For the contest, the Dreamettes sing "Move (You're Steppin' on My Heart)", a song written by Effie's brother, C.C., who accompanies them to the talent show. Unfortunately, they lose the talent show, but backstage, the girls and C.C. meet Curtis Taylor Jr., a former car salesman who offers to manage them. Curtis convinces James (Jimmy) "Thunder" Early, a popular R&B star, and his manager, Marty, to hire The Dreamettes as backup singers. Though Jimmy Early and the Dreamettes' first performance together is successful ("Fake Your Way to the Top"), Jimmy is desperate for new material. Curtis convinces Jimmy and Marty that they should venture beyond traditional rhythm and blues and soul audiences and aim for the pop market. C.C. composes "Cadillac Car" for Jimmy and the Dreamettes, who tour ("Cadillac Car (Reprise)") and record the single upon their return ("Cadillac Car (Second Reprise)"). "Cadillac Car" makes its way up the pop charts, but a cover version by white pop singers Dave and the Sweethearts ("Cadillac Car" (Third Reprise)) steals the original recording's thunder. Angered by "Cadillac Car"'s usurpation, Curtis, C.C., and Jimmy's producer, Wayne, resort to payola, bribing DJs across the nation to play Jimmy Early and the Dreamettes' next single, "Steppin' to the Bad Side". As a result, the record becomes a major pop hit. Conflict arises between Marty and Curtis when Curtis moves in on Marty's turf, Jimmy Early. Curtis tries to convince Marty to change Jimmy's image and sound to appeal to the white audience and make Jimmy more successful, and suggests Jimmy play in Miami's Atlantic Hotel, a place that refuses to hire non-white performers; Marty rebuffs and tells Curtis to back off his client. Later, on Lorrell's 18th birthday party, Curtis, referring to himself as Jimmy's manager, calls the Atlantic Hotel's manager to discuss hiring Jimmy Early as a performer; at the same time, Effie and Curtis start a relationship, and Jimmy, a married man, starts an affair with Lorrell. Curtis then succeeds in getting Jimmy to perform in the Atlantic Hotel, which everyone celebrates ("Party, Party"). Strongly determined to make his Black singers household names, Curtis transforms Jimmy Early into a Perry Como-esque pop singer through his performance at the Atlantic Hotel with the Dreamettes ("I Want You Baby"), and later, concentrates on establishing the Dreamettes as their own act, renaming them The Dreams, changing their act to give them a more sophisticated and pop-friendly look and sound. The most crucial of these changes is the establishment of Deena as lead singer, instead of Effie. Effie is resentful of her change in status within the group. C.C. convinces her to go along with Curtis's plan ("Family"). After a fight between Marty and Curtis, Marty quits as Jimmy's manager and Curtis takes over. The Dreams make their club debut in the Crystal Room in Cleveland, singing their first single ("Dreamgirls"). After a triumphant show, the press is eager to meet the newly minted stars ("Press Conference"). Curtis declares to Deena, "I'm going to make you the most famous woman who's ever lived," as the slighted Effie asks "What about me?" ("Only the Beginning"). Over the next few years, the Dreams become a mainstream success with hit singles. As Deena is increasingly feted as a star and Curtis continuously fixates on her, Effie becomes temperamental and unpredictable, suspecting that Curtis and Deena may be having an affair. Effie and Deena quarrel, while Lorrell attempts to keep peace between her bandmates. As Effie continues to disrupt performances and squabble with Deena, Curtis steps in and scolds Effie, warning her to stop. ("Heavy" & "Heavy (Reprise)") In 1967, the group – now known as "Deena Jones and the Dreams" – is set to make their Las Vegas debut, with Jimmy stopping by to see the girls ("Drivin' Down the Strip"). Jimmy learns from C.C. that Effie had been missing performances; Deena is convinced that she is trying to sabotage the act, while C.C. is convinced that she missed shows because of illness. Curtis replaces Effie with a new singer, Michelle Morris, a change which Effie learns before anyone has a chance to tell her. Effie confronts Curtis, C.C., and the group and tries to tell them that she is pregnant ("It's All Over"), but despite her personal appeal to Curtis ("And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"), the heartbroken Effie is left behind as Deena Jones and the Dreams forge ahead without her ("Love Love You Baby"). By 1972, Deena Jones and the Dreams have become the most successful girl group in the country, with Deena having reached superstardom ("'Dreams' Medley" / "Dreamgirls (Reprise)"). Deena has married Curtis, and C.C. is in love with Michelle. Jimmy has gone years without a hit. Curtis shows little interest in updating or revitalizing Jimmy's act because of Curtis's preoccupation with Deena and because of Jimmy's habit of sneaking funk numbers into his repertoire of pop-friendly songs. Effie is back in Chicago, a single mother to her daughter, Magic, struggling to get another break. Marty, who is now her manager, compels her to rebuild her confidence and give up her "diva behaviors." Once she does, Effie is able to make a show business comeback ("I Am Changing"). In contrast to Effie's struggling return to her musical career, Deena wants to stop singing and become an actress. During a Vogue photo shoot ("One More Picture Please"), Deena informs Curtis of her career plans, but Curtis refuses to let her go ("When I First Saw You"). Deena is not the only one chafing under Curtis's control; C.C. is enraged by Curtis's constant rearrangements of his songs, including an emotional ballad, entitled "One Night Only", which Curtis wants instead recorded to reflect the "new sound" he is inventing. Deena and the Dreams and Jimmy perform at a National Democratic fundraiser, on a bill featuring such groups as The Five Tuxedos ("Got to Be Good Times"). While waiting backstage to go on, Jimmy finds himself arguing with Lorrell regarding the nature of their relationship and whether Jimmy will tell his wife about their affair and marry Lorrell ("Ain't No Party"). Lorrell is in tears as Jimmy takes to the stage to perform, and turns to Deena for support. As Jimmy pleads to Lorrell through his music ("I Meant You No Harm"), Deena tries to help Lorrell resolve her situation, and Michelle convinces the artistically frustrated C.C. to go find his sister and reconcile with her ("Quintette"). Midway through "I Meant You No Harm", Jimmy falls apart and decides that he "can't sing any more sad songs." Desperate to keep his set going, Jimmy launches into a wild, improvised funk number ("The Rap"), dropping his pants during the performance. An embarrassed Curtis fires Jimmy as soon as his set concludes ("Firing of Jimmy"). Lorrell ends her affair with Jimmy as well. The heartbroken Jimmy fades into obscurity, refusing to "beg" for Curtis' help. Marty arranges for C.C. to meet and reconcile with Effie at a recording studio ("I Miss You, Old Friend"). C.C. apologizes for his role in handicapping her career, and Effie records C.C.'s "One Night Only" in its original ballad format. "One Night Only" begins climbing the charts, causing an enraged Curtis to rush-release Deena and the Dreams' cover version and use massive amounts of payola to push their version up the charts and Effie's version down. Deena and the Dreams' version of the song becomes a hit. Amidst their performance of the song in Los Angeles, Deena, Lorrell, and Michelle each think of their dreams, which diverge from their current status as musical performers, and inwardly express their desire to quit the music industry: Deena wants to become an actress, Lorrell wants to live her own life and move on from Jimmy, while Michelle wants to settle down with C.C. In the end, all three exclaim, "All of us got other things than singing on our minds." After the performance, film executives approach Deena and express their excitement for making Deena's first film; Curtis pulls her aside and refuses her to go through with the film as there is no music. Deena stays insistent, and as Curtis refuses further, Deena begs Curtis to let her star in the film, to which an angered possessive Curtis tells her that she is his wife and that she is not going anywhere without him ("One Night Only (Reprise)"). As Effie's recording of "One Night Only" descends the charts with Deena and the Dreams' version's ascent, Effie, C.C., and Marty discover Curtis's scheme and later, at a Dreams concert, confront him backstage, threatening legal action ("I'm Somebody" & "Faith in Myself"). As Curtis is forced to make arrangements with Effie's lawyer to reverse his wrongdoings, Effie and Deena reconcile, and Deena learns Effie was pregnant with Curtis's child before her firing from the group. Realizing the kind of man Curtis truly is, Deena finally finds the courage to leave him and live her own life. Effie's "One Night Only" becomes a number-one hit, as the Dreams break up so that Deena can pursue her movie career. At their farewell concert ("Hard to Say Goodbye, My Love"), Effie rejoins the group on stage for the final number, and all four Dreams sing their signature song one last time.

Dreamtime

Musical · 1992

Dreamtime is an original musical by Jean Marc Cerrone and David Niles. It was created by Niles, based on an original story by Cerrone. Niles wrote the book for the musical. The show's message is the power of love and dreams. Billed as a "New Broadway Musical Experience," the show combined giant screen images in high definition with live actors, music and laser lighting effects. The hi-tech, quick editing equipment incorporated into the theater allowed the audience members to be videotaped upon their entrance and become part of the show's finale. Dreamtime ran on Broadway at the Ed Sullivan Theater in 1992.

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