1634 shows
Clear filtersGrand Hotel is a musical in two acts with a book by Luther Davis, music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, and additional music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. The 1989 musical was substantially rewritten from the 1958 musical At the Grand.
Because of changes to the musical that have been made since the 1978 film adaptation, several variants exist. In the event two songs are listed at any given point, the first is from the 1972 Off-Broadway version, and the second is from revivals that use the film music, such as the 2007 version. At revivals that use the 1978 song "Grease", it is typically inserted at or near the beginning of the show. At the Rydell High Class of 1959 reunion ("Alma Mater"), old maid English teacher Miss Lynch introduces former cheerleader/yearbook-editor Patty Simcox Honeywell and class valedictorian Eugene Florczyk. Eugene gives a rousing speech, mentioning that the alumni who are missing from the reunion are surely present in spirit. The scene segues to bring in the greaser gang known as the Burger Palace Boys (known in later versions as the "T-Birds") and their auxiliary, the "Pink Ladies", as they sing a cruder version of the Rydell alma mater ("Alma Mater (Parody)"). Flashing back to the first day of high school in fall 1958, the Pink Ladies sit in the lunchroom, and the Burger Palace Boys sit at the entrance to the school. One of the Pink Ladies, Frenchy, introduces her new neighbor Sandy Dumbrowski, who had been unjustly rejected from a Catholic school, to the others (Marty, Jan and Rizzo), as well as Patty. Sandy tells of how she had a brief love affair the summer before, which ended with unresolved love. Meanwhile, womanizing greaser Danny Zuko is telling the Burger Palace Boys (Kenickie, Roger, Doody and Sonny) the story of his own summer fling ("Summer Nights"). The Pink Ladies soon after realize that Sandy's summer fling was the same Danny Zuko that attends Rydell High and arrange for the two to bump into each other at school; the resulting meeting is tense and awkward, as Danny had previously told Sandy that he attended Lake Forest Academy and does not want to admit to the Burger Palace Boys that she was the woman he was talking about. As the Burger Palace Boys leave, Sandy is hurt and angry, but the Pink Ladies cheer her up, by inviting her over to Marty's pajama party. Shortly afterwards, the teenagers gather in the hall as Doody shows off his new guitar and performs a song ("Those Magic Changes"). At Marty's pajama party, the girls experiment with wine, cigarettes, pierce their ears and talk about boys. The sheltered Sandy goes into shock and falls ill from seeing blood when the Pink Ladies try to pierce her ears, leading them to mock her when she's not in the room (in some revivals, the song "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" is placed here, mirroring the film). Marty tells about her long-distance courtship with a Marine named Freddy and it is implied that she maintains it only because of the lavish gifts he sends her from Japan ("Freddy, My Love"). That same night, the Burger Palace Boys are busy stealing hubcaps, unaware that the hubcaps are on Kenickie's car, Greased Lightnin'. Unfazed by the others' skepticism, Kenickie sings of the upgrades needed to make the car a racing-worthy chick magnet ("Greased Lightnin'"). Danny sees Sandy again at her cheerleader practice, and tries to apologize for his behavior. Patty interrupts and flirts with Danny. Patty informs Danny that track try-outs are nearing, and Danny tells Sandy that he will join the track team to prove himself; he leaves as Patty and Sandy practice cheering ("Rydell Fight Song"). As the Burger Palace Boys and Pink Ladies gather at the park, Danny reveals to the rest of the greasers that he has joined the track team, much to their dismay and skepticism. After Roger and Jan bicker about food, drink, and religion, Jan asks him how he earned the nickname Rump; he explains that, as "King of the Mooners", he has a hobby of baring his backside to unsuspecting victims, and in the process, both reveal their affections for each other ("Mooning"). Rizzo teases Danny for falling for a girl who resembles the excessively proper teenage ingénue, Sandra Dee, and the other greasers join in as she makes fun of Sandy, who has not arrived at the picnic yet ("Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee"). Sandy, working on a biology assignment with Eugene, comes in just as the greasers finish making fun of her. She attacks Rizzo in a fit of rage and erroneously assumes Danny is the one behind the mockery. Furious, she tells Danny that she wishes she never met him and storms out of the picnic. Danny shrugs off Sandy's negative response, and the greasers pair off for the upcoming sock hop. Danny teases Marty for not having a date (recommending Eugene), and the greasers all laugh ("We Go Together"). For revivals that use "Hopelessly Devoted to You", the exact placement varies. It sometimes replaces the first rendition of "We Go Together" and in other examples, such as the 2007 revival, it is placed early in Act II. The night of the sock hop arrives ("Shakin' At the High School Hop"). Sandy is at home by herself, listening to the radio and crying over how much she misses Danny ("It's Raining on Prom Night"). Meanwhile, Kenickie comes into the dance with his date, Cha-Cha DiGregorio, a girl from Saint Bernadette's Academy. Patty tries to pair up with Danny, trash-talking Sandy's cheerleading skills in the process, but is unable to get out of her promise to dance with Eugene despite Rizzo trying to seduce Eugene as a distraction. Kenickie ends up paired off with Rizzo, and Danny with Cha-Cha. The MC Vince Fontaine, a radio disc jockey, begins the hand jive dance contest, and everyone eagerly participates as he tags the contestants out ("Born to Hand Jive"). In the end, Danny and Cha-Cha are the winners. Amongst the awards given to the couple, Danny receives two free drive-in movie tickets. Sometime later outside of the Burger Palace hangout, Kenickie, Doody, and Sonny run into Frenchy. The boys are armed with an "arsenal" of household items and reveal that, to their surprise, Cha-Cha was the girlfriend of someone in the boys' rival gang, the Flaming Dukes; the Dukes, hearing of Cha-Cha's dancing with the Burger Palace Boys, challenged the boys to a rumble. Danny sprints into the scene wearing his track suit, to the disbelief of the other boys. Danny tells the boys he cannot partake in the rumble because of a track meet and sprints off. The three remaining boys go into the Burger Palace for a snack before the fight, and Frenchy laments at what to do with her life, having dropped out of beauty school in frustration at failing all of her classes. The heavenly Teen Angel appears with a chorus of back-up singing angels and tells her to return to high school ("Beauty School Dropout"). The three boys exit the Burger Palace, bemoaning Danny's betrayal while only halfheartedly noticing Roger is unaccounted for. They wait for the Flaming Dukes, but the rival gang never turns up. Roger finally turns up with only a broken antenna as a weapon; in response, the other three proceed to strip Roger of his pants and shoes. At the drive-in, Danny tries to make up for his behavior and offers Sandy his class ring. She initially is thrilled, but pulls back and exits the car when he tries to move beyond a kiss. Danny laments his loneliness ("Alone at a Drive-In Movie" or "Sandy"). Several days later, Sandy and the greasers — without Danny — are gathered in Jan's basement ("Rock 'N' Roll Party Queen"). Rizzo, who missed her period, fears she is pregnant and tells Marty (who herself laments that Vince tried to spike her drink at the dance) that the father is a stranger who had sex with her with a cheap, broken condom; word gets back to everyone else. The boys offer support as they leave; Rizzo rejects it, leading Sandy to ask her why and presume that Kenickie is the father. Rizzo responds by saying that she is a better person than others make her out to be and that showing weakness is the worst thing she knows ("There Are Worse Things I Could Do"). Rizzo leaves, and Sandy decides what she needs to do to fit in with the greasers ("Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" (Reprise)). The next day, the boys are hanging out at the Burger Palace. A dejected Patty reveals Danny, who follows her in, has reverted to his old ways and quit the track team. Sandy comes in alongside the Pink Ladies, having transformed herself from an innocent schoolgirl into a greaser's fantasy, punching out a dismayed Patty. Danny is delighted at this change and the couple express their mutual feelings for each other ("All Choked Up" or "You're the One That I Want"). Afterwards, the greasers prepare to head to Roger's to watch The Mickey Mouse Club, inviting Patty along. Frenchy takes a job as a makeup saleswoman at Woolworth's, Rizzo reveals that she is not pregnant, and she and Kenickie reunite. All ends happily, and the Burger Palace Boys, the Pink Ladies, Sandy, and Patty sing about how they will always be friends to the end ("We Go Together" (Reprise)). Because of the popularity of the 1978 film adaptation, which made several changes to the musical's songs and themes (many to accommodate its casting choice of the singer Olivia Newton-John as Sandy), the subsequent revivals adopted several of the changes made in the film, particularly the replacement of several songs, Sandy's portrayal with blonde hair instead of the original brunette, and the renaming of the Burger Palace Boys to their film name, the T-Birds. However, in the revival, the role of Sandy Dumbrowski is not changed from the original Broadway production. In order to make the original musical suitable for young performers and audiences, Jim Jacobs decided to write a "school version" of the musical. This edition eliminates all of the references to cigarettes and alcohol, and also any swearing or bad language. Most of the songs have also undergone changes as well; the numbers are all shortened greatly and edited for content/language.
Greatest Days is a jukebox musical with music and lyrics by Take That and a book by Tim Firth. It received its world premiere under its original title The Band at the Manchester Opera House, in September 2017, before embarking on a UK and Ireland tour and opened at the Theatre Royal Haymarket at London's West End in December 2018. The band was cast through the 2017 BBC reality television show Let It Shine. The musical tells the story of five women who were best friends as teenagers and all big fans of The Band. 25 years later after losing contact the four of them reunite to fulfill their dream of seeing the band perform. Greatest Days is the second jukebox musical based on the songs of Take That, after the 2008 musical Never Forget.
Greenwillow is a musical with a book by Lesser Samuels and Frank Loesser and music and lyrics by Loesser, based on the novel by B. J. Chute. The musical is set in the magical town of Greenwillow. It ran on Broadway in 1960.
Grey Gardens is a musical with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, produced in 2006 and based on the 1975 documentary of the same title about the lives of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale ("Big Edie") and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale ("Little Edie") by Albert and David Maysles. The Beales were Jacqueline Kennedy's aunt and cousin, respectively. Set at Grey Gardens, the Bouviers' mansion in East Hampton, New York, the musical tracks the progression of the two women's lives from their original status as rich and socially polished aristocrats to their eventual largely isolated existence in a home overrun by cats and cited for repeated health code violations. However, its more central purpose is to untangle the complicated dynamics of their dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship.
Grind is a 1985 musical with music by Larry Grossman, lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh, and a book by Fay Kanin. Grind is a portrait of a largely African-American burlesque house in Chicago in the Thirties. Reviews of the production were mixed at best.
A three-act German operetta about Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XV, set in the court of France.
Bud Davenport and Doug Simon are the authors of a musical about Johannes Gutenberg. At a backer's audition, they pitch the show to potential Broadway producers. Because the minimally-talented and starry-eyed authors do not have a cast or an orchestra, Bud and Doug play all of the roles themselves, wearing hats with the characters' names on them and switching the hats to indicate the different characters. They also use simple objects as props, such as a cardboard box, pencils, and a chair. Since Bud and Doug's research into the life of Gutenberg consisted only of a quick Google search, they have scant information about their subject and take a historical fiction approach, by which they mean that they just made stuff up. In their musical, Gutenberg is a wine presser in the medieval German town of Schlimmer, a happy and cheery place, except that the town is horribly dirty and depressing, and no one except Gutenberg can read. Intent on saving the townspeople from their own ignorance, Gutenberg turns his wine press into a printing press, accomplishing this in one night. His beautiful but dim assistant Helvetica is in love with him, but Gutenberg is unaware of her feelings. Meanwhile, the show's villain, Monk, an evil monk who worships Satan, attempts to keep ignorance alive so he can control the townspeople through inaccurate readings of the Bible and seeks to destroy the printing press. Despite their ineptitude, Bud and Doug's high-energy and optimistic performance of their show launches their dreams, as they are awarded a Broadway production contract.
A pantomime of never-ceasing activities depicts the hustle and bustle of New York City ("Runyonland"). Three small-time gamblers, Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Benny Southstreet, and Rusty Charlie, argue over which horse will win a big race ("Fugue for Tinhorns"). The band members of the Save-a-Soul Mission, led by the pious and beautiful Sergeant Sarah Brown, call for sinners to "Follow the Fold" and repent ("Follow the Fold"). Nicely and Benny's employer, Nathan Detroit, runs an illegal floating craps game. Due to local policeman Lt. Brannigan's strong-armed presence, he has found only one likely spot to hold the game: the "Biltmore garage". Its owner, Joey Biltmore requires a $1,000 security deposit, and Nathan is broke ("The Oldest Established"). Nathan hopes to win a $1,000 bet against Sky Masterson, a notoriously lucky gambler willing to bet on virtually anything. Nathan proposes a bet he believes he cannot lose: Sky must take a woman of Nathan's choice to dinner in Havana, Cuba. Sky agrees, and Nathan chooses Sarah Brown. At the mission, Sky attempts to make a deal with Sarah; offering her "one dozen genuine sinners" in exchange for the date in Havana. Sarah refuses, and they argue over whom they will fall in love with ("I'll Know"). Sky kisses Sarah, and she slaps him. Nathan goes to watch his fiancée of 14 years, Adelaide, perform her nightclub act ("A Bushel and a Peck"). After her show, she asks him to marry her once again, telling him that she has been sending her mother letters for twelve years claiming that they have been married with five children. She finds out that Nathan is still running the craps game. After kicking him out, she reads a medical book telling her that her long-running cold may be due to Nathan's refusal to marry her ("Adelaide's Lament"). The next day, Nicely and Benny watch as Sky pursues Sarah, and Nathan tries to win back Adelaide's favor. They declare that guys will do anything for the women they love ("Guys and Dolls"). General Cartwright, the leader of Save-a-Soul, visits the mission and explains that she will be forced to close the branch unless they succeed in bringing some sinners to the upcoming revival meeting. Sarah, desperate to save the mission, promises the General "one dozen genuine sinners", implicitly accepting Sky's deal. Brannigan discovers a group of gamblers waiting for Nathan's craps game, and to convince him of their innocence, they tell Brannigan their gathering is Nathan's "surprise bachelor party". This satisfies Brannigan, and Nathan resigns himself to eloping with Adelaide. Adelaide goes home to pack, promising to meet him after her show the next afternoon. The Save-A-Soul Mission band passes by, and Nathan sees that Sarah is not in it; he realizes that he lost the bet and faints. In a Havana nightclub, Sky buys a "Cuban milkshake" for himself and Sarah, which contains Bacardi rum. After a long dance sequence ("Havana"), a fight breaks out in the nightclub, and they flee. Outside, a drunk Sarah kisses Sky ("If I Were a Bell"). Sky realizes that he genuinely cares for Sarah, and he takes her back to New York. They return at around 4:00 a.m., and Sky tells Sarah how much he loves the early morning ("My Time of Day"). They both spontaneously admit that they're in love ("I've Never Been in Love Before"). A siren sounds and gamblers run out of the Mission, where Nathan has been holding the craps game. Sarah assumes that Sky took her to Havana so Nathan could run the game in the mission, and she walks out on him. The next evening, Adelaide performs her act ("Take Back Your Mink"). Afterwards, Nicely and Sky inform her that Nathan once again will not be making an appearance. Adelaide and Sky argue about their respective relationships and their outlooks on life. He leaves, and she sadly reflects on Nathan standing her up again ("Adelaide's Second Lament"). Back in the Mission, Sarah admits to Arvide and Martha that she does love Sky, but she will not see him again. Arvide, her grandfather and fellow mission worker, expresses his faith in Sky's inherent goodness and urges Sarah to follow her heart ("More I Cannot Wish You"). Sky arrives and tells Sarah he intends to deliver the dozen genuine sinners for the revival, but she rebukes him and walks off. Arvide subtly encourages Sky, who leaves and finds Nicely. Nicely shows Sky to the craps game, which has now moved to the sewers to hide ("The Crapshooters' Dance"). After playing for twenty-four hours, most of the gamblers are tired, but Big Jule, a gambler from Chicago, has lost a large sum of money and refuses to end the game until he earns it back. Sky arrives and fails to convince the crapshooters to come to the mission. He gives Nathan $1,000 and claims that he lost the bet. After a comment made by one of the gamblers inspires him, Sky formulates a last-minute bet to get the sinners: if he loses, everyone gets $1,000, but if he wins, they visit to the mission one time. He wins the bet ("Luck Be a Lady"). On the way to the Mission, Nathan runs into Adelaide. She tries to convince him to elope, but when he says he has to go to a prayer meeting, Adelaide becomes angry, believing Nathan is lying to her. Nathan finally professes his love for her ("Sue Me") and leaves. Sarah is shocked to see that Sky carried through on his promise. The General asks the gamblers to confess their sins, and while some offer sarcastic confessions, one of them admits that Sky's bet is the only reason why the gamblers came to the meeting. The General is thrilled that good can come from evil. Attempting to appear contrite during his confession, Nicely invents a dream that encouraged him to repent, and the gamblers join in with revivalist fervor ("Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat"). Brannigan arrives and threatens to arrest everyone for the craps game in the Mission, but Sarah clears them, saying that none of the gamblers were at the mission the previous night. After Brannigan leaves, Nathan confesses that they held the craps game in the mission and apologizes. He also confesses to the bet he made with Sky about taking Sarah to Havana, adding that he won the bet, to Sarah's shock. She realizes that Sky wanted to protect her reputation and must genuinely care about her. Afterwards, Sarah and Adelaide run into each other and commiserate. After Sarah mentions Nathan was at the prayer meeting, Adelaide realizes Nathan was telling the truth. The two women eventually decide they want to marry their men as soon as possible and reform their negative qualities afterward ("Marry the Man Today"). A few weeks later, Nathan owns a newsstand and has officially closed the craps game at Adelaide's behest. Sky, who is now married to Sarah, works in the Mission band and has also stopped gambling. The characters celebrate as Nathan and Adelaide are married ("Guys and Dolls (Finale/Reprise)").
Baby June and Louise, the two daughters of Rose Hovick, play the vaudeville circuit around the United States in the early 1920s. Rose, the archetype of a stage mother, is aggressive and domineering, pushing her children to perform. While June is an extroverted, talented child star, the older girl, Louise, is shy. Their act has one song, "May We Entertain You", with June always as the centerpiece and Louise in the background. Rose has big dreams for the girls but encounters setbacks when her father refuses to lend her money for those dreams ("Some People"). When Rose meets a former agent, Herbie, she persuades him to become their manager using her seductive and feminine wiles ("Small World"). Through Herbie's efforts, "Baby June and Her Newsboys" becomes a top vaudeville act. As the girls grow into adolescents, June and her act have a chance to perform for Mr. Goldstone of the Orpheum Circuit ("Mr. Goldstone, I Love You"). Meanwhile, Louise celebrates her birthday alone and wonders how old she is ("Little Lamb"). Rose rejects Herbie's marriage proposal and he considers leaving, but she asserts that he could never get away from her ("You'll Never Get Away From Me"). After an audition for T.T. Grantziger ("Dainty June and Her Farmboys/Broadway"), June is offered a place at a Performing Arts school. However, Rose turns this down, refusing to break up the act. Louise and June fantasize what life would be like if Rose were married and finished with show business ("If Momma Was Married"). A few months later, still on the road from show to show, Tulsa, one of the boys from the act, confides to Louise that he has been working on his own act and Louise fantasizes that she and he could do the act together ("All I Need Is the Girl"). Shortly after this, June is missing, and she explains in a note that she has grown sick of her mother and the endless tour and has eloped with Tulsa, with whom she will do a new act. Rose is hurt, but she optimistically vows that she will make Louise a star, proclaiming that "Everything's Coming Up Roses". Louise is an adult and Rose has created an act based on the Dainty June act for her. Using an all-female cast, Rose and Herbie attempt to book "Madame Rose's Toreadorables" in vaudeville. They remain together ("Together, Wherever We Go"). With no vaudeville venues left, Louise and her second-rate act wind up accidentally booked at a burlesque house in Wichita, Kansas, as a means to deter police raids. Rose is anguished, as she sees what a booking in burlesque means to her dreams of success, but Louise persuades her that two weeks' pay for the new act is better than unemployment. Backstage, Rose proposes marriage to Herbie. He asks her to break up the act and let Louise have a normal life, and she reluctantly accepts, agreeing to marry the day after their show closes. As they are introduced to Louise, three of the strippers on the bill advise her on what it takes to be a successful stripper, a "gimmick," something that "makes your strip special" ("You Gotta Get a Gimmick"). On the last day of the booking, the star stripper in the burlesque show is arrested for solicitation. Desperate, Rose cannot resist the urge to give Louise another nudge toward stardom, and she volunteers Louise to do the striptease as a last-minute replacement. Herbie is disgusted at how low Rose has stooped and he finally walks out on her ("Small World" (Reprise)). Although reluctant, Louise goes on, assured by Rose that she needn't actually strip but simply walk elegantly and tease by dropping a single shoulder strap. Shy and hesitant, she sings a titillating version of the old vaudeville song "May We Entertain You". She removes only her glove, but she speaks directly to her audience, which becomes her "gimmick". Louise becomes secure, always following her mother's advice to "Make 'em beg for more, and then don't give it to them!" With each performance, the song becomes brasher and brassier, and Louise removes more articles of clothing. Ultimately, she becomes a major burlesque star ("Let Me Entertain You"). At Louise's dressing room, Rose argues with her daughter, now known as the sophisticated "Gypsy Rose Lee". Embittered, Rose reveals that the true motivation for all her actions has been to live vicariously through her daughters so she can chase the stardom she wanted for herself, not for her children. She realizes that she has driven away June, Herbie, and now possibly Louise. She displays the talent that could have been under different circumstances, as the name "Rose" flashes in neon lights ("Rose's Turn"). After her admission to Louise, mother and daughter tentatively move toward reconciliation in the end. In the 1974 and 2008 Broadway revivals, although the final dialogue scene remains, there is not a happy ending, but rather a bleak, sad one as all hopes of reconciliation for Rose and Louise fall flat when Louise walks away, laughing sarcastically at Rose's new "dream." The audience is then left with a somber Rose, whose dream of her own lit up marquee slowly fades away to her unrealistic dreams. In the 2003 revival starring Bernadette Peters, the final dialogue scene remains, but leaves the ending open to more interpretation from the audience. Louise walks through the stage door, with Rose following behind. Rose then turns to face the audience, a look of sadness and longing on her face as she takes one last look at the empty stage. She pauses and slowly closes the door. In the 2015 West End revival starring Imelda Staunton, Louise begins to walk out, and Rose catches up after waking up to reality. Louise puts her arm around Rose as they exit together. In the 2024 revival starring Audra McDonald, Rose and Louise embrace and exit the stage arm in arm.
Claude sits center stage as the "tribe" mingles with the audience. Tribe members Sheila, a New York University student and political activist, and Berger, an irreverent free spirit, cut a lock of Claude's hair and burn it. After the tribe converges in slow motion toward the stage, they begin their celebration as children of the Age of Aquarius ("Aquarius"). Berger removes his trousers to reveal a loincloth. Interacting with the audience, he introduces himself as a "psychedelic teddy bear... looking for my Donna" ("Donna"). The tribe recites a list of pharmaceuticals, legal and illegal ("Hashish"). Woof, a gentle soul, extols sexual practices ("Sodomy"). He loves plants, his family and the audience, telling the audience, "We are all one." Hud, a militant African-American, is carried in upside-down on a pole. He declares himself "president of the United States of Love" ("Colored Spade"). In a fake English accent, Claude says that he is "the most beautiful beast in the forest" from "Manchester, England". A tribe member reminds him that he is from Flushing, New York ("Manchester England"). Hud, Woof and Berger declare their color ("I'm Black"), while Claude counters that he is "invisible". The tribe rattles off a list of things they lack ("Ain't Got No"). African-American tribe members list street signs in symbolic sequence ("Dead End"). Sheila is carried onstage ("I Believe in Love") and leads the tribe in a protest chant. Jeanie, an eccentric young woman, appears wearing a gas mask because of pollution ("Air"). She is pregnant and in love with Claude, wishing it was Claude's baby, as she was "knocked up by some crazy speed freak". The tribe link LBJ, FBI, CIA and LSD ("Initials"). Members of the tribe appear dressed as Claude's parents, berating him for transgressions: he has no job and collects "mountains of paper" clippings and notes. They say they will not give him any more money, and "the army'll make a man out of you", presenting him with his draft notice. In defiance, Claude leads the tribe in celebrating their vitality ("I Got Life"). Berger hands out imaginary pills to the tribe members, saying they are for high-profile people such as Richard Nixon, the Pope and "Alabama Wallace". He relates how he was expelled from high school. Three tribe members dress up as school principals in Hitler mustaches and swastika armbands, mocking the American education system. Berger and the tribe defy them, singing "Going Down". Claude returns from passing his draft board physical. He pretends to burn his Vietnam War draft card, which Berger reveals is a library card. Claude agonizes about what to do about being drafted. Two tribe members dressed as tourists arrive to ask the tribe why they have long hair. Claude and Berger lead the tribe in explaining the significance ("Hair"). The woman says kids should "be free, no guilt" and "do whatever you want, just so long as you don't hurt anyone." She observes that long hair is natural ("My Conviction"). She opens her coat to reveal that she is a man in drag. As the couple leaves, the tribe calls her Margaret Mead. Sheila gives Berger a yellow shirt. He goofs around and tears it in two. Sheila laments that Berger cares more about the "bleeding crowd" than about her ("Easy to Be Hard"). Jeanie summarizes everyone's romantic entanglements: "I'm hung up on Claude, Sheila's hung up on Berger, Berger is hung up everywhere. Claude is hung up on a cross over Sheila and Berger." Berger, Woof and another tribe member pay satiric tribute to the American flag as they fold it ("Don't Put It Down"). The tribe joins the audience, inviting them to a Be-In. After young and innocent Crissy describes "Frank Mills", a boy she is looking for, the tribe participates in the "Be-In". The men burn their draft cards. Claude puts his card in the fire, changes his mind and pulls it out. He asks, "where is the something, where is the someone, that tells me why I live and die?" ("Where Do I Go"). The tribe appears naked, intoning "beads, flowers, freedom, happiness." Some tribe members have the "Electric Blues". The tribe enters worshiping in an attempt to summon Claude ("Oh Great God of Power"). Claude returns from the induction center, and tribe members act out an imagined conversation from his draft interview, with Hud saying "the draft is white people sending black people to make war on the yellow people to defend the land they stole from the red people". Claude gives Woof a Mick Jagger poster; Woof is excited about the gift, as he is infatuated with Jagger. Three white women of the tribe tell why they like "Black Boys" ("black boys are delicious"), and three black women of the tribe, dressed like The Supremes, explain why they like "White Boys" ("white boys are so pretty"). Berger gives Claude a joint laced with a hallucinogen. Claude starts to trip as the tribe acts out his visions ("Walking in Space"). He hallucinates that he is skydiving from a plane into the jungles of Vietnam. Berger appears as General George Washington and is told to retreat because of an Indian attack. The Indians shoot all of Washington's men. General Ulysses S. Grant appears and begins a roll call: Abraham Lincoln (played by a black female tribe member), John Wilkes Booth, Calvin Coolidge, Clark Gable, Scarlett O'Hara, Aretha Franklin, Colonel George Custer. They all dance a minuet until African witch doctors kill them, except for Lincoln, who says, "I'm one of you". After the Africans sing his praises, Lincoln recites an alternate version of the Gettysburg Address ("Abie Baby"). Booth shoots Lincoln, but Lincoln tells him, "Shit! I'm not dyin' for no white man". As the visions continue, Buddhist monks enter. One pours a can of gasoline over another monk, who is set afire (reminiscent of the self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức) and runs off screaming. Three Catholic nuns strangle the three remaining Buddhist monks. Three astronauts shoot the nuns with ray guns. Three Chinese people stab the astronauts. Three Native Americans kill the Chinese with bows and tomahawks. Three Green Berets kill the Native Americans with machine guns and then kill each other. A sergeant appears with two parents holding a suit on a hanger, talking to the suit as if it were their son of whom they are very proud. The bodies rise and play like children. The playing escalates to violence until they are all dead again. They rise again and comment about the casualties in Vietnam: "It's a dirty little war" ("Three-Five-Zero-Zero"). At the end of the sequence, two tribe members sing, over the dead bodies, Shakespeare's paean to the nobility of Man ("What A Piece of Work Is Man"). After the trip, Claude says "I can't take this moment to moment living on the streets.... I want to be... invisible". As they "look at the Moon", Sheila and the others enjoy a light moment ("Good Morning Starshine"). The tribe pays tribute to an old mattress ("The Bed"). Claude leaves as the tribe enters wrapped in blankets during a snowstorm. They begin a protest chant and then call for Claude. Claude enters dressed in a military uniform, his hair short, but the tribe does not see him because he is an invisible spirit. Claude says, "like it or not, they got me." The tribe sings "Flesh Failures". They move in front of Claude and launch into "Let the Sun Shine In"; as they exit, Claude is left lying in the center. During the curtain call, the tribe reprises "Let the Sun Shine In" and brings audience members on stage to dance. (Note: This plot summary is based on the original Broadway script. The script has varied in subsequent productions.)
In 1962 Baltimore, teenager Tracy Turnblad wins a place on a local television dance show and campaigns to integrate it.
The musical tells the tale of the changing fortunes of Arthur Kipps, an orphan and draper's assistant at Shalford's Bazaar in Folkestone, Kent at the turn of the twentieth century. Kipps is an easy-going working class lad, who is happiest with his banjo. He falls in love with Ann Pornick, who gives him the titular gift of half a sixpence as a token of their love. However, when he unexpectedly inherits a fortune from an estranged grandfather, he is suddenly propelled into high society. He catches the eye of Helen Walsingham and her money-grabbing family, who are desperate to restore their family fortune. When he loses his money (thanks to the fraudulent behavior of Helen's brother, James), Kipps is reminded of his roots and returns to marry Ann.
Georgina is a talented, beautiful and ambitious African American woman, determined to have a career. Overcoming many obstacles, she rises to stardom. She makes her way through the Great Depression, World War II, and the beginning of the civil rights movement. Her mother advises her to "keep her place" as a maid on a South Carolina estate, but Georgina negotiates the blocks to stardom from her negative and opportunistic mother. She encounters the racism that pervades society and show business. Two men vie for Georgina's attention. Harvey, who is white, is able to provide opportunities for her. Her fiancé, Clem, who is a black train porter, cannot help her on her journey. By the 1950s, she is a successful singer in an expensive night club. However, Clem, who became an Army captain and then a civil rights activist, challenges Georgina's life goals.
Alexander Hamilton arrives in New York determined to make his mark. Through revolution, political rivalries, and family life, this musical follows his rise and asks who gets to tell a nation’s story. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s score brings together hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway.
Ten contestants vie for a "hardbody" truck in Longview, Texas. The last contestant who has his or her hands on the truck wins it. The truck is a Nissan "hardbody" pickup (on stage). The lives of each contestant, along with the car dealer and a radio announcer are revealed during the "hardbody" contest. The show opens with a pickup truck on stage and Benny Perkins explaining how a 'hands on a hardbody' contest works. The rest of the contestants and contest runners join the stage and all sing about the truck and the contest ("Human Drama Kind of Thing"). The song ends as the contest begins. As the contestants begin to bond they talk about what a truck means to a Texan and why the contestants want the truck and what difference it would make in their life ("If I Had This Truck"). The news crew covering the competition start interviewing the contestants and Janis Curtis and her husband Don catch their attention. Even though he isn't participating in the contest, he is forcing himself to go through everything that his wife has to go through because they're in it together. ("If She Don't Sleep"). It's a ways into the competition now and no one has fallen yet. Benny has been teasing many of the contestants, trying to intimidate them, as he is the only one of them who has won the contest in the past or even participated. He begins belittling Ronald McCowan, who has been snacking on candy bars the whole time. Thusly, he isn't doing so well. He illustrates such with his song "My Problem Right There" while the girls, Kelli, Heather, and Norma are rooting for him because they don't like Benny. The song ends with him taking his hands off and giving up. Benny says that once the first person drops, more people will soon follow. Benny and the older man in the competition, J.D. Drew have taken to an unlikely partnership. J.D.'s wife, Virginia, keeps visiting and checking up on him, taking care of him during their 15-minute breaks. J.D., however, doesn't like being coddled and pushes her away, saddening her, and she sings about how they used to be when they were young ("Alone With Me"). Then it is revealed that Heather, the Southern beauty in the competition, was chosen by Mike Ferris, one of the people running the competition to win, because she would look good in the advertisements and bring Floyd King Nissan more revenue. He's promised to do what he can to make the competition easier. As he brings lets her sit in the air conditioning they sing ("Burn That Bridge"). Meanwhile, Kelli Mangrum and Greg Wilhote have been bonding. They decide that if either of them wins they will go together to LA ("I'm Gone"). Norma, who's been using her walkman and her faith in God to get her by, begins to crack and breaks into uncontrollable laughter. This bothers Janis immensely and Benny says that it's essentially the beginning of the end. The laughter transitions into a joyful gospel hymn ("Joy of the Lord") that everyone joins in singing, save for Chris Alvaro, the stoic veteran who's been unmoving and unspeaking for the whole competition until he cuts off the song, yelling for everyone to shut up. Everyone's unhappy with Chris's cynical nature and foul language, none more so than Benny, whose son also served. The two exchange nasty words before Chris sings about what it was really like to serve overseas ("Stronger"). By the end he's crying and runs offstage, the second to lose the contest. Benny's lack of respect for Chris and overall nasty attitude infuriates the other contestants. Fueled by their anger, Benny claims that if they can't "Hunt with the Big Dogs" they should stay on the porch with the pups. Act II begins almost like a commercial with Mike Ferris and Frank Nugent, another host, singing the title song, "Hands on a Hardbody". Cindy Barnes, the female host, approaches Jesus Pena, a Mexican contestant and says to him that if he wins she's going to have to see his green card. She repeats what she can in extremely broken Spanish, though he has told her repeatedly that he speaks English and was born in Texas ("Born in Laredo"). Later, J.D. reflects on his and Virginia's marriage ("Alone With Me (Reprise)"). Janis suddenly pipes up and claims that Heather has taken her hands off the truck to put some lipstick on. Mike does his best to defend Heather but Janis becomes enraged claiming that the competition is fixed ("It's a Fix") and leaves the contest in a blaze of fury, becoming the third contestant eliminated. As J.D. and Benny bond further, they begin talking about where they live and J.D., Benny, and Norma become wistful about how the town has been taken over by industry and has none of the personality that it had when they were young ("Used to Be"). Contestants begin dropping like flies as Jesus, Kelli, and Greg all fall quickly. Jesus hallucinates he's playing with his dog and takes his hands off as if to throw a ball. Kelli is in a daze and walks right off the stage. Greg is hesitant to follow her and give up the competition, but decides it's more important that she doesn't hurt herself and runs after her. Heather is completely jacked up on the uppers she has been taking and begins complaining about how uncomfortable the gloves they have to wear for the contest are. They begin driving her crazy and she confesses that she was set up to win the competition and forfeits ("It's a Fix (Reprise)"). Benny confesses to J.D. that his legs are going numb, which he said at the beginning is when it's all over. J.D. encourages him to hold on, but Benny loses faith quickly and recounts what life has done to him when he hoped and prayed ("God Answered My Prayers") and reveals that his son killed himself while he was overseas. He lets go, saying that God finally answered his prayers with a "yes." Ronald comes back to see how the competition is going, and to support Norma. Norma loses her faith when her Walkman runs out of juice, so Ronald as well as Chris, who never went back home after losing, begin to sing ("Joy of the Lord (Reprise)") to bring back her spirit, but it works too well, as she takes her hands off to clap along to the music. That leaves J.D. as the last man standing and he wins the competition, giving the truck he won to his wife, Virginia. In the end, all the characters recount what happens for them after the competition and how the competition changed their lives ("Keep Your Hands on It").
The show opens on the news of Hank's death, with Hank's ghost observing various reactions to the news, then proceeds to tell the story of his life, including his friendship with a bluesman, "Tee Tot" ( Rufus Payne), who taught him to play; his courting and marriage to first wife Audrey; his rise to stardom; and his struggles with alcoholism as they cause considerable turmoil in his career and personal life.
Miserable Arcadians Chloe and Strephon break their engagement when handsome Lycidas pursues Chloe. Four magical objects grant wishes, and the characters transform into one another in ways that satisfy their dissatisfactions. They exchange the objects, wish themselves back to their original forms, and reconcile. Lycidas decides Arcadia is not for him, and the objects are sold to him.
Happy Hunting is a 1956 musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, lyrics by Matt Dubey, music by Harold Karr, original choreography by Alex Romero, assistant choreographer Eugene Louis Faccuito (Luigi). The plot focuses on wealthy Philadelphia Main Line widow Liz Livingstone and her efforts to find a royal husband for her daughter Beth.
The Narrator introduces the Seton family, who in December 1933 live in a five-story townhouse on Fifth Avenue in New York City. He relates their story. Successful Wall Street lawyer Johnny Case has become engaged to Julia Seton. Julia and her sister Linda celebrate the engagement ("At Long Last Love"). However, Johnny has decided to abandon his well-paid career and instead live a life of pleasure, using Julia's money. Julia's banker father Edward is very upset and her willful sister Linda is fascinated. Johnny begins to realize that he loves the unconventional Linda, and they become a couple, disregarding the "old money and values" of others for a life together.
Happy Town is a musical comedy that opened on Broadway October 7, 1959 and closed October 10, 1959 after only five performances. The music was by Gordon Duffy, lyrics by Harry Haldane, and book by Max Hampton, with additional songs by Paul Nassau.
Happyland was a starring vehicle for DeWolf Hopper who portrayed Ecstaticus, the King of the fictional country of Elysia. The sets depicting Elysia by Ernest Albert, were largely modeled after the classical style of Lawrence Alma-Tadema whose work was heavily influence by ancient Greco-Roman art. In Act I of the opera, Ecstaticus sings the song "A Sickening Sadness Sits On Me" in which he laments his incredible boredom due to the unendingly happiness and prosperity of everyone in his country. He longs for some scandal and conflict to interrupt his monotony. In order to end his boredom, the king decides to create some drama by declaring that everyone in his kingdom who is unmarried and of age must marry immediately. To further complicate matters, he betrothes his "son" to the daughter of the neighboring monarch, King Altimus of Altruria. Ecstaticus in fact has no son; only a daughter, the Princess Sylvia. For fun, Ecstaticus decides to pass Sylvia off as his son; a plan she despises as she is in love with Prince Fortunatus of Fortunia. Sylvia runs off and elopes with Fortunatus, and further unhappiness arises around Ecstaticus and his kingdom as the consequences of his actions bear fruit.
Act I The show starts with an old Rabbi recounting his days in the Comedian Harmonists. Rabbi recounts that he was in the group and we hear them sing together in "Harmony". We see them holding the auditions and the various members joining the group- Young Rabbi, Bobby, Erich, Lesh, Harry, and Chopin. Mary is a Christian seamstress, dating the Jewish Young Rabbi. She ponders on the future world and how the area around her is changing. ("What Do You See?") Mary wonders to Young Rabbi whether they can make it. Young Rabbi assures her it’s not so bad out there and they are in love and can move forward. Meanwhile the Harmonists have gotten an audition at a nice club, this could potentially be their big break. We also meet Ruth, a Jew who is dating the Christian Chopin. Ruth is a fiery revolutionist with communist ideals- Mary makes her a red coat and the boys go to support her at a rally with Chopin donning a red scarf to support her. (“This is Our Time”) With the Harmonists getting a spot to play at the nice club, Erich is now concerned because his parents are quite wealthy, so it would get back to them that he played at the club from people who saw him. He is a doctor, so him starting to devote his career to singing is a big change. In this song, he practices telling his parents the news with the other boys acting as his parents and coming up with different reactions. (“Your Son is Becoming a Singer”) We go back to Mary and Young Rabbi. Things have gotten worse for Jews around Germany. Mary is concerned that they are setting themselves up for failure. Young Rabbi assures her that they will fight for each other and proposes marriage. (“Every Single Day”) The harmonists go to the club for their big performance. (“How Can I Serve You Madam?”) It turns out someone has broken into their dressing room since the tuxes for their performance are made by a Jewish shop owner. They end up performing a more comedic styled performance without pants in big jackets with water spraying effects. It’s a huge hit, and the Harmonists become the Comedian Harmonists and incorporate comedy and parody into their acts. This quickly takes off and they become hugely popular. We see Young Rabbi and Mary and Ruth and Chopin get married. ("The Wedding") They perform traditional Jewish wedding customs, but at the end, someone runs up the aisle and breaks the glass of the synagogue. The group and Mary go on a European tour and go to America to play Carnegie Hall. ("Home") They are extremely successful and meet tons of celebrities along the way. This tour is contrasted with images on stage of Nazi propaganda depicting the Nazi rise to power in Germany. The group is largely shielded from this as they are away overseas. They run into Albert Einstein (played by the Old Rabbi in a wig). Einstein talks about how bad things have gotten and how he’s never going back. The group gets an offer to stay in the US and host a radio show and do a regular show with the famous Josephine Baker. They debate it, but Bobby is insistent that everybody loves them more at home and they should go back where they have come from. The group eventually gives in to Bobby. Old Rabbi reminisces and wishes they had stayed. Act II In a “what if” scenario, we see the group perform with Josephine Baker in a raucous upbeat number ("We're Goin' Loco!"). Rabbi tells us this is what could have been, but they went back. The group has a big performance, performing an original song that uses some Jewish folk music in it ("Hungarian Rhapsody #20"). At this point, we see a Nazi officer and his wife come and sit in the audience. Some anti-Jewish protesters stand up and yell slurs from the balcony at the performance. The Nazi reprimands them and the group finishes their performance. The Nazi then comes up onstage and compliments them on their performance, getting them to sign his album. All of the men are clearly uncomfortable, and Harry (who is Jewish) is somewhat removed. The boys thank the Nazi for defending them, and the Nazi tells them the party actually is in favor of them because it shows they are friendly to culture and let a band with Jewish members perform. Ruth, who is backstage with the group, suddenly loses her temper and is held back by the boys. Finally, Harry is given the album to sign, and the Nazi wipes the pen with a cloth rather than touch it after Harry. He then inquires about Ruth, but the boys don’t give him her information. Before leaving, the Nazi tells the group not to play that song again since it has Jewish folk music. The group has started performing based on where the Nazis would like them to, with the Nazi party controlling their travel and movement. They do a performance at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, which they decide to speak back a little. They perform the whole number as a fake advertisement for Germany, while dressed as puppets on strings, with a rather ominous ending. ("Come to the Fatherland") Jewish passports are destroyed, and the Jews are trapped in Germany. The boys and Mary start plotting an escape. They are going to try to build up some cash from performances so they can get out. Mary tells this to Ruth, who hasn’t heard the plans. Young Rabbi comes to Mary and tells her she doesn’t have to escape if she doesn’t want to, he doesn’t want to force her from her home. Mary emphasizes that wherever Rabbi goes she will follow him. (“Where You Go”) Ruth confronts Chopin about the escape plans. He says he can’t do it, and she will leave alone, essentially ending their marriage. She tells him that she will be with him in spirit, that just because he ends their relationship he can’t ignore the horrors occurring. After Ruth walks away, we hear from a Nazi she was arrested. We also find out Erich is Jewish and has been hiding it from the group, but the Nazis know. The group does a film performance to get the cash for the escape (“In This World”). Chopin is singing, but it is a love song and he is remembering Ruth and getting sad. The film ends up stopping production due to Jewish members. The group discusses how to move forward, they don’t have enough cash for all of them and with Jewish members they are now struggling to work. It is decided that they will split up - Mary, Young Rabbi, Erich, and Harry will escape leaving the other three behind. They are on a train when they determine this, and hear that Hitler is on the train ("Threnody"). Old Rabbi discusses how he should have done something at that moment- Hitler walks right by them and he feels he should have attempted to attack him, and maybe that would have changed their fate. He reflects on all the little moments that could have caused their current pain to be avoided. The group eventually does escape, and those that stay in Germany survive the war, except for presumably Ruth (we never know what happens except that Chopin kept looking for her and could not find her). They were banned from performing before they escaped, and all of their records were destroyed. Rabbi is the last surviving member of the group, and he recounts how each of the members lived out their days and how he is the one cursed with remembering and retelling the tragic tale. ("Stars in the Night")
Harrigan 'N Hart is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Peter Walker, and music by Max Showalter. The show is based on the book The Merry Partners by Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr. and material found by Nedda Harrigan Logan. The show opened at the Longacre Theatre on January 31, 1985, and closed on February 3, 1985, after 25 previews and 4 performances.
Hazel Flagg is a 1953 musical, book by Ben Hecht, based on a story by James H. Street. The lyrics are by Bob Hilliard, and music by Jule Styne. The musical is based on the 1937 screwball comedy film Nothing Sacred, the primary screenwriter of which was Ben Hecht.
He Wanted Adventure is a 1933 musical by R. P. Weston and Bert Lee. Music was written by Jack Waller and Joseph Tunbridge, with additional lyrics provided by Clifford Grey. It is based on Walter Hackett's 1921 hit play Ambrose Applejohn's Adventure. Premiering at the Palace Theatre, Manchester it transferred to the West End for a 152 performances at the Saville Theatre which lasted between 28 March and 19 August 1933. The original London cast included Bobby Howes, Wylie Watson, Abraham Sofaer, Judy Gunn, Lena Halliday and Marie Burke.
Head Over Heels is a jukebox musical comedy with music and lyrics from the catalog of The Go-Go's and its lead singer and most successful solo artist, Belinda Carlisle. Jeff Whitty conceived the show and wrote the original book, which was then adapted by James Magruder after Whitty left the show due to conflict with incoming director Michael Mayer. The plot of the show is adapted from The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia written by Sir Philip Sidney in the 16th century. Head Over Heels opened at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in June 2015, running for five months in their outdoor theater. Three years later, after Whitty's departure, Head Over Heels opened on Broadway on July 26, 2018, at the Hudson Theatre; its final Broadway performance was January 6, 2019. Licensing rights for future productions were acquired by Broadway Licensing in 2018. A cast album was released on October 12, 2018.
In 1989, seventeen-year-old Veronica Sawyer despairs at Westerberg High School's hellish social hierarchy, where students like the heavyset Martha Dunnstock, Veronica's best friend, are tormented by jocks Ram Sweeney and Kurt Kelly, and the school is ruled by a clique called "the Heathers"; weak-willed cheerleader Heather McNamara, bulimic and petty Heather Duke, and "mythic bitch" Heather Chandler. When Veronica's talent for forgery gets the Heathers out of detention, they give her a makeover and elevate her to their inner circle ("Beautiful"). Three weeks later, Chandler orders Veronica to forge a love letter from Ram to Martha, threatening to return her to being a nobody when she hesitates ("Candy Store"). The mysterious, poetry-quoting new kid, Jason "J.D." Dean, criticizes Veronica for betraying her friend. After J.D. wins a fight against Ram and Kurt, Veronica finds herself unexpectedly attracted to him ("Fight for Me"). Veronica's parents express their disapproval over her friendship with the Heathers, but Veronica insists on staying with them so she can survive high school ("Candy Store (Reprise)"). Veronica flirts with J.D. at a 7-Eleven, leading J.D. to open up about his struggles and explain how he intentionally gives himself brain freezes to numb his grief ("Freeze Your Brain"). At Ram's homecoming party, Veronica gets increasingly drunk ("Big Fun"). When the Heathers cruelly prank Martha, Veronica angrily resigns from the group and vomits on Chandler's shoes. Chandler then vows to destroy her reputation. With nothing left to live for, Veronica breaks into J.D.'s bedroom and has sex with him ("Dead Girl Walking"). After being tormented by Chandler in a nightmare, Veronica, with J.D. in tow, heads to her house to apologize. While mixing a hangover cure for her, J.D. adds toxic drain cleaner to a mug and tries to convince Veronica to serve it to Chandler instead. Veronica refuses, but accidentally grabs J.D.'s mug anyway, with him noticing this and only wishing Veronica "good luck." Chandler refuses to accept Veronica's apology and drinks the drain cleaner, only to drop dead. Veronica panics, but J.D. convinces her to forge a suicide note, which paints Chandler as more complex and misunderstood. This fictionalized version of her wins everyone's sympathy and she becomes even more revered in death than she was in life ("The Me Inside of Me"). McNamara summons Veronica to a cow pasture, where she and Duke are stranded with a drunk Kurt and Ram. Upon Veronica's arrival, Duke reveals Kurt and Ram would only leave them alone if they brought Veronica, and the Heathers abandon her. Kurt and Ram unsuccessfully try to rape Veronica, though she manages to embarrass them and escape ("You’re Welcome"). The next day, Chandler's ghost appears to Veronica, warning she kept Kurt, Ram, and the other Heathers in check, and that with her gone, things would only get worse. Duke assumes Chandler's status and symbolic red scrunchie, becoming even more of a tyrant than Chandler was, while Ram and Kurt tell everyone they had a threesome with Veronica ("Never Shut Up Again"). Veronica is branded as a slut, and when J.D. attacks the jocks to defend her, they savagely beat him. J.D. and Veronica comfort each other and plan a vengeful prank: she will lure the jocks to the cemetery with the promise of a real threesome, then together they will shoot them with ich lüge (German for I lie) tranquilizer bullets to knock them out. Then Veronica and J.D. will leave another forged suicide note confessing Ram and Kurt were gay lovers and humiliate them in front of the school. When they arrive, J.D. shoots Ram but Veronica misses Kurt. As Veronica realizes that Ram is dead and the bullets are actually real, J.D. shoots Kurt dead and proclaims his undying love to a horrified Veronica ("Our Love Is God"). At Ram and Kurt's double funeral, a distraught Veronica reflects that they could have outgrown their immaturity ("Prom or Hell?"). Grief-stricken, Ram's Dad chastises Kurt's Dad for remaining homophobic, until the latter suddenly kisses the former, revealing their own secret love affair. Ram and Kurt are turned into martyrs to homophobia ("My Dead Gay Son"). Convinced that the murders are for the greater good, J.D. urges Veronica to target Duke next. When she refuses, he complains about doing nothing in the face of injustice. J.D. reveals he witnessed his mother's own suicide as a young boy, straining his relationship with his father and causing their constant moving around. Veronica gives him an ultimatum: give up violence and live a normal life with her or lose her forever ("Seventeen"). J.D. agrees and they reconcile. Martha tells Veronica she suspects J.D. of murdering the jocks, believing Ram's "love note" to her is proof. Veronica, urged by Chandler's ghost, confesses that she was actually the one who wrote it. Martha is heartbroken and runs off in tears. Ms. Fleming, one of the teachers, holds a televised therapy assembly, where she publicly breaks up with Steve, cutting off their affair ("Shine a Light"). She urges everyone to reveal their fears and insecurities, but only McNamara comes forward; admitting to experiencing grief and suicidal thoughts after losing Kurt and Chandler ("Lifeboat"). Duke mocks her and whips the students into a frenzy, and McNamara runs off crying. Veronica lashes out and blurts out a confession to the murders, but everyone believes she is only desperate for attention. Shortly after, McNamara tries to kill herself by overdosing in the bathroom, while Duke taunts her in her subconscious ("Shine a Light (Reprise)"), but Veronica stops her. J.D., carrying a gun, tries to persuade Veronica to kill Duke once more. Realizing how unstable he is, Veronica breaks up with him ("I Say No"). Furious, J.D. blackmails Duke into making the student body sign a petition to support a school holiday to honor the "suicide victims". Martha, mourning Ram, tries to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge ("Kindergarten Boyfriend"), but survives. Distraught, Veronica rushes home, only to find that J.D. has told her parents she is suicidal. She hides herself in her room as she is taunted by the ghosts of Kurt, Ram, and Chandler, while J.D. breaks in through the window ("Yo Girl"). Veronica barricades herself in her closet as J.D. reveals the petition was actually a mass suicide note, and explains his plans to stage the pep rally as such—using his demolition expertise. He breaks open the closet to find Veronica dangling from a noose. Grief-stricken, J.D flees to the school to enact his plan ("Meant to Be Yours"). Veronica, having faked her death, races to stop him. While the school pep rally is going on, Veronica confronts J.D in the boiler room, but in their struggle, he is shot ("Dead Girl Walking (Reprise)"). Unable to disarm the detonator, Veronica carries it to the empty football field to detonate the bombs out of range of the school. J.D. convinces her to let him take the detonator instead; it explodes, killing him ("I Am Damaged"). Returning to school, Veronica takes Chandler's scrunchie away from Duke, ending the era of social ridicule. Veronica then invites Martha and McNamara to hang out, rent a movie, and "be kids" before childhood is over ("Seventeen (Reprise)").
The concept of the stage production is that the audience is watching genderqueer rock singer Hedwig Robinson's musical act as she follows rockstar Tommy Gnosis' (much more successful) tour around the country. Occasionally Hedwig opens a door onstage to listen to Gnosis's concert, which is playing in an adjoining venue. Gnosis is recovering from an incident that nearly ruined his career, having crashed his car into a school bus while high and receiving oral sex from none other than Hedwig. Capitalizing on her notoriety from the incident, Hedwig determines to tell the audience her story ("Tear Me Down"). She is aided and hindered by her assistant, back-up singer and husband, Yitzhak. A Jewish drag queen from Zagreb, Yitzhak has an unhealthy, codependent relationship with Hedwig. Hedwig verbally abuses him throughout the evening, and it becomes clear that she is threatened by his natural talent, which eclipses her own. She describes how she agreed to marry him only after extracting a promise from him to never perform as a woman again, and he bitterly resents her treatment of him. (To further the musical's theme of blurred gender lines, Yitzhak is often played by a female actor.) Hedwig tells her life story, which began when she was Hansel Schmidt, a "slip of a girlyboy" growing up in East Berlin. Raised by an emotionally distant single mother after her father, an American soldier, abandoned the family, Hansel takes solace in her love of western rock music. She becomes fascinated with a story called "The Origin of Love", based on Aristophanes speech in Plato's Symposium. It explains that three sexes of human beings once existed: "children of the Sun" (man and man attached), "children of the Earth" (woman and woman attached), and "children of the Moon" (man and woman attached). Each were once round, two-headed, four-armed, and four-legged beings. Angry gods split these early humans in two, leaving the separated people with a lifelong yearning for their other half. Hansel is determined to search for her other half, but is convinced she will have to travel to the West to do so. This becomes possible when, in her 20s, she meets Luther Robinson, an American soldier ("Sugar Daddy") who convinces her to begin dressing in drag. Luther falls in love with Hansel and the two decide to marry. This plan will allow Hansel to leave communist East Germany for the capitalist West. Hansel's mother, Hedwig, gives Hansel her name and passport and finds a doctor to perform a genital reassignment surgery. However, the operation is botched, and Hansel's surgically constructed vagina heals closed, leaving Hedwig with a dysfunctional one-inch mound of flesh between her legs, "with a scar running down it like a sideways grimace on an eyeless face" ("Angry Inch"). Hedwig goes to live in Junction City, Kansas, as Luther's wife. On their first wedding anniversary, Luther leaves Hedwig for a man. That same day, it is announced that the Berlin Wall has fallen and Germany will reunite, meaning Hedwig's sacrifice was for nothing. Hedwig recovers from the separation by creating a more glamorous, feminine identity for herself ("Wig in a Box") and forming a rock band she calls The Angry Inch. Hedwig befriends the brother of a child she babysits, shy and misunderstood Christian teenager Tommy Speck, who is fascinated by a song she writes with him in mind ("Wicked Little Town"). They collaborate on songs and begin a relationship. Their songs are a success, and Hedwig gives him the stage name Tommy Gnosis. Hedwig believes that Tommy is her soulmate and that she cannot be whole without him, but he is disgusted when he discovers her "inch" and abandons her ("The Long Grift"). He goes on to become a wildly successful rock star with the songs Hedwig wrote alone and with him. The "internationally ignored" Hedwig and her band the Angry Inch are forced to support themselves by playing coffee bars and dives. Hedwig grows more erratic and unstable as the evening progresses, until she finally breaks down, stripping off her wig, dress, and make-up, forcing Yitzhak to step forward and sing ("Hedwig's Lament"/"Exquisite Corpse"). At the height of her breakdown, she seems to transform into Tommy Gnosis, who both begs for and offers forgiveness in a reprise of the song she wrote for him ("Wicked Little Town (Reprise)"). Hedwig, out of costume, finds acceptance within herself, giving her wig to Yitzhak. At peace, Hedwig departs the stage as Yitzhak takes over her final song, dressed fabulously in drag ("Midnight Radio").
Ali, a 17-year-old girl, welcomes the audience to Manhattan Plaza in the neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, and introduces the people in her life: the musicians who make up the artist housing in Manhattan Plaza; her friends, Tiny and Jessica; and her mother Jersey. Jersey, a singer and working woman who supports Rudy Giuliani's rhetoric and policies on increased policing, notices Ali talking to Knuck, a bucket drummer who is part of a group that hangs out in the building, and forces them to break off their interaction ("The Gospel"). Ali expresses frustration over her mother's protective efforts and yearns for independence ("The River"). Jersey defends her protectiveness to the other residents, pointing out that Ali is only seventeen years old and is still naïve and impulsive ("Seventeen"). While the drummers practice in the building's courtyard, Tiny and Jessica urge Ali to make a move on Knuck ("You Don't Know My Name"). Ali's awkward attempt proves unsuccessful, with Knuck turning her down; shortly after, he and the other drummers are kicked out of the building due to Jersey calling the police. Ali throws a tantrum and storms out of the apartment, but is prevented from leaving the building due to a sudden rainstorm. Hiding in the building's Ellington Room (a music practice room) she notices one of the building's residents Miss Liza Jane practicing piano, and becomes enamored with what she hears; Liza Jane notices her and offers to teach her to play ("Kaleidoscope"). Ali tracks Knuck down at work, where he hesitantly agrees to see her again ("Gramercy Park"). Jersey warns Ali against dating a musician: she recalls falling for Ali's father, Davis, a piano player ("Not Even the King" / "Teenage Love Affair") but laments his continued broken promises and inability to keep plans. Ali continues to pursue Knuck, eventually sleeping with him at his apartment ("Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)"). She stumbles into the Ellington Room by accident, where Miss Liza Jane makes her sit down for a piano lesson, teaching her some basic music theory. Ali rides the high of her relationship and her newfound love of music with the encouragement of Jessica, despite Tiny warning her of the danger ("Girl on Fire"). She invites Knuck over while Jersey is at work; Jersey returns home to find them asleep on the couch and angrily ejects Knuck from the apartment. While leaving, Knuck is shocked to learn that Ali is only seventeen. Jersey chases Ali as she follows Knuck down to the lobby, where he gets into a brief scuffle with the doorman Ray. Ali accuses Jersey of ruining her relationship because Jersey could not keep her own; Jersey slaps her in response. They are interrupted by the arrival of the police, whom Jersey called: however, seeing the scuffle they draw their weapons. Luckily, no one gets hurt, but Ali refuses to speak to her mother and retreats to the Ellington Room, where Liza Jane consoles her by pointing out the situation could have been much worse; she reflects on the racism she herself has experienced and urges Ali to continue learning to play so that she may continue a legacy of music ("Perfect Way to Die"). Ali continues to refuse to speak with Jersey ("Heartburn"). When Jersey fails again to get through to Ali and not wanting to be cut out, she calls up Davis as a last resort ("Love Looks Better"). Ali tracks down Knuck at his paint job ("Work on It"), but is rebuffed: Knuck tells her the police continued to harass him after the arrest, forcing him to escape to Atlanta to stay with family for several weeks. Liza Jane privately reveals to Jersey she is terminally ill and likely does not have much longer to live, something she is keeping from Ali. When Ali admits sometimes she wishes Liza Jane was her mother instead, Liza Jane elects to end the lesson, urging Ali to appreciate the time she has with her mother ("Authors of Forever"). Davis arrives at the apartment, where Jersey unloads her guilt over what she put Knuck, Ali, and the other residents through. Davis tries to offer his support, but mainly flirts with Jersey ("Fallin"). A tempted Jersey turns him down, and criticizes him for his absence. Ali falls asleep in the Ellington Room while looking for Liza Jane; when she wakes up she discovers Davis, who tries to bond with her by playing a song together ("If I Ain't Got You"). Ali is cheered up by spending time with her father, but soon realizes his unreliability when he hedges on when they can meet again. Jersey consoles Ali afterwards, and encourages her to talk to Knuck. She then tracks down Davis at his audition and warns him to stay away from Ali, refusing to let him hurt their daughter as he has hurt her ("Pawn It All"). Knuck reveals to Ali he is planning to move in with his family in Atlanta, due to having found community there ("Like You'll Never See Me Again"). The two part on amicable terms; though Ali is saddened that they have no chance of a relationship due to her youth and his moving, she finds solace in realizing she has made an adult decision for the first time. When she returns home, however, she discovers the normally music-laden building silent; she encounters Jersey who tearfully informs her of Miss Liza Jane's passing. They attend the service held in the Ellington Room, where Ali refuses to engage with the other mourners. Davis arrives and offers a eulogy expressing gratitude for Liza Jane for helping his daughter, and plays a tune on the piano. Ali eventually joins in, leading the mourners in a song ("Hallelujah/Like Water"). Jersey takes a chance and invites Davis to have dinner with her and Ali the following Friday, but he fails to show up. Though disappointed, Ali commends her mother for trying her hardest, and the two resolve that they still have each other ("No One"). Ali tells the audience their relationship continues to be rocky, but they are on steadier ground. She admits sorrow over Knuck's departure and Miss Liza Jane's passing, but continues to pursue music and expresses fondness for her community in Hell's Kitchen ("Empire State of Mind").
Hello Again is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Michael John LaChiusa. It is based on the 1897 play La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler (also titled Reigen). It focuses on a series of love affairs among ten characters during the ten different decades of the 20th century. The musical premiered Off-Broadway in 1993, directed and choreographed by Graciela Daniele. Since then it has been performed in London, Sweden, Australia, Germany, The Netherlands and New York.
Sources: Tams-Witmark Guide to Musical Theatre Masterworks Broadway As the 19th becomes the 20th century, all of New York City is excited because brassy widow Dolly Gallagher Levi is in town ("Call on Dolly"). Dolly makes a living through what she calls "meddling" – matchmaking and numerous sidelines, including dance instruction and mandolin lessons ("I Put My Hand In"). She is currently seeking a wife for grumpy Horace Vandergelder, the well-known half-a-millionaire, but it becomes clear that Dolly intends to marry Horace herself. Ambrose Kemper, a young artist, wants to marry Horace's weepy niece Ermengarde, but Horace opposes this because Ambrose's vocation does not guarantee a steady living. Ambrose enlists Dolly's help, and they travel to Yonkers to visit Horace, who is a prominent citizen there and owns Vandergelder's Hay and Feed. Horace explains to his two clerks, Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, that he is going to get married because he needs a wife to cheerfully do all the household chores ("It Takes a Woman"). He plans to travel with Dolly to New York City to march in the Fourteenth Street Association Parade and propose to the widow Irene Molloy, who owns a hat shop there. Dolly arrives in Yonkers and "accidentally" mentions that Irene's first husband might not have died of natural causes, and also mentions that she knows an heiress, Ernestina Money, who may be interested in Horace. Horace departs for New York and leaves Cornelius and Barnaby to mind the store in his absence. Cornelius decides that he and Barnaby need to get out of Yonkers and have an adventure in New York. They blow up some tomato cans to create a terrible stench as a pretext to close the store. Dolly mentions that she knows two ladies in New York they should call on: Irene Molloy and her shop assistant, Minnie Fay. She tells Ermengarde and Ambrose that she will enter them in the polka competition at the upscale Harmonia Gardens Restaurant in New York City so Ambrose can demonstrate to Horace his ability to be a breadwinner. Cornelius, Barnaby, Ambrose, Ermengarde and Dolly all take the train to New York ("Put on Your Sunday Clothes"). Irene and Minnie open their hat shop for the afternoon. Irene wants a husband, but does not love Horace Vandergelder. She declares that she will wear an elaborate hat to impress a gentleman ("Ribbons Down My Back"). Cornelius and Barnaby arrive at the shop and pretend to be rich. Horace and Dolly arrive at the shop, and Cornelius and Barnaby hide from him. Irene inadvertently mentions that she knows Cornelius, and Dolly tells her and Horace that even though Cornelius is Horace's clerk by day, he is a notorious New York playboy by night. Minnie screams when she finds Cornelius hiding in the armoire. Horace is about to open the armoire himself, but Dolly, Irene and Minnie distract him with patriotic sentiments related to subjects like Betsy Ross and Battle of the Alamo shown in the famous lyrics "Alamo, remember the Alamo!" ("Motherhood March"). Cornelius sneezes, and Horace storms out, realizing there are men hiding in the shop, but not knowing they are his clerks. Dolly arranges for Cornelius and Barnaby, who are still pretending to be rich, to take the ladies out to dinner to the Harmonia Gardens restaurant to make up for their humiliation. She teaches Cornelius and Barnaby how to dance since they always have dancing at such establishments ("Dancing"). Soon, Cornelius, Irene, Barnaby, and Minnie are happily dancing. They go to watch the great 14th Street Association Parade together. Alone, Dolly decides to put her dear departed husband Ephraim behind her and to move on with life ("Before the Parade Passes By"). She asks Ephraim's permission to marry Horace, requesting a sign from him. Dolly catches up with the annoyed Vandergelder, who has missed the whole parade, and she convinces him to give her matchmaking one more chance. She tells him that Ernestina Money would be perfect for him and asks him to meet her at the swanky Harmonia Gardens that evening. Cornelius is determined to get a kiss before the night is over, but Barnaby isn't so sure. As the clerks have no money for a carriage, they tell the girls that walking to the restaurant shows that they've got "Elegance". At the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant, Rudolph, the head waiter, prepares his service crew for Dolly Gallagher Levi's return: their usual lightning service, he tells them, must be "twice as lightning" ("The Waiters' Gallop"). Horace arrives with his date, but she proves neither as rich nor as elegant as Dolly had implied; furthermore she is soon bored by Horace and leaves, as Dolly had planned she would. Cornelius, Barnaby, and their dates arrive, unaware that Horace is also dining at the restaurant. Irene and Minnie, inspired by the restaurant's opulence, order the menu's most expensive items. Cornelius and Barnaby grow increasingly anxious as they discover they have little more than a dollar left. Dolly makes her triumphant return to the Harmonia Gardens and is greeted in style by the staff ("Hello, Dolly!") She sits in the now-empty seat at Horace's table and proceeds to eat a large, expensive dinner, telling the exasperated Horace that no matter what he says, she will not marry him. Barnaby and Horace hail waiters at the same time, and in the ensuing confusion each drops his wallet and inadvertently picks up the other's. Barnaby is delighted that he can now pay the restaurant bill, while Horace finds only a little spare change. Barnabay and Cornelius realize that the wallet must belong to Horace. Cornelius, Irene, Barnaby and Minnie try to sneak out during "The Polka Contest", but Horace recognizes them and spots Ermengarde and Ambrose as well. The ensuing free-for-all culminates in a trip to night court. Cornelius and Barnaby confess that they have no money and have never been to New York before. Cornelius declares that even if he has to dig ditches the rest of his life, he'll never forget the day because he had met Irene. Cornelius, Barnaby, and Ambrose then each profess their love for their companion ("It Only Takes A Moment"). Dolly convinces the judge that their only crime was being in love. The judge finds everyone innocent and cleared of all charges, but Horace is declared guilty and forced to pay damages. Dolly mentions marriage again, and Horace declares that he wouldn't marry her if she were the last woman in the world. Dolly angrily bids him goodbye ("So Long, Dearie"), telling him that while he's bored and lonely, she'll be living the high life. The next morning, back at the hay and feed store, Cornelius and Irene, Barnaby and Minnie, and Ambrose and Ermengarde each set out on new life's paths. A chastened Horace Vandergelder finally admits that he needs Dolly in his life, but Dolly is unsure about the marriage until her late husband sends her a sign. Vandergelder spontaneously repeats a saying of Ephraim's: "Money is like manure. It's not worth a thing unless it's spread about, encouraging young things to grow." Horace tells Dolly life would be dull without her, and she promises in return that she'll "never go away again" ("Hello, Dolly" (reprise)).
Henry, Sweet Henry is a musical with a book by Nunnally Johnson and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill. Based on the 1964 novel The World of Henry Orient by Johnson's daughter Nora and the subsequent film of the same name, the plot focuses on Valerie and Marian, two wealthy, love-struck teenagers who stalk an avant-garde composer and aging philanderer.
Her First Roman is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Ervin Drake, based on the 1898 George Bernard Shaw play Caesar and Cleopatra.
Hercules is a musical based on the Walt Disney Animation Studios 1997 film of the same name, with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and David Zippel, and a book by Robert Horn and Kwame Kwei-Armah. The production is also loosely based on the legendary hero of the same name, the son of Zeus, in Greek mythology. Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, the musical had a tryout at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park in August 2019. It opened in the summer of 2025 at the West End's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
As clubbers enter Club Millennium, the DJ sets up the party with music and the Imelda Marcos motif. The DJ instructs the clubbers to enjoy the party as they watch the club's staff reenact the life of Imelda Marcos. The club ensemble enters, singing about the excess of wealth demonstrated by Americans, and conversely how some may find that display desirable ("American Troglodyte"). Imelda Romualdez is shown as a poor girl in stormy Leyte with best friend Estrella Cumpas and expresses her dreams of joining the upper class ("Here Lies Love"). Ninoy Aquino appears and describes his life as a son of a rich Filipino family, his pride in his country, and his endearment to Imelda ("Child of the Philippines"). However, their relationship is short-lived: while Ninoy wishes to pursue politics and give voice to the people, Imelda is only interested in "love and beauty," and they break up ("Opposite Attraction"). Imelda, brushing off the breakup as Ninoy deciding she was "too tall", joins and wins a beauty pageant ("Rose of Tacloban"). Estrella suggests she move to Manila to try to climb the social ladder. She arrives around the same time that Ferdinand Marcos is becoming even more famous ("A Perfect Hand"). Ferdinand and Imelda meet each other and engage in a whirlwind courtship that quickly leads to marriage ("Eleven Days"). Estrella, having been left behind in Imelda's rise in status, admires from afar and reminisces ("When She Passed By"). Ferdinand and Imelda honeymoon and become a power couple among the Philippines' upper class ("Sugartime Baby"). As the years pass, Imelda reflects on her more innocent childhood days in poverty but decides she will become the perfect wife to the Senator, all while self-medicating to suppress the stress of life in the public sphere ("Walk Like a Woman"). Maria Luisa, an expression of Imelda's inner self, encourages her to become a figure for the country at large. Imelda and Ferdinand campaign as part of Ferdinand's presidential bid, promising various construction projects to improve the country's image, and end up winning ("Don't You Agree? / Pretty Face"). In Malacañang, Imelda spearheads lavish parties and travels overseas to party with celebrities in New York at Studio 54 and other society haunts ("Dancing Together"). However, unrest begins to stir in the Philippines due to the Marcoses spending the peoples' money on parties and construction projects over infrastructure and public health; in the wake of these events, including the Manila Film Center disaster, an opposition movement forms under the now-Senator Ninoy Aquino, who puts aside his past with Imelda and the potential risk against his life to become one of the Marcoses' most outspoken critics ("Fabulous One"). Around the same time, Ferdinand engages in an affair with Dovie Beams: Maria Luisa sings to a grief-stricken Imelda that this could only be expected from a man like Ferdinand ("Men Will Do Anything"). As Imelda reflects on her life, she decides her new purpose is in service of the Philippines, choosing to symbolically rid herself of her past ("Star and Slave"). When Ferdinand becomes sick, he begs for forgiveness. Fed up with him, Imelda declares that she will run the country as he is too weak to effectively govern; she becomes the de facto leader of the Philippines, though the regime maintains that Ferdinand is still in charge ("Poor Me"). Unrest only escalates under Imelda's leadership, with Ninoy calling attention to the regime's crackdown on dissenters, but Imelda distracts the clubgoers and international leaders with parties and diplomacy ("Please Don't"). Estrella does a tell-all interview revealing Imelda's poor background, undermining the narrative Imelda tries to push that she was born into a wealthy family. Imelda, increasingly delusional with power, confronts Estrella and offers her money to retract her statements. When Estrella refuses, Imelda has her imprisoned ("Solano Avenue"). Due to the growing numbers of protests in Manila ("Riots and Bombs"), Ferdinand declares martial law, and the ensemble sings of their experiences and suffering, mocking the façade of safety the Marcoses claim to provide ("Order 1081"). Among the dissenters is Ninoy, who criticizes the Marcoses for events like the Plaza Miranda bombing, and he is eventually imprisoned for seven years. Imelda visits Ninoy in his cell and, citing their past relationship and her claimed sympathy to his plight, frees him on the condition he goes to the United States and never comes back, offering a veiled threat that he will be killed if he remains ("Seven Years"). Ninoy flees to the United States with his wife Cory and son Benny but returns in 1983, only to be assassinated on the tarmac, implied to be at Imelda's orders ("Gate 37"). At his funeral, Ninoy's mother Aurora calls for the people to revolt as the attendees don yellow armbands, raise their hands in the Laban sign, and burn Imelda and Ferdinand in effigy ("Just Ask the Flowers"). As the Marcoses' popularity and support crumbles, Imelda pathetically asks the people why they have turned against her after all she believes she did for them, while specters of Estrella, Ferdinand, and Maria Luisa similarly accuse her of abandoning them after they helped her get where she is ("Why Don't You Love Me?"). In the wake of the People Power Revolution, Imelda and Ferdinand are evacuated from the palace by a U.S. Air Force helicopter, bringing their regime to an end. As they leave, a still-delusional Imelda continues to insist she did everything "for love". In the silence that follows, the DJ comes down from his booth. He sings the story of the People Power Revolution while playing his guitar, gradually joined by the rest of the ensemble as they collectively marvel at the peaceful end to an otherwise violent regime ("God Draws Straight").
The first act is based on The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, and the second act on The Exterminating Angel. One Saturday morning, in the fabulous apartment of Leo and Marianne Brink, the couple is surprised by the arrival of their friends, Paul Zimmer and his wife Claudia Bursik-Zimmer. They are joined by Raffael Santello Di Santicci, the ambassador of (the fictional country) Moranda, and Marianne's younger sister Fritz, an anti-capitalist political hothead. The Brinks, who don't recall inviting their guests, are unprepared to host. Leo offers to take everyone out to brunch, and they all head out. On the way to the restaurant ("The Road 1"), Marianne celebrates the glorious day. Raffael flirts with her via "an old Morandan proverb," although he's already having an affair with Claudia. Leo, Raffael, and Paul discuss the drug cartel that they secretly run. Fritz warns the group of approaching global catastrophe. They arrive at their brunch destination, a café with seemingly everything in creation on the menu ("Café Everything — Toast 1"). A waiter regretfully informs the group that the restaurant has no food or beverages and eventually shoots himself (“Waiter’s Song”). As the group seeks food again ("The Road 2"), it is revealed through a phone call that Fritz, under the code name "Apocalypse," is covertly working for the anarchist group PRADA (People's Revolutionary Anti-Domination Army) and must raise $50 million to start a world revolution to overthrow capitalism. Raffael attempts to flirt with Fritz, then serenades Claudia. Fritz overhears Leo, Paul, and Raffael discussing drugs and sees her chance to get the money. At the next restaurant, specializing in French deconstructivist cuisine ("Bistro à la Mode — Toast 2"), the group encounters a weeping waitress ("It Is What It Is") and discovers the restaurant staff is holding a funeral for the restaurant's dead chef in the back room. With no food to be had, they hit the road again ("The Road 3") and Fritz blackmails the men into giving her $50 million to start the revolution. At the next restaurant, an Italian brasserie ("Osteria Zeno — Toast 3"), their attempt to eat is interrupted by a colonel from Homeland Security and a poetic lieutenant, with whom Fritz instantly falls in love. The Soldier shares a surreal dream of his that mimics reality ("The Soldier's Dream"). When the restaurant's food turns out to be fake, Raffael suggests supper at his Embassy. Colonel Martin and the Soldier join the group. Finding themselves on the road once more in search of a meal ("The Road 4"), Raffael serenades Marianne. When they reach their destination ("Oh, Look, Here's the Embassy!"), a Bishop reconsidering his chosen vocation comes to the door looking for a job ("Bishop's Song"). As the group is seated for dinner, gunfire erupts in the distance – the result of Fritz's fundraising. On her cellphone, Fritz attempts to call off "the end of the world" only to discover that the embassy butler, Windsor, is in fact Inferno, her PRADA chief. Dinner is served at last ("End of Act One"). In the Morandan Embassy salon after dinner, the group relaxes ("Digestion") while Marianne savors the luxurious room ("Shine"). When it's time to go, everyone balks at leaving for some reason and remains inside the room ("Hesitation"). They decide to stay the night, bedding down right where they are. Fritz and the Soldier express their feelings ("Double Duet"), then retire to the room's closet to make love. In the middle of the night, Marianne has a surreal encounter with what appears to be a bear ("Interlude 1: Marianne and The Bear"). The next morning, the Colonel concludes that they're trapped and unable to leave the room – even though the door before them is wide open. In the ensuing panic, Leo has a heart attack, Windsor reveals himself to the group as Inferno, and explosions are heard. They realize it may be the actual end of the world outside. Days and nights pass inside the room as the hungry, thirsty group becomes more desperate. When water is discovered inside a wall, they dance in the downpour ("Interlude 2: Wandering"). Late one night, Marianne and the Bishop snack on book pages and have a quiet philosophical exchange ("Interlude 3: Snow") after which they enjoy a light indoor snowfall. With the group desperate to get out, Raffael is about to sacrifice himself to free them when Marianne realizes they can get out if they just reenact their steps on the evening they decided to stay ("Hesitation — Reprise"). When they've all been released from the room, the Colonel, the Soldier and the Bishop take their leave. The original group of friends returns to the road and their eternal search for food – but now they find themselves running, amidst what seems to be the end of the world.
Here's Howe! is a musical in two acts with music by Roger Wolfe Kahn and Joseph Meyer and lyrics by Irving Caesar. The swing music standard "Crazy Rhythm" was written for this show. The work's musical book was written by Fred Thompson and Paul Gerard Smith.
Here's Love is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson. An adaptation of the film Miracle on 34th Street, the show is currently licensed under the film's name as Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical. The musical, much like the film that inspired it, tells the tale of a skeptical young girl who doubts the existence of Santa Claus. When the real Kris Kringle is hired inadvertently to represent jolly St. Nick in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, he must convince the child and her cynical divorced mother (the department store's special events director) that he is the genuine article.
Here's Where I Belong is a musical with a book by Alex Gordon (a nom de plume of the novelist ) and Terrence McNally, lyrics by Alfred Uhry, and music by Robert Waldman. The musical closed after one performance on Broadway.
Higgledy-Piggledy is a musical in two acts with music by Maurice Levi and both book and lyrics by Edgar Smith. It was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. and Joseph M. Weber, and written as a starring vehicle for Ziegfeld's longtime romantic companion, the actress Anna Held, and for vaudevillian comedian Joe Weber who had recently split from his comedic partnership with Lew Fields. While critical responses to the production overwhelmingly cited the felt absence of Lew Fields and the difficulty of Weber's persona coping with that loss, the work was still a popular success and well received largely due to the actress Marie Dressler who gave a highly lauded star making performance in the role of Philopena Schnitz that propelled the show through a relatively long run on Broadway and on tour.
High Button Shoes is a 1947 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn and book by George Abbott and Stephen Longstreet. It was based on the semi-autobiographical 1946 novel The Sisters Liked Them Handsome by Stephen Longstreet.
High Fidelity is a musical with music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Amanda Green, and a book by David Lindsay-Abaire. Based primarily on the 1995 Nick Hornby novel of the same name, the plot focuses on Rob Gordon, a Brooklyn record shop owner in his thirties obsessed with making top five lists for everything, always observing rather than participating in life. When his girlfriend Laura leaves him, he goes through a painful re-evaluation of his life and lost loves (with a little help from his music) and he slowly learns that he has to grow up and let go of his self-centered view of the world before he can find real happiness. Premiering in Boston in 2006, the musical eventually moved to Broadway, opening on December 7, 2006, at the Imperial Theatre. The show received mixed reviews, and closed on December 17, 2006, after 18 previews and 13 performances. Upon closing, Broadway Licensing acquired the rights for stock and amateur performance rights.
High Jinks is a musical farce with music by Rudolf Friml and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Leo Ditrichstein, based on the farce Before and After by Leo Ditrichstein which was adapted from a French farce, Les Dragees d'Hercule, by Maurice Hennequin and Paul Bilhaud. The musical is set in France and concerns several patients of Dr Thorne who take High Jinks, an elixir found in Tibet, which causes them to laugh and fall in love. "Something Seems Tingle-Ingleing" and "Love's Own Kiss" are two of the best known songs. Directed by Frank Smithson, High Jinks opened at the Casino Theatre on Broadway on December 10, 1913, and ran for 213 performances.
Glamorous but pretentious Long Island socialite Tracy Samantha Lord is planning a lavish June 1938 wedding to an equally pretentious executive, George Kittredge. Guests include her mother, grumpy little sister Dinah, and absent-minded Uncle Willy, who lives in a house near the Lord estate. Willy is hosting a party for the wedding guests that evening, the night before the wedding. Tracy's unwelcome ex-husband and neighbor, C.K. Dexter Haven, sails up to the estate in his yacht. Dexter informs Tracy and her family that tabloid reporters Mike Connor and Liz Imbrie will be covering the wedding for Spy while pretending to be guests. Dexter invited them to stop Spy from publishing an exposé of Tracy's father Seth, who is estranged from Tracy's mother because he is having an affair with a dancer, Tina Mara. Dexter tries to convince the suspicious Dinah of his good intentions. When Mike and Liz arrive, Tracy and Dinah do not let on that they know of the reporters' charade. Tracy pretends that Uncle Willie is her father, but when her father arrives, she pretends that he is Uncle Willie. Dexter confronts Tracy about their relationship, leaving her confused; suddenly George seems so pompous. She also is finding Mike to be sweet and remembers some good times with Dexter on his yacht. She starts drinking champagne before the party at Uncle Willie's even begins. After the party, Tracy is still drinking champagne, and she misbehaves, dancing with the staff and Mike. George is angry and embarrassed. Dinah hurries to Dexter's house, finding him packing for a trip. She calls him a coward and informs him that Tracy is drinking champagne, which he knows makes her wild. After many farcical comings and goings back at the estate, George reminds Tracy of their wedding the next day, warns her about her behavior and stomps away. Mike tells Tracy that George is not good enough for her. He kisses her, and she tipsily invites him to go skinny dipping in the pool. Dexter and Dinah return to witness other romantic entanglements unfolding between Seth and his wife and Uncle Willy and Liz, who really loves Mike. As soon as Tracy gets in the water, the champagne catches up with her, and Mike puts her innocently in her bed. In the morning, Tracy realizes that she was in the pool with Mike and, her memory hazy, fears that she had sex with him, ruining her wedding and social standing. All works out in the end, however, with Tracy's parents reuniting, the blackmail threat quashed, Mike realizing that he is really in love with Liz, and Tracy reuniting with Dexter. Since the wedding is already scheduled and paid for, Dexter steps up and all ends happily.
High Spirits is a musical with a book, lyrics, and music by Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray, based on the play Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward, about a man coping with the ghost of his dead wife. Martin and Gray adhered closely to Coward's original text, while expanding the medium's character to the star role, initially calling the show Faster Than Sound. The playwright was delighted with their adaptation and agreed to direct it himself.
Higher and Higher is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by Gladys Hurlbut and Joshua Logan and produced by Dwight Deere Wiman. It ran on Broadway for 84 performances in 1940.
Hip! Hip! Hooray! is a musical in two acts with music by Gus Edwards and both lyrics and book by Edgar Smith. It was written as a starring vehicle for the comedian Joe Weber, premiering on Broadway at Weber's Music Hall on October 10, 1907. It ran at that theatre for 64 performances, closing on December 7, 1907. The story takes place at the fictional Doolittle College, where two German professors attempt to popularize a new breakfast cereal, "Excited Oats", while simultaneously becoming entangled in romance, one with a widow and the other with a beautiful young woman.
Hit the Deck is a musical with music by Vincent Youmans, lyrics by Clifford Grey and Leo Robin and book by Herbert Fields. It was based on the 1922 play Shore Leave by Hubert Osborne. The title refers to a nautical slang term that means to prepare for action (general) or to drop to a prone position on the ground (as a defensive response to hostile fire). The musical is set in China and Newport, Rhode Island, and on a ship traveling between the two locations. The original production was staged at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway, opening on April 25, 1927, and running for 352 performances. The first London production opened at the Hippodrome on July 3, 1927 and ran for 277 performances. It starred Stanley Holloway. In The Manchester Guardian, Ivor Brown praised Holloway for a singing style "which coaxes the ear rather than clubbing the head."
Lisi loves the poor Aloisius, but her father hopes she will marry the wealthy innkeeper Plunderer. Peperl Geschwandtner lends the young couple money to open an inn, though Plunderer schemes to ruin their business. Princess Marie, tired of court life, visits their inn incognito. Geschwandtner mistakes her for a domestic and falls in love with her. The Princess secretly brings in the orchestra from Plunderer’s rival inn, making the Silver Pretzel a success. When the court carriage reveals her identity, her patronage secures the inn’s future. Marie must marry Prince Victor according to court protocol, but she supports Geschwandtner by appointing him music teacher to her younger siblings and Hofkapellmeister. Lisi and Aloisius marry.
Hold Everything! is a musical comedy with lyrics by Lew Brown and B. G. de Sylva, music by Ray Henderson, and has an accompanying book by John McGowan and B. G. de Sylva. A musical about professional boxing, the work's central character is welterweight Sonny Jim Brooks.
Hold On To Your Hats is a musical comedy in two acts by Guy Bolton, Matt Brooks, and Eddie Davis, with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and music by Burton Lane. The show was lavishly staged by Edgar MacGregor, with dances by Catherine Littlefield, musical direction by Al Goodman, and colorful It ran for 158 performances, closing on February 1, 1941. The cast included Jolson, Martha Raye, Jinx Falkenburg, Arnold Moss, Jack Whiting, Russ Brown, and John Randolph. It was the last show in which Jolson appeared.
In August 1946, song-and-dance trio Jim Hardy, Ted Hanover, and Lila Dixon perform at a club in New York City ("Steppin' Out With My Baby/I'll Capture Her Heart"). Afterwards, Jim proposes to Lila. She accepts, and he tells her that he bought Mason Farm in Midville, Connecticut, intending for them to leave show business to raise a family ("The Little Things in Life"). Lila is reluctant to give up performing. When Ted and his manager Danny announce that the trio has booked a six-week tour, Jim rejects the offer, but Lila agrees to tour with Ted as a duo, promising to join Jim in Connecticut after the tour. Eager to settle down, Jim moves to Midville ("Blue Skies"). Jim finds the old farmhouse falling apart, and local boy Charlie Winslow, on behalf of the local bank, presents Jim with a bill for back taxes. Jim is visited by the spirited Linda Mason, an aspiring performer-turned-schoolteacher who had lived on the farm. Linda and Jim are attracted to each other and awkwardly express their shared loneliness and longing to move forward with their lives ("Marching Along With Time"). Linda introduces Jim to Louise Badger, an overly enthusiastic farmhand who has worked at Mason Farm since Linda was a child. Jim and Louise tend to the farm with little success. Jim misses Lila; meanwhile, Ted and Lila have a successful tour ("Heat Wave"). Lila finally visits Jim ("It's A Lovely Day Today"), but she breaks off their engagement; she will continue performing with Ted. By Thanksgiving, Ted and Lila are in Las Vegas ("Plenty to Be Thankful For"); although Louise tries to push Linda and Jim closer together, the two fail to connect, and Linda laments her loneliness ("Nothing More to Say"). On Christmas Eve, Jim and Louise decorate the farmhouse; he notes the irony of decorating a house for only themselves, but Louise has invited Jim's old performing friends to visit, so they all throw a party ("Shakin' the Blues Away"). Linda arrives and is impressed by the festivities. Jim realizes how much he misses performing. He and Louise decide to turn the farm into an inn – only open on holidays – as a way to satisfy his desire to perform while still living a quiet life most of the year, and to bring in money. Jim will write songs for each holiday, to be performed by him, Linda, and his friends. He plays Linda a Christmas song he wrote as an example of the type of song he might perform at the Inn ("White Christmas"), and he decides to stage the first performance on New Year's Eve. A week later, "Holiday Inn" is having its inaugural performance, and it proves popular ("Happy Holiday"). To ring in both the new year and Jim's new business, Linda performs publicly for the first time in many years ("Let's Start the New Year Right"). Ted drunkenly wanders into the inn, interrupts the song and begins dancing with her. Jim jealously punches Ted in the face, and Linda storms out. Ted wakes up in Louise's bed, hung over; Lila has left their act to marry a millionaire in Texas; he cannot remember who he danced with before passing out, but he decides she must be his new dance partner. Jim, worried that Ted will steal Linda from him, pretends not to have seen Ted's new partner. Ted sets out to dance with every woman he sees, trying to track down the right one ("You're Easy to Dance With"). Linda is humiliated by Jim and Ted's behavior; Jim apologizes and offers to start over ("Let's Take an Old-Fashioned Walk"). She agrees to give him another chance, and in time they begin a relationship. By the Valentine's Day show, Jim loves Linda, and he writes a song about her for the Inn ("Be Careful, It's My Heart"). While he sings it to her, Ted walks in and realizes Linda is the girl he seeks. Jim objects that he does not want Ted to steal Linda from him, but Ted and Linda reassure him and perform together for the first time, headlining the performance. Jim jealously tries to prevent Ted and Linda from getting too close to each other, by cuing the band to change style and tempo several times ("Cheek to Cheek"). Jim apologizes for sabotaging the number, but he does so again in the Easter show by entering at the end of the song and singing with Linda and Ted ("Easter Parade"). Ted asks Danny to put an end to Jim's meddling. Danny reveals to Ted that two Hollywood producers are interested in putting Ted and Lila in a movie, and they will attend the next Holiday Inn performance. Louise hears this and calls Lila, asking her to come to the Inn. As Linda prepares for the Independence Day performance ("Song of Freedom"), Louise locks her in the barn to prevent the producers from seeing her. With Linda missing, Ted improvises a solo tap number with fireworks ("Let's Say It With Firecrackers"). Lila arrives but mistakenly enters the barn where Linda is trapped, and reveals that the man she left Ted for owed millions rather than owning them; not knowing that Linda is Ted's new dance partner, she mentions the producers. Linda assumes Jim has sabotaged her again and leaves Lila locked in the barn, returning to the stage to join Ted for the end of his number. After the performance, Linda confronts Jim, but he has no knowledge of the producers nor of Lila's presence, and Louise admits she orchestrated the sabotage. As Linda forgives Jim, Danny reveals that the producers want to make a movie about Holiday Inn, starring Ted and Linda with Jim as a songwriter and consultant, but Jim wants to stay at the Inn. Linda is hurt by Jim's stoicism and leaves with Ted to make the movie ("Nothing More to Say" (reprise)). Jim and Louise spend another Thanksgiving alone; with no headliners, they cancel the Holiday Inn shows. Louise motivates the despondent Jim and sends him to win back Linda in Hollywood. On the set of the movie, Linda is having a tough time with the fictionalization of the story, interrupting shots and proving difficult for the director and producers to work with. As she sings "White Christmas," Jim enters the studio and sings with her, halting the production. Jim proposes to Linda and she accepts, quitting the film to be with him. Danny objects, but Ted lets her go. It is early in production, and Linda is replaced by Lila. An excerpt of the finished film is shown. (As an alternative scene, instead of the film excerpt, Lila talks with a reporter at the red-carpet movie premiere.) Later in Midville, Ted and Lila reunite at the wedding of Linda and Jim, who vow to continue performing at the Inn ("Finale").
Audience suggestions shape a new holiday musical at each performance. An ensemble improvises connected scenes and songs about relationships, work and the festive season, with music created live. Inspired by the structure of Stephen Sondheim's Company, the show changes its characters, story and songs from night to night.
"Holler If Ya Hear Me is a jukebox musical written by Todd Kreidler featuring the hip-hop music of Tupac Shakur. According to Playbill, the musical is "a non-biographical story about friendship, family, revenge, change and hope. Inner city lives struggle for peace against the daily challenges they face in this entertaining and original musical".
Starlet Brenda Blossom, pining for a lowly writer, Ralph, is promised in marriage by her father (a director looking to advance his own career) to the studio head, Joseph Porter. If she marries Ralph, she'll be tossed out of Hollywood and forced to make a living on the stage. Everything turns out for the best when it is discovered that a mix-up in Louhedda Hopsons' gossip column was responsible for Ralph's fall from grace. In reality, it was Ralph who was meant to head the studio instead of Porter.
Home Sweet Homer is a 1976 musical with a book by Roland Kibbee and Albert Marre, lyrics by Charles Burr and Forman Brown, and music by Mitch Leigh. Loosely based on Homeric legend, the plot centers on Odysseus and Penelope, awaiting his return to Ithaca. It is one of the most notorious flops in Broadway theatre history, with only a single performance before closing. It toured as Odyssey beginning in 1974 before being retitled for Broadway.
Jack Singer and his girlfriend of five years, Betsy Nolan, are in love ("I Love Betsy"). But when he tries to buy her an engagement ring, he suffers a panic attack as he remembers his mother's dying wish from ten years earlier—that he never marry, because no woman could love him as she did ("Never Get Married"). Betsy tells Jack that she can't wait indefinitely for him to deal with his issues ("Anywhere But Here"). He proposes that they elope to Las Vegas, and she accepts. They check into the Milano hotel ("When You Say Vegas"), and Betsy immediately catches the attention of Tommy Korman, a wealthy gambler; she bears an uncanny resemblance to his late wife Donna, an avid sunbather who died of skin cancer ("Out of the Sun"). He decides to steal Betsy from Jack ("The Invitation/Forever Starts Tonight"). Tommy invites Jack to a private poker game, so Betsy shops for a wedding dress ("Betsy's Getting Married/The Game"). Tommy beats Jack's straight flush with a royal flush, leaving Jack owing Tommy $58,000. Tommy proposes that Jack can be spared physical violence if he agrees to let Betsy spend the rest of the weekend with Tommy ("Come to an Agreement"). Betsy is incensed, but agrees to meet Tommy. Tommy charms Betsy with recollections of Donna and with his pride in their son who now has a wife and baby. Tommy shocks Jack by informing Betsy that he wants to spend their weekend together in Hawaii; Betsy is so angry at Jack that she agrees to leave with Tommy. Jack decides he must take action ("Do Something"), but is too late to stop them from boarding a plane; he buys a ticket to follow them. The travelers arrive in Hawaii ("Hawaii/Waiting for You"). Jack is approached by Teihutu and Mahi, who offer to guide him ("Every Day Is Happy in Hawaii") but are secretly employed by Tommy to distract him; Mahi attempts to seduce Jack ("Friki-Friki"), but fails. Betsy gets along well with Tommy and his son's family, unaware that they are hired actors. She shares a tender moment with Tommy as they sing an old standard together ("You Made the Wait Worthwhile"). Betsy refrains from being intimate with him, but Tommy confides in his henchman Johnny Sandwich that he still thinks his plan will be successful ("A Little Luck"). Meanwhile, Mahi is moved by Jack's plight and takes him to a sacred grove where a mother's curse can be broken ("The Garden of Disappointed Mothers"). Jack confronts his mother ("Isn't That Enough?"), who relents and agrees to let him and Betsy be happy—but only if Jack proves himself as a man. Tommy plies Betsy with drinks and tells her that Jack only owed him $800; she is so outraged (and drunk) that she kisses Tommy and demands that he immediately marry her in Las Vegas. Mahi informs Jack that Tommy and Betsy are leaving Hawaii, but he is unable to catch them. No reasonable travel options are available ("Airport Song"), but Jack manages to join a troupe of Elvis impersonators making a "pilgrimage" to Las Vegas. However, when the plane approaches Las Vegas, he learns that he must skydive into the city ("Higher Love"). He panics, but ultimately makes the jump, thus proving himself ("Elvii In Flight"). Betsy, having sobered up, rethinks her decision ("I've Been Thinking"), and finally rejects Tommy after Johnny accidentally confirms the true amount of Jack's debt. Jack parachutes into Betsy's arms and they marry on the spot ("Honeymoon in Vegas (Finale)")
Honk! is a musical adaptation of the 1843 Hans Christian Andersen story The Ugly Duckling, incorporating a message of tolerance. The book and lyrics are by Anthony Drewe and music is by George Stiles (of the British songwriting duo Stiles and Drewe). The musical is set in the countryside and features Ugly – a cygnet who is mistaken as an ugly duckling upon falling into his mother's nest and is rejected by everyone but Ida (his mother), a sly tomcat who only befriends him out of hunger, and several other barnyard characters. The musical opened at the Watermill Theatre in England in 1993. The West End production opened in 1999 and won the 2000 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical The show is frequently produced by schools, as well as regional and community theatre groups in Britain, the U.S. and Canada.
Hooray for What! is an anti-war musical with music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It introduced the song "Down With Love".
Hot Feet is a jukebox musical featuring the music of Earth, Wind & Fire, a book by Heru Ptah and was conceived, directed, and choreographed by Maurice Hines. The musical opened on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre (then the Hilton Theatre) on April 30, 2006 and closed on July 23, 2006.
Hot Shoe Shuffle is a 1992 Australian musical produced by David Atkins. A jukebox musical, the score mostly includes American big band and popular songs of the 1920s to 1940s. While set in the United States, the show has a decidedly Australian sense of humor.
Peace Corps volunteer, hygiene teacher "Sally Hopwinder", is stationed in a fictional nation, "D'hum" with decent living conditions. She concocts a plan to obtain U.S. aid for D'hum by convincing the Pentagon that Russia is about to invade it.
Houp La! is an Edwardian musical comedy extravaganza, with music by Nat D. Ayer and Howard Talbot, lyrics by Percy Greenbank and Hugh E. Wright, and a book by Fred Thompson and Hugh E. Wright. The story combines the comic financial troubles of a circus owner with a love triangle. The original production of the show was mounted by Charles B. Cochran at London's new St Martin's Theatre, opening on 23 November 1916 and starring Gertie Millar, George Graves, Nat Ayer and Ida Adams. It was the first production at the St Martin's, which was leased by Cochran. Although the critics found the music innovative, and the cast included stars of the day, the show ran for only three months in London. A Manchester production followed.
House of Flowers is a musical by Harold Arlen (music and lyrics) and Truman Capote (lyrics and book). A short story of the same name was published in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958).
How Now, Dow Jones is a musical comedy by Academy Award winner Elmer Bernstein, Tony Award nominee Carolyn Leigh and Max Shulman. The original Broadway production opened in December 1967. A critically acclaimed revised version premiered off-Broadway in August 2009. How Now, Dow Jones, set in Wall Street, follows Kate who announces the Dow Jones numbers. Her fiancé will not marry her until the Dow Jones Industrial Average hits 1,000.
We meet Caroline, Remy, Drew, Tommy, Mel, Jessica and Marideth, autistic young adults as they go through their daily routine. We also meet Dr. Amigo, who runs a social skills group for autistic people, and his daughter Ashley Amigo, who is on medical leave from college due to an ankle injury, where she is studying dance ("Today Is"). It's Marideth's first time attending the group. Marideth feels hesitant to speak, even though they are each expected to share something with the group. Marideth finally opens her mouth to speak, when Jessica bursts in, apologizing for being late. In the end, Marideth doesn't share and leaves the group early, but she surprises and pleases her dad by telling him she wants to return. Drew, an academically high achieving senior in high school who got into the University of Michigan for Electrical Engineering, shares that he only wants to attend to make his parents happy and expresses that he wants to attend The Ohio State University instead ("Under Control"). Later on, Drew's parents inform Dr. Amigo that they are unsure if he can handle living away from home, and are upset because they believe Dr. Amigo should have received more support for having taught Drew those skills. Dr. Amigo begins to question his ability to lead the social skills group as a result ("The How-Tos"). He comes up with the idea to have a formal dance to help everyone build their social skills ("How To Dance In Ohio"). He plans to crown two people as the formal king and queen, which makes Mel and Remy uncomfortable, as Mel is non-binary and Remy is questioning their gender. At a diner, Marideth talks about the animals of Australia while her father tries to talk to her about the formal dance ("Unlikely Animals"). The group is nervous but excited at the idea of the dance. Drew has a crush on Marideth but is afraid to ask her out. Jessica has a crush on Tommy but doesn't know when to ask him out ("Butterflies"). Caroline daydreams about attending the dance with her boyfriend Jay on her way to a Japanese exam ("Slow Dancing"). A blogger talks to Dr. Amigo about possibly doing a piece on the dance, but he declines, saying he doesn't want reporters ("Hello, How Are You?"), but then a reporter that Dr. Amigo admires contacts him. Ashley says he just told the other person he wasn't having reporters, so Dr. Amigo agrees to both the blogger and the reporter. He tells them not to release any articles until after the dance. He has a crush on the reporter, but later learns she is married. Ashley then expresses that she isn't so sure she wants to return to Juilliard after her ankle heals ("Come Home, Recover"). Marideth tells her dad that Jessica and Caroline are going shopping for dresses at Macy's, and her dad suggests going to a discount store. Marideth does not like any of the dresses at the discount store, so her dad asks her which one is the least bad. Jessica and Caroline's moms are happy their daughters are buying dresses because it makes them nostalgic for their own proms, and are glad that their children have an opportunity to attend an accessible dance ("Getting Ready For The Dance"). Meanwhile, Mel has a misunderstanding at work with their manager and becomes overwhelmed, and Drew struggles with the social aspects of asking Marideth to the dance ("Waves and Wires"). He ends up chickening out and instead offers her a book. Marideth reads Drew's book and confronts her newfound romantic feelings towards him ("Drift"). Ashley finally gathers up the courage to tell Dr. Amigo that she does not want to return to dance school after her ankle injury heals and instead to work at the center. However, he fires her from Amigo Family Counseling, fearing that he is holding her back by letting her use the center as a place to hide instead of fighting for her dreams ("Terminally Human"). Meanwhile, Caroline encourages Jessica to ask Tommy to the dance ("So Much in Common"), but when she finally asks him, he turns her down as he is already going with Mel. The blogger decides to release the article before the dance despite Dr. Amigo's request, and presents it through an ableist lens even though Dr. Amigo had tried to correct those assumptions in their interview, with the article centering around Amigo and completely objectifying and infantilizing the group members. One-by-one, things begin to fall apart. Jessica and Caroline get into a fight over Caroline's toxic boyfriend ruining their friendship. Tommy scheduled his road test for the day before the dance. He passes, but then drives his brother's truck without his brother's permission, and crashes it. He isn't hurt, but gets grounded. Mel gets the promotion at work but has to cover their co-worker's shift, Marideth refuses to go, and Amigo believes Drew will not come because of a call he made to the University of Michigan lying about Drew wanting to attend there instead of Ohio State ("So Much in Common (Reprise)"/"Chevy Silverado"/"Admissions"). Having overheard the fight between her and her father, Mel comes to comfort Ashley and offer her words of wisdom ("Reincarnation"). The group find out the ableist article and are hurt, with some deciding to not attend the dance in protest ("Two Steps Backward"). Remy turns this into an opportunity to do his first livestream on his channel to improve conversations about disability and educate his audience about ableism ("Nothing At All"). All the parents call Dr. Amigo to tell him all the reasons why their children will be unable to attend the spring formal ("The Amigo Spring Formal"). At the night of the spring formal, believing no one will show up, he is surprised to see Drew, disappointed to see that no one came. However, he does not want to miss the opportunity to dance with Marideth, so he gets the idea to throw another dance the following day at the therapy center ("Building Momentum"). Dr. Amigo apologizes to the group about the article and tells the blogger to take it down. Caroline and Jessica make up, and Caroline reveals that she has broken up with Jay. Marideth's father convinces her to attend the spring formal, and she agrees. Ashley unexpectedly shows up at the dance and announces that she has retired as a dancer and sets clear boundaries with her father. And Mel encourages Dr. Amigo to hire Ashley back with a raise ("The Second Chance Dance"). The second dance is a success, and Drew finally asks Marideth to dance. ("Finale")
J. Pierrepont Finch, a young window cleaner in New York City, reads the book How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as he works. The "Book Voice" tells him that he will succeed if he follows the book's advice. He enters the World Wide Wicket Company searching for a job ("How To Succeed"). Finch bumps into J. B. Biggley, the president of the company, who dismisses him to the personnel manager, Mr. Bratt. Rosemary Pilkington, an ambitious young secretary, helps Finch meet Mr. Bratt. Finch tells Bratt that Biggley sent him, and Bratt gives him a job in the mailroom, where he works with Mr. Biggley's lazy, arrogant, and nepotism-minded nephew Bud Frump. Rosemary dreams of a life with Finch in the suburbs ("Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm"). The fatigued workers rush to get their coffee break ("Coffee Break"). In the mailroom, Finch earns favor with the long-time head of the mailroom, Mr. Twimble, who tells him the secret to longevity at the company ("The Company Way"). Twimble is promoted to head of the shipping department and has to choose his replacement as head of the mailroom. The book warns not to stay in the mailroom too long, so Finch recommends Frump instead of himself. Twimble is reluctant to promote the lazy Frump, but Frump promises to be a good employee ("The Company Way (Reprise)"). Twimble and Bratt are impressed by Finch's apparent selflessness, and Bratt offers him a job as a junior executive in the Plans and Systems department, headed by Mr. Gatch. An extremely attractive but air-headed woman named Hedy LaRue, who is Mr. Biggley's secret mistress, is hired as a secretary. On her first day of work, the male employees are instantly attracted to her, but Mr. Bratt warns them against taking advantage of their employees ("A Secretary Is Not a Toy"). Finch learns from Mr. Biggley's secretary, Miss Jones, that Biggley is a proud alumnus of Old Ivy College. In the elevator at the end of the workday, Rosemary's fellow secretary Smitty helps her and Finch set up a date ("Been a Long Day"). Frump runs into Biggley and Hedy and realizes their relationship, and he blackmails Biggley into giving him a promotion ("Been a Long Day (Reprise)"). Finch arrives early Saturday morning and sets up the office so it looks like he has been working all night. Biggley believes Finch's ruse, and Finch convinces Biggley that he, too, is a proud alumnus of Old Ivy (a "Groundhog"), and they sing the Old Ivy fight song ("Grand Old Ivy"). Biggley insists that Finch be given his own office and secretary, Hedy. With the book's help, Finch realizes that Biggley must be Hedy's advocate and sends her on an errand to Gatch, knowing that Gatch will make a pass at her. Gatch falls for the trap and is dispatched to Venezuela, and Finch is promoted to his position as head of Plans and Systems. At a reception for the new Advertising Department head, Benjamin Burton Daniel Ovington, Rosemary hopes to impress Finch with her new "Paris original" dress, but all the other women arrive at the reception wearing the same dress ("Paris Original"). Frump schemes for Biggley to catch Finch kissing LaRue in his office, but after LaRue blackmails Finch into kissing her, he realizes he's actually in love with Rosemary ("Rosemary"). After some farcical complications, Frump and Biggley walk into the office just as Finch embraces Rosemary. Ovington is forced to resign when Biggley learns that he is a graduate from Northern State, Old Ivy's bitterest rival (a "Chipmunk"). Biggley names Finch vice-president in charge of advertising. Biggley leaves as Finch and Rosemary declare their love for each other, and Bud Frump vows revenge ("Act I Finale"). Two days later, Rosemary has been neglected by Finch. She decides to quit, but her fellow secretaries convince her to stay because she's living their dream of marrying an executive ("Cinderella, Darling"). (In the 1995 revival, this song was replaced with a reprise of "How to Succeed", with the lyrics suggesting ways in which a woman can get hold of a man's financial assets). The book warns Finch that because vice-president of advertising is a bad position, he needs a brilliant idea. Bud Frump slyly tells Finch his idea for a treasure hunt, which Finch loves, unaware that Biggley has already heard the idea and rejected it. Finch shares the idea with Rosemary, who tells him that she'll stay with him no matter what happens ("Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm (Reprise)"). Hedy tells Biggley that she is unhappy as a secretary and is leaving for California. He begs her to stay and tells her he loves her, and she agrees to stay ("Love From a Heart of Gold"). In the executive washroom, Finch gives himself a pep talk while, behind his back, the other executives and Frump plot against him ("I Believe In You"). Finch presents "his" idea to Biggley: he will hide five thousand shares of company stock in each of the ten offices around the country and give a television audience weekly clues as to their whereabouts. Biggley accepts this idea when Finch explains that each clue will be given by the scantily-dressed World Wide Wicket Treasure Girl: Miss Hedy LaRue. During the first television show, Hedy is asked to swear on a Bible that she doesn't know the location of the prizes. Hedy panics and reveals the locations to the entire television audience, which prompts all the Wicket employees to tear apart the offices looking for them. The book tells Finch, "How To Handle a Disaster....We suggest that your best bet if you are the cause of the Disaster is to review the first chapter of this book: 'How to Apply for a Job'." The executives, including Chairman of the Board Wally Womper, are waiting in Biggley's office for Finch's resignation. Rosemary again tells Finch that she'll stand by him no matter what ("I Believe in You (Reprise)"). About to sign his letter of resignation, Finch mentions that he'll probably go back to washing windows. Womper is drawn to Finch as he, too, was a window washer and they both "had a book": Wally's book was a book of betting records. Finch blames the treasure hunt on Frump, also mentioning that Frump is Biggley's nephew. Womper is about to "clean house from top to bottom", when Finch steps in on everyone's behalf. Finch tells the executives that even though the business world is a place filled with betrayal and competitiveness, the World Wide Wicket staff is like a family to him ("Brotherhood of Man"). Everyone is spared except Frump, who is fired because he is Biggley's nephew. Biggley remains president, Womper retires to travel the world with his new wife, Hedy, and Finch becomes chairman of the board. Rosemary stands by his side and inadvertently inspires him to aspire for the Presidency of the United States. Frump gets a job washing windows, swearing revenge against Finch ("Company Way (Finale)").
A musical comedy about family and everyday life, addressing oppression within the family and Azerbaijani women’s place in society.
Harry Bogen is an ambitious, unscrupulous young businessman in the 1930s New York City garment industry. He will stop at nothing to get to the top; he lies to his mother and his long-suffering girlfriend, Ruthie Rivkin. They try to help him become a better person, but Harry embezzles company funds and betrays his friends and partners. Harry leaves Ruthie for Martha Mills, a gold-digging dancer as tough and hard as the diamonds Harry rewards her with. But Harry goes bankrupt and loses his fair-weather friends. Only his mother and Ruthie stand by him, but a surprising ally re-emerges from the past.
I Can't Sing! The X Factor Musical was a musical comedy written by Harry Hill, and Steve Brown. Based on the TV series The X Factor, the musical made its West End and world premiere in March 2014, at the London Palladium. Due to low ticket sales, it closed just 6 weeks and 3 days later on 10 May 2014, reportedly losing £4 million.
I Do! I Do!
Near the end of his life, Ralph Abernathy revisits his past and his relationship with Martin Luther King Jr. in the company of Bria, a young modern-day civil rights activist.
I Had a Ball is a musical with a book by Jerome Chodorov and music and lyrics by Jack Lawrence and Stan Freeman. It starred Buddy Hackett, and featured Richard Kiley and Karen Morrow.
In Trenton, New Jersey, old high school buddies Wally (now an executive in public relations) and Alvin (a furniture mover) discuss the possibility of adding some spice to their lives by having a foursome. Alvin suggests to his wife Cleo that they share their bed with Monica, Wally's wife. Cleo thinks that she would enjoy Wally. They agree that whoever enters first becomes the evening's partner, but the couple walks in together. After Monica leaves, the three discuss the situation and decide on a foursome on Christmas Eve. Alvin and Cleo arrive for dinner on Christmas Eve, and while Monica is initially unhappy with the arrangement, she ultimately agrees. Too excited to eat: they undress, get into bed, and have some pot to relax. As Wally suggests ideas from a sex manual, the group discards all the options.
I Love You Because is a musical set in modern-day New York. It is based on Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. It features lyrics by Ryan Cunningham, set to music by Joshua Salzman.
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is presented in the form of a series of vignettes connected by the central theme of love and relationships. The play's tagline is "Everything you have ever secretly thought about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives and in-laws, but were afraid to admit." With few exceptions, the scenes stand independent of the others but progress in a fashion designed to suggest an overall arc to relationships throughout one's life. A first date, for example, comes before scenes dealing with marriage, and scenes dealing with marriage come before those dealing with childbearing. Despite the large number of characters, the show is typically done with a comparatively small cast: the original Off-Broadway production uses a cast of four.
A wealthy Budapest banker, Count Willie Palaffi, is love-weary. He ends his engagement to Anna Murphy, swearing that the only girl he could marry would be an angel. A real angel soon flies into his life, and he marries her. It turns out, however, that she is free of the human failings that permit people to tolerate each other. In particular, she is unable to fib. Her honesty alienates Willie's high society acquaintances and his biggest customer and causes a run on his bank. His sister, Countess Palaffi, saves the day by teaching the angel about the real world. She also bribes taxi drivers to make Willie's creditors late, so that he has time to save his bank. Willie and his now Earthier angel live happily ever after.
I Remember Mama is a musical with a book by Thomas Meehan, lyrics by Martin Charnin and Raymond Jessel, and music by Richard Rodgers. The musical ran on Broadway in 1979.
I Spy a Spy is an original musical with music by Sohee Youn, lyrics by Jamie Jackson, and book by Youn & Jackson. The original Off-Broadway production began previews on July 6 and had an official opening night on July 18 Off-Broadway at the St Clements Theatre. The original production ended its limited engagement early on August 10 after 10 previews and 26 regular performances.
I and Albert is a 1972 musical by composer Charles Strouse, and lyricist Lee Adams, with a book by Jay Presson Allen. The plot is based on the lives and love story of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The cast includes Nini, Dorotea, Beatrice, Odoardo, Bernardo, Marchese Emilio, Giorgio and John.
I'd Rather Be Right is a 1937 musical with a book by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. The story is a Depression-era political satire set in New York City about Washington politics and political figures such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The plot centers on Peggy Jones (Joy Hodges) and her boyfriend Phil (Austin Marshall), who needs a raise in order for them to get married. The President steps in and solves their dilemma.
Manager Joe Epstein returns from a trip and finds his star Heather Jones on stage at a nightclub, singing her own songs about the emancipation of women, together with the two singers Alice and Cheryl and the band. She tells Joe Epstein that this would be her new show. Joe, who has been Heather's friend for a long time, reacts angrily to Heather's change, but he is not able to persuade Heather to go back to her usual role. Almost 40 years old, she feels that the time has come for a change. Joe finds the songs she is singing now unpleasant, because they remind him of the way he treats his own wife. Heather is determined to support women's liberation; she splits up with her manager and goes on to perform her own show.
I'm Solomon is a 1968 musical with music by Ernest Gold, lyrics by Anne Croswell, and book by Croswell and Dan Almagor. It opened 23 April 1968 and closed 27 April after seven performances. The play was profiled in the William Goldman book The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway. Goldman wrote, "The show advertised itself as 'A New Musical with a Cast of 60.' That's got to tell you something.; I mean, when movies have made "a cast of thousands" a cliché, what's "a cast of 60" supposed to do to your pulse? One peek at the program indicated more trouble: the set designer had a box around his name, and when the outstanding billing for a show goes to the set designer, you just know you're in for a bumpy crossing." Goldman estimated the musical lost between $700,000 and $800,000.
Idol: The Musical is an American off-Broadway musical based on the popular TV show American Idol. The story is about a group of "dork-like" characters who dream of winning a spot as the opening act in Clay Aiken's new tour. The music was written by Jon Balcourt, lyrics co-written by Balcourt and Todd Ellis, and directed by Dan Tursi. The original story was conceived and outlined, including plot, songs, and characters, by Ellis. The show began previews at the 45th Street Theatre on July 5, 2007. The show closed on its official opening night of August 12, 2007, due to poor ticket sales and bad word of mouth.
38-year-old divorcee Elizabeth moves back to her hometown of New York City to start her life anew. Her kindergarten teacher friend Kate suggests she adopt the nickname Liz and attend a concert, while her activist friend Lucas suggests she return to her college nickname of Beth and join him at a rally. The work switches back and forth between the two possible timelines. Liz meets an army doctor named Josh, and after a brief hesitation, falls in love with him. Josh introduces Lucas to his friend David, and they too begin a relationship. Liz and Josh have two children, but Josh, having delayed his third tour of duty as long as possible, is deployed and killed in action. Meanwhile, Kate's marriage ends in divorce, and David encourages Liz to confront her loss. Beth, having brushed off Josh, receives a call from her former classmate Stephen, who offers her a job as a city planner. After an awkward kiss with Stephen, Beth invites Lucas over, and they have sex. Lucas is in love with Beth, but she is not interested in him. Beth learns she is pregnant with Lucas's child, but opts to get an abortion, ruining their friendship. Years pass, and Beth throws herself into work while remaining lonely. After a harrowing near-death experience, Beth urges Kate and Anne to make up and love each other while they can. Five years after the opening scene, Liz and Beth both meet their friends in the park. Liz reconnects with Stephen, who has a job opportunity for her, while Beth meets Josh, back from his originally scheduled third tour of duty. Both women take the new opportunity and face the future.
The Duchess is attracted to Hans, who loves the Spanish dancer Marietta, and disguises herself as Marietta to learn his true feelings. During her performance, Hans admits that he really loves the Duchess. Meanwhile, Bolko courts Helma, who has been posing as the Duchess's maid. Once Helma's identity is revealed, the Duchess rewards the couple with a country estate and makes Hans a lieutenant before revealing her own disguise.
A young man named Henry leaves his bed and partner in the middle of the night ("Prologue (or, A Conjunction of Drones...)") and hikes into the woods. He thinks about three of the most important people in his life ("Three Stars (or, Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois)"). Henry reaches a clearing in an Illinois cornfield ("The Long Hike") where a group of friends are sitting around a campfire telling stories about their childhoods and lives. He is given a notebook like the others' and encouraged to "write from the heart" ("Come on! Feel the Illinoise!"). The storytelling begins: Morgan reminisces about growing up in Jackson, Illinois, and her attempts to understand her lineage and the lessons left by those who came before ("A Story About Jackson"). Jo Daviess relates her worries about the hold the Founding Fathers have on the American imagination, and the dangers of racism and conservatism ("a story about Zombies"). Wayne has been dealing with feelings of self-loathing about their sexuality and reflects how, as an outcast, they hide the truth about themselves, fearing that they are no better than Illinois serial killer John Wayne Gacy ("a story about John Wayne Gacy, Jr"). Wayne eventually breaks down in tears and is comforted by the other members of the group. To lighten the mood, Clark talks about how he is a vulnerable Superman ("a story about The Man of Metropolis"). At first, Henry resists telling his story but is emboldened by the willingness of his new friends to share their feelings of vulnerability. His story comes alive as he relates that his childhood best friend and first love, Carl, had a lover named Shelby, and the three were close friends ("Decatur"). He and Carl embark on a road trip, passing through Chicago and ending abruptly in New York, when Carl receives news that Shelby is ill ("Chicago"). Carl returns to Decatur to be with her, but Henry meets and falls in love with Douglas, an artist ("To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament"). Shelby soon dies of cancer, with Carl at her side ("Casimir Pulaski Day"). Meanwhile, Henry is still together with Douglas, and while the two are very much in love, Henry is tormented by the idea that he has done something terrible by leaving Carl ("The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!"). Douglas is able to calm Henry, and the two fall back to sleep. Carl struggles with having lost the love of his life ("In This Temple as in the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth") and, feeling he is unable to confide in Henry, commits suicide ("The Seer's Tower"). Henry is devastated by the loss of Carl, and, returning to the near-present, Henry leaves Douglas in bed and finds these new friends ("A Conjunction of Drones, again"). Henry realizes that he cannot spend the rest of his life dwelling on the end of his friendship with Carl but must celebrate the good things about it as well. Henry is overjoyed when Douglas arrives at the campfire having hiked there to find him ("Chicago" (reprise)). Henry's new friends and Douglas celebrate his bravery for telling his story and accepting his emotions ("The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders"). Henry and Douglas embrace as the celebration of storytelling continues ("Epilogue").
Illya Darling is a musical with a book by Jules Dassin, music by Manos Hadjidakis, and lyrics by Joe Darion, based on Dassin's 1960 film Never on Sunday.
Imagine This is a musical with music by Shuki Levy, lyrics by David Goldsmith and a book by Glenn Berenbeim. Set in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II, it focuses on a family of actors trying to stage a play about the siege at ancient Masada to inspire hope and optimism within the Jewish community.
Imminent, Indeed (or Polly Peachum's Peculiar Penchant for Plosives) is a gothic adaptation of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. Written and directed by Bryn Manion with the assistance of Wendy Remington. Produced by the Creatives and the founding board members of the company of Aisling Arts.
The program provided a setting: "The time and the place: the present." There was no plot. Cousins (He has an army in his room) - Theo Barnes Dole (He plays the piano. They do not have a mechanical piano) - Al Carmines Mildred (As round as around as an apple) - Jacque Lynn Colton Mable (She serves tea and circles) - Lee Crespi George (He can think of kissing her) - George McGrath Sylvia (and flags) - Arlene Rothlein Jessie (Cut wood) - Elaine Summers Ollie (An Englishman from the United Kingdom) - David Vaughan The Citizen (An innocent abroad) - Arthur Williams Lucy Armitage (A lady of culture and understanding) - Nancy Zala During its run David Tice replaced Al Carmines in the role of Dole. Lee Guilliatt replaced Elaine Summers in the role of Jessie.
Country-rock singer Kenna brings her former bandmates together for a party at a family-run Mexican restaurant, concealing the reason for the reunion. As old friendships and unfinished relationships resurface, songs associated with Roy Orbison frame a story about love, loss, and the choices people make with the time they have.
In Gay New York is a musical revue with a script and lyrics by C. M. S. McLellan, under his pseudonym Hugh Morton, and music by Gustave Kerker. The story revolves around two newlyweds from Maine who come to New York City, do some sightseeing, and see bits from the 1895–96 season at the Casino satirized in vaudevillian action. The revue premiered on Broadway at the Casino Theatre on May 25, 1896 and closed in mid-August.
In Hayti is a musical in three acts with music by Jean Schwartz, lyrics by William Jerome, and a book by John J. McNally. It premiered at Broadway's Circle Theatre on August 30, 1909. It closed after 56 performances on October 16, 1909. Produced by Klaw and Erlanger, the show was directed by A. H. Holbrook and choreographed by Julian Alfred. The work was created as a starring vehicle for vaudeville and minstrel show stars James McIntyre and Thomas Heath who were known for their work as blackface performers. It was the second musical created by the songwriting team of Schwartz and Jerome for McIntyre and Heatth; the first being the tremendously popular 1905 musical The Ham Tree.The plot of the show revolves around Colonel Scott's attempt to control the chicken market in Haiti in the midst of a revolution.
In My Life was a 2005 Broadway musical with music, lyrics, and book by Joseph Brooks. Described by Playbill as being "generally regarded" to be "one of the strangest shows ever to have graced a Broadway stage", it told the story of a romance between a journalist with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and a singer-songwriter with Tourette's syndrome and later a brain tumor; as they fall in love, they are observed by an angel in Heaven who decides that their story would make a great "reality opera". Also involved in the tale are the songwriter's dead mother and sister, as well as God himself. Written entirely by Brooks, the show opened on Broadway on October 20, 2005, in a production also directed by Brooks; after receiving uniformly negative reviews, it closed on December 11, 2005, after 61 performances and 23 previews. No cast recording was made of the show's songs, and the libretto has never been published.
Captain Coddington, a penniless lad-about-town, gives a young aristocrat friend, Lord Clanside, a tour of the slightly naughty lifestyles both high and low, to be found in London. Coddington invites all the ladies of the Ambiguity Theatre to lunch; Clanside agrees to pay the bill if he is invited to the party. Afterwards, with several uninvited guests, they visit the theatre to see a rehearsal. Coddington romances the prima donna of the theatre and wins her.
In Transit is a one-act musical with book, music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan and Sara Wordsworth. The musical, performed entirely a cappella, ran Off-Broadway in 2010, and on Broadway in 2016.
In Trousers is a one-act musical that began off-Broadway in 1978 with book, music and lyrics by William Finn. It is the first in a trilogy of musicals, followed by March of the Falsettos and then Falsettoland.
In the Green starts with a hymnal song ("O Virga ac Diadema"). The actual storyline begins with Jutta in her cell reading her last rites, choosing to live the rest of her life as a dead person and receiving only food and water left at a small window and preparing for Hildegard's arrival; at 8 years old, a young Hildegard (portrayed by a puppet) is left with Jutta ("Death Ceremony"). Originally, Hildegard (now portrayed by Rachael Duddy as "Eye," Hannah Whitney as "Hand," and Ashley Pérez Flanagan as "Mouth," with each actress holding a puppet of the sense they respectively represent) expresses her resistance to staying in Jutta's cell and desire to go home, before describing how she has too many desires but ultimately wants to be "whole" ("If I Had a Knee"). Jutta then says she too was once "broken like [Hildegard]" and says she will guide Hildegard into becoming whole and "free," with Hildegard agreeing ("The Rule"). Time passes, and Mouth expresses her hunger and her feelings of being inside the cell for so long, before experiencing her first period ("I Am Hungry"). In response, Jutta explains that because of Eve's actions all women must pay and "carry her curse in [their] blood," while also telling Mouth to repress her hunger to gain control over herself and become whole as she aims ("Eve"). A year passes, with Hildegard becoming more frustrated that she is still broken ("Ritual"). Jutta continues to teach Hildegard lessons to become whole, this time saying that they will spend more time dead than alive and advising her to stop wanting things, to stop sleeping, and continue digging since life is painful anyway ("Little Life"). The two women take a break, and seeing a ray of sunlight coming through the cell window, Hand describes her time outside with a woman named Agatha while Jutta remembers her past betrothal and subsequent running away, before Hand asks about being "free" and going outside ("Sun Song"). This conversation with Hand brings back suppressed memories where Shadow (Jutta's repressed trauma personified) and Jutta sing about her would-be husband finding her after running away, and Jutta's sexual assault in a garden; Jutta refuses to think on this, forcing Shadow to leave and covering the sunlight, before arguing with Hildegard ("In the Green"). All three aspects of Hildegard get angry at Jutta, and Jutta decides she will no longer help Hildegard become whole. Eye, Hand, and Mouth all turn on each other and blame each other for Agatha's death, falling apart and choosing to "dig" because Hildegard believes she will never become whole and digging is the only thing she can control ("Burial"). While digging, Shadow is found in the Underground (a place full of darkness) hiding since she is unwanted, and tells Hildegard that she can join Shadow in the Underground ("Underground"). While in the Underground, Hildegard and Eye, Hand, and Mouth piece together the memories that make Hildegard broken; she remembers Agatha (who the audience now understands to be Hildegard's elder sister) sneaking out at night and having sex with a man, telling her mother about what Agatha is doing, describing Agatha's pregnancy and their nighttime outing to pick pennyroyal so Agatha can abort her baby, which leads to Agatha bleeding to death ("Confession"). Hildegard pauses before describing the last thing Agatha told her as she was dying, to which Shadow tells her she doesn't have to, but once Hildegard does, she feels better, even if she's still broken ("Sun Song (Reprise)"). Shadow is in awe of Hildegard, Eye, Hand, and Mouth for working with their trauma and wants them to stay with her in the Underground; realizing that Shadow is Underground because she too was broken by her trauma, they try to encourage her to share her memories so Shadow can become whole, to which Shadow refuses ("Light Undercover"). Through these conversations, Hildegard has a realization about becoming whole and understands that everything Jutta has been trying to teach her has always been inside of her, and with the help of each other Shadow and Hildegard feel they'll be "alright" ("The First Verb"). Shadow and Hildegard move from the Underground back into Jutta's cell ("O Viridissima Virga"). Hildegard, Eye, Hand, and Mouth tell Shadow that she too contains light like them, and that's what they've been digging for this whole time; they've been hiding themselves and while those hidden parts make them broken, that is how they have the light they've been searching. Emboldened by Hildegard, Eye, Hand, and Mouth, Shadow divulges some of her feelings and the sensations she remembers from her sexual assault ("Light Undercover/In the Green (Reprise)"). Meanwhile, Jutta steadfastly refuses to acknowledge anything Hildegard or Shadow say. Jutta reflects on her own life, saying she's "done all the things [she's] supposed to" and yet cannot see the light like Hildegard or Shadow, but is grateful for her life all the same. She expresses maternal love for Hildegard, before dying ("The Ripening"). Hildegard, Eye, Hand, and Mouth reflect on Jutta's teachings while grieving their mentor's death ("Forgiveness"). Hildegard leaves the cell to experience what she's "never known before." She then explains her thoughts on Catholicism through her life and the growing corruption and tensions within the Church ("Integration"). The show ends with Hildegard meeting Sigewize, a young Cathar girl who expresses similar sentiments to Hildegard at the beginning of the show of being "'too much,'" trying to be understood, and asks Hildegard to "see [her]" and think about the impact of her speeches when people kill in Hildegard's name ("Exorcism").
In the Heights is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is a romance as well as a celebration of community, culture, and aspirations. It is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Hispanic and Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, New York City. The score blends hip-hop, salsa, merengue, and soul. After a 2005 tryout in Waterford, Connecticut and a 2007 Off-Broadway run, the show opened on Broadway in March 2008. It was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards and won four, including Best Musical. A film adaptation of the musical was released in June 2021.
After an argument, Mr. Liverby refuses to speak to his wife. She plants a fake love letter to make him jealous, but another letter from a young man appears. He turns out to be Liverby’s nephew, seeking his aunt’s help to regain a job; Liverby reinstates him and forgives his wife.
The operetta adapts the tale Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from One Thousand and One Nights.
Inside Out, earlier known as Roleplay, was an American musical which tells a story of a six-person support group. It was co-written by Adryan Russ and Doug Haverty.
Instant Marriage is a musical with music by Laurie Holloway and words by Bob Grant. It premiered at the Piccadilly Theatre in London on 1 August 1964, playing for 366 performances. The cast featured Joan Sims, Paul Whitsun-Jones, Bob Grant, Stephanie Voss, Rex Garner, Harold Goodwin and Wallas Eaton. There was an Australian production in 1965, playing at the Tivoli Theatre in each of Melbourne and Sydney.
A physicist from Los Alamos, James Prescott is attempting to prove (or disprove) the truth about the Shroud of Turin. James' obsession with this task strains his relationship with his wife (Kate) and his young son (Matthew). To compensate for his absent father, Matthew instead begins to trust his imaginary friend.
Ipi Tombi (also produced as Ipi N'tombi, both corrupted transliterations of the Zulu iphi ntombi, or "where is the girl?"), is a 1974 musical by South African writers Bertha Egnos Godfrey and her daughter Gail Lakier, telling the story of a young black man leaving his village and young wife to work in the mines of Johannesburg. The show, originally called The Warrior, uses pastiches of a variety of South African indigenous musical styles.
Irene is a musical with a book by James Montgomery, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and music by Harry Tierney. Based on Montgomery's play Irene O'Dare, it is set in New York City's Upper West Side and focuses on immigrant shop assistant Irene O'Dare, who is introduced to Long Island's high society when she is hired to tune a piano for a society gentleman. The musical opened on Broadway in 1919 and ran for 675 performances, at the time the record for the longest-running musical in Broadway history, which it maintained for nearly two decades. It starred Edith Day in the title role, who repeated the role in the London production. It was revived on Broadway in 1923, filmed twice, and had a major Broadway revival in 1973, starring Debbie Reynolds, that ran for 594 performances, followed by a 1976 London run that lasted 974 performances.
Irma La Douce is a successful prostitute in Paris. A poor law student, Nestor le Fripé, falls in love with her and is jealous of her clients. In order to keep her for himself, he assumes the disguise of a rich older man, "Oscar", and takes many jobs. Finally no longer able to sustain his exhausting life, he "kills" Oscar, is convicted of murder, and is transported to the Devil's Island penal colony. He escapes and returns to Paris, and proves that he is innocent. He and Irma reunite.
Iron Curtain is a comedy musical about the Soviet Union, with music by Stephen Weiner, lyrics by Peter Mills, and a book by Susan DiLallo.
Is There Life After High School? is a musical with a book by Jeffrey Kindley and music and lyrics by Craig Carnelia. It is loosely inspired by Ralph Keyes' best-selling book of the same name. The show uses songs and monologues to recall the joys, terrors, envies, hates, and loves that most teenagers experience throughout their four years of high school. The world premiere was mounted by the Hartford Stage Company in Hartford, Connecticut. The Broadway production was staged by Robert Nigro and choreographed by Larry Fuller. It had a long preview period of 48 performances before opening on May 7, 1982, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. It closed after 17 performances. The cast included Sandy Faison, Harry Groener, David Patrick Kelly, Alma Cuervo, and James Widdoes, who won the Theatre World Award for his performance. Scott Bakula was one of the understudies. An original cast album was released on the Original Cast label, and was re-issued on CD by the same company in 1995, with bonus tracks sung by the composer/lyricist. Producer and director Robert Neal Marshall produced the critically acclaimed London West End debut at the Donmar Warehouse in the Summer of 1986 as a special limited engagement. This production starred Caroline O'Connor, Mark Michael Hutchinson, Geoff Steer, Rosemarie Ford, Lynne Kieran, Steven Mann, Nelly Morrison & Nigel Garton early in their careers who did this late night engagement while several were also appearing in West End hit shows Me and My Girl, 42nd Street and The Hired Man. The musical director was Tony Castro. The show has been staged at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., and at regional theatres throughout the country. The Birmingham Repertory theatre staged a youth theatre production in 2009 at the Old REP in the UK. The song "The Kid Inside" was covered by Barry Manilow on his 1991 musical album Showstoppers and John Barrowman on his 2010 self-titled studio album.
Isabel's a Jezebel is a British musical with music by Galt MacDermot and book and lyrics by William Dumaresq, based loosely on one of the Grimm's Fairy Tales, centers around Isabel and her deep-sea lover, who spend their time copulating and arguing about bringing children into a world committed to death. After out-of-town tryouts, the musical premiered on 15 December 1970 on the West End at the Duchess Theatre, running for only 61 performances. The cast included Frank Aiello, Sharon Campbell, Helen Chappelle, Peter Farrell, Carole Hayman, Michele Mowbray, Maria Popkiewitz, Miguel Sergides, Howard Wakeling. The production was co-directed by Michael Wearing and Julie Arenal, who also choreographed. After his spectacular success with the musical Hair, expectations for MacDermot's next work, Isabel's a Jezebel, were high. The musical underwent several last minute cast changes, including Hayman's joining the show just before opening night. The New York Times praised the score but called the book "irretrievably inert." A cast album was released in 1972 (Item 377673) Kilmarnock.
Islander is a musical conceived by Amy Draper with music and lyrics by Finn Anderson and a book by Stewart Melton. It follows the story of a young girl called Eilidh, who is the last child on a remote and increasingly depopulated Scottish island called Kinnan. It includes elements of Scottish folklore and has no band, instead using live looping technology to create music and sound cues. The musical features only two performers, who each play multiple roles.
At the St. George Hotel, it is the morning of Rebecca Steinberg and Brian Howard's wedding. Jenny, Rebecca's sister, talks of her nerves before the wedding and how glad she is that she isn't the one having to have all the problems of a bride ("I Never Wanted This"). Judy and Murray are Jenny and Rebecca's parents. Judy, an overbearing, talkative Jewish mother, barks commands at Jenny to make sure things are organized. While trying to keep things together, Jenny accidentally calls Rebecca's ex, Marty, and lets it slip the wedding is taking place that day. Marty is convinced that it is a sign that he needs to stop the wedding and talk Rebecca out of it. He rushes to the hotel. The bride and groom share their mutual excitement and fears ("This Day (Opening)"). Things go well with a few comedic missteps, including the visible impact of the wedding on the groom's mother, Georgette, who doesn't want to lose her son to another woman. When things seem to settle, the best man, Greg, comes in and announces that Rebecca wants to stop the wedding. Jenny rushes to her side, and Rebecca says that there's a smudge on her wedding dress—it must be a sign. Annie, the co-maid of honor, tries to talk to her along with Brian and Greg, until Brian insinuates that Annie has been too controlling over the wedding. That triggers something in Annie, and she runs off with Greg and Brian immediately rushing after her to apologize. Jenny once again smoothes over the situation by getting the stain out of the dress. Rebecca and Jenny sing about how much they admire each other, both seeing qualities in the other that they respect ("Perfect"). On the other side of the hotel, Marty arrives and is instantly spotted by Murray, who expresses his joy over seeing him before. Murray admits that he wishes it were Marty marrying Rebecca instead of Brian. He is joined by Judy, the drunken Uncle Morty, and flirtatious Aunt Sheila, who all echo this sentiment ("It Shoulda Been You"). When Jenny sees Marty, she tries to get him to leave. However, Marty appeals to their longtime friendship and all the times that he has been there for her. Jenny reminisces with him, and it's revealed they did get together, but for some reason Marty stopped calling her and she never knew why ("Who"). She reluctantly agrees to give him only a few short minutes with Rebecca. Meanwhile, Brian is having a few moments with George, his father. George says that now that Brian is getting married, he wants to try to have a closer relationship with him—something he and his own father never had ("Back in the Day"). He also gives Brian a pre-nuptial agreement and tells him to consider signing it before the wedding, completely unaware that Marty is hiding behind a plant and has heard their conversation. The bridal party gets their hair and makeup done, and tensions between Georgette and Judy are running high. Rebecca and Jenny beg Judy to be polite. After Georgette, assuming a cheerful tone, takes a few back-handed jabs at her, Judy emulates her demeanor to hurl shots back at her, including pointing out Georgette's latest face lift ("Nice"). Marty arrives and throws everything into disarray when he announces the plans for the pre-nuptial agreement. Rebecca is shocked and runs off. Everyone goes to find her. Jenny starts panicking that the wedding will be over before it has begun. She is reassured by Albert, the wedding planner, that all will be well. He shares stories of all the weddings he's been involved in, pointing out that nothing has ever shocked him or prevented the ceremony from taking place, including that a wedding day pre-nuptial agreement is not legally binding ("Albert's Turn"). Brian tries to confide in Georgette and tells her that he owes everything he has achieved in life to her. As he leaves, Georgette laments losing her son to another woman and wishes he had turned out gay, or at least waited until after she died to find someone ("Where Did I Go Wrong?"). Everyone is still searching for Rebecca; they think she has left, but Albert appears with Rebecca dressed, made up, and ready to walk down the aisle. Judy and Murray admire her, and Judy tells Jenny to go get dressed. As she goes into the bathroom, Judy compliments Rebecca on how stunning she looks before saying she wishes Jenny had found someone. Judy suggests that it would be easier for Jenny to find someone if she lost weight. Rebecca retorts that this isn't fair, as Jenny has had a wonderful life and has done great things. Jenny hears this conversation as she exits the bathroom and is embarrassed. Everyone else leaves, and Jenny finishes dressing. As she does this, she expresses her frustration that even though she views herself as a truly beautiful and valuable person, she struggles to find people that view her as more than 'sort of pretty,' 'kind of sexy,' or just 'nice' ("Beautiful"). Outside the cathedral, Marty shows up one more time to try to convince Rebecca to call off the wedding. Rebecca considers it, but Jenny steps in and tells him to let Rebecca go and be happy. Marty reluctantly agrees, and the wedding goes ahead. After the wedding, everyone gets ready for the reception. Murray and Judy rejoice that their daughter is finally married. Georgette is in despair and grabs George to head for the bar. Jenny is happy for her sister, but sad for herself. Rebecca and Brian, now in a private room, are just glad things went ahead ("A Perfect Ending"). Greg and Annie interrupt the newlyweds' alone time with champagne in hand to celebrate. They drink, and it is revealed that Greg and Brian are lovers as well as Annie and Rebecca. Jenny and Albert walk in and catch the two couples in the act. Rebecca tries to explain things to Jenny, but she is interrupted by Judy telling them the reception is about to start. At the reception, Greg and Annie perform a garish song to their secret lovers declaring their undying devotion under the pretense of having written it for the wedding ("Love you Till the Day"). Rebecca tries to talk to Jenny again, but she is interrupted by Judy, who says it's time for the father-daughter dance. Rebecca tries to resist, but Judy says Jenny can use the dance to search for a husband. That finally sets Jenny off, and she storms away. Judy follows her and tries to see what's the matter while still giving her orders about details of the wedding, but Jenny has none of it. She decides that she's tired of being pushed around and mocked; she's going to have a quick fling and throw caution to the wind ("Jenny's Blues"). Marty comes in and she impulsively kisses him. Jenny runs off after she kisses him, but Marty follows her into the bathroom and presses her to explain why she kissed him. She denies it as anything serious, but Marty continues pushing before letting it slip that he knew Rebecca was gay and that's why he couldn't call Jenny back. He didn't trust himself not to tell her after he promised Rebecca he wouldn't. He then says that he never loved Rebecca, but he always loved Jenny. He continues, saying that if she wants him, he wants to start a romantic relationship or whatever she wants ("Whatever"). The two declare their feelings for each other and kiss. Albert comes in and says that Rebecca is about to tell Judy and Murray that she's gay. They run off to find her. However, what they don't realize is that Aunt Sheila was also in the bathroom (hooking up with a busboy) and has heard the whole thing. Brian and George try to talk Rebecca out of revealing her sexuality on the day of the wedding. Jenny and Marty concur, but Rebecca says she's tired of living a lie. She wants to be who she is and wants to be with whom she loves ("A Little Bit Less Than"). Jenny hugs Rebecca and tells her she is strong. Judy and Murray come in to tell them the speeches are about to begin. Rebecca tries to get up the nerve to tell them but ultimately chickens out. As the rest of the family comes in, Aunt Sheila drunkenly announces that Rebecca is gay and, to the delight of Georgette, Brian also confesses his sexuality. Judy and Marty are shocked and demand an explanation for why they went through with the wedding. Brian and Rebecca explain that they both met in college, and when they found out that each other was gay, they became close friends. As they, along with Annie and Greg, hit 30 they realized they were broke. Brian remembered that he had a trust fund in his name from his grandfather's will. However, the stipulation was that he had to be married to a woman, so he convinced Rebecca to marry him. Rebecca also reveals that she is pregnant with Brian's child as during a period of time when she struggled with her sexuality, she and Brian had a drunken fling. After they got over the shock, Annie and Greg accept it, and they all decided to raise the child together. To the delight of Rebecca and Brian, both of their parents are accepting of their sexuality. Judy and Murray are overjoyed that they will have a grandchild, and Georgette and George take glee in the fact that Brian's grandfather—a racist homophobe—would have hated it. However, the wedding isn't over. Marty proposes to Jenny, saying he has been in love with her his whole life. Jenny says it is too soon, being that they never even dated. Judy convinces her, saying that she should go for it if she truly loves Marty. She says that love isn't about fairy tales—it takes time, and it involves taking risks and having the little moments that make a relationship come together ("What They Never Tell You"). Jenny and Marty both admit they have flaws, but they love each other, so it doesn't matter ("Perfect/Whatever" Reprise). Jenny says she doesn't have a dress, but Albert has it covered and hurries her off to get ready. Spurred by this quick wedding, Brian proposes to Greg and Rebecca to Annie, and they hurry off to make it a triple ceremony.
It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman is a 1966 musical composed by Charles Strouse, with lyrics by Lee Adams and book by David Newman and Robert Benton. It is based on the comic book character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. While the show's original Broadway run was well-reviewed, it did not catch on with audiences. Closing after three and a half months and costing an unprecedented $600,000, the show was Broadway's biggest flop at the time. These numbers have been disputed, with Hal Prince reporting that the show was capitalized at $400,000; other shows had proven to be bigger flops.
Jack O'Diamonds is a musical play with music by Noel Gay and book and lyrics by Clifford Grey and H.F. Maltby. It opened at London's Gaiety Theatre on 25 February 1935. The New York Times reported that it opened to good notices and that its American star, Zelma O'Neal "scored a triumph". One critic said of her pairing with co-star Reginald Purdell: "The spirit with which these two combine lends life and a touch of originality to the whole production".
Jack O'Lantern is a musical in two acts and 8 scenes with music by Ivan Caryll and both lyrics and book co-authored by Anne Caldwell and R. H. Burnside. The work also included some additional songs with music by Irving Berlin, Shelton Brooks and Gus King; and lyrics by Louis Harrison and Benjamin Hapgood Burt. Jack O'Lantern was written as a starring vehicle for Fred Stone who portrayed John Obadiah Lantern, a.k.a. "Jack O'Lantern". A modest success, it ran for a total of 265 performances; closing on June 1, 1918. The work was directed by Burnside, produced by Charles Dillingham, and included sets designed by Ernest Albert, Homer Emens and Joseph Urban. Helen Dryden, Robert MacQuinn, and Gladys Monkhouse designed the costumes.
Jackpot is an American musical with music by Vernon Duke, lyrics by Howard Dietz, and a musical book by Guy Bolton, Sidney Sheldon, and Ben Roberts. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on January 13, 1944. It closed on March 11, 1944 after a total of 69 performances. Directed by Roy Hargrave, the production starred Nanette Fabray as Sally Madison, Betty Garrett as Sgt. Maguire, Allan Jones as Hank Trimble, and, in the small role of Edna, future novelist Jacqueline Susann (Valley of the Dolls). Choreographer Flower Hujer danced in the production. A wartime musical designed to boost morale in the U.S. during World War II, Jackpot failed to garner a following among critics and audiences. A few songs from the show were published: I've Got A One Track Mind, Sugarfoot, There Are Yanks (From the Banks of the Wabash), and What Happened?.
Setting: Connecticut This musical tells the story of how the Healys, a seemingly perfect white Connecticut family with an adopted Black daughter, begins to unravel when faced with issues of repressed gender identity, sexual assault, and substance abuse. Mary Jane (MJ) Healy is a mother writing the yearly family Christmas letter. She writes about her husband Steve's job promotion, her daughter Frankie's art, and her son Nick's early admission to Harvard University. MJ writes that she got into a car crash, but is healing with the help of natural remedies. What she doesn't write is that Steve is addicted to pornography, Frankie is making out with her best friend, Jo, as the letter is being written, and MJ is addicted to the painkillers from the car accident ("Right Through You"). MJ pressures Nick and Frankie to be perfect to keep up the family's image ("All I Really Want"). At school, Frankie and Jo discuss how their mothers don't understand or accept them: Frankie's mom because of her disapproval of her self-expression, and Jo's mom not accepting them being gay or their gender expression. Jo is thankful for how Frankie understands them, and is sure that everything will turn out alright in the end ("Hand in My Pocket"). MJ tries to get drugs from the pharmacy, but she is out of refills. Desperate, she meets with a familiar dealer, who provides her with opioids. She moves through her day backward, starting with unpacking groceries at home, getting her painkillers in the alley, keeping up appearances with other school moms, and ending with her running out of pills at the beginning of the day ("Smiling"). On the last day of Frankie's English class before winter break, she reads a short story she wrote aloud. The students in the class criticize her since things she claims to be ironic in her piece are not technically ironic, just bad things that happened to someone. A new student, Phoenix, defends Frankie and encourages her to finish ("Ironic"). A romantic attraction begins between the two. After class, Phoenix and Frankie decide to go to a party that night. At home, MJ and Steve get into an argument. Steve says he wants to see a marriage counselor, but MJ refuses ("So Unsexy"). Nick comforts MJ after the fight, to which she responds that he is the only thing she has ever done right. Nick reflects on the pressures on him from his mother to be perfect ("Perfect"). Frankie and Nick go to the party ("Lancer's Party (So Pure)"). Frankie and Phoenix find each other and leave the crowded party to talk alone, and they discuss their imperfect family lives. Meanwhile, Jo doesn't attend the party because their mom forced them to go to a church function. Jo's mom scolds them for not dressing femininely enough ("That I Would Be Good"). The following day, Jo shows Frankie pictures that are circulating throughout the school of Bella, Nick's friend, who was drunk, passed out, and had her shirt pulled up at the party. Other students quickly mock Bella, calling her a slut. Despite barely knowing her, Frankie and Jo go to Bella's house to check on her. Bella reveals that Andrew, Nick's best friend, was the one who took the pictures and raped her. Frankie goes home and wakes Nick up to reprimand him about not going to the police, since he was the only one who saw how drunk Bella was. Nick brushes off Bella's claim, accusing her of being dramatic. MJ overhears the conversation and insists that Nick not come forward as it might ruin his reputation. MJ blames Bella for what happened since she chose to drink, but she is visibly upset by the story ("Wake Up"). MJ walks to the church for the first time in a while to pray about her failing marriage, struggling relationship with Frankie, and for help with her addiction. She then reflects on her memory of being raped in college, but blames herself and feels it was God's plan for her ("Forgiven"). Steve and MJ go to their first marriage counseling session, despite MJ's reluctance ("Not the Doctor"). Meanwhile, Frankie and Phoenix hang out at a playground and end up sleeping together ("Head over Feet"). Jo enters the Healys' house uninvited ("Your House") and walks in on Frankie and Phoenix. Jo gets mad and storms out of Frankie's room. MJ and Steve come home early, and Jo tells them that Frankie and Phoenix had sex. Phoenix flees quickly, leaving Frankie alone with her parents. MJ and Steve reprimand her for having sex so young. Frankie comes out to her parents as bisexual, and she gets mad at her parents for disapproving of her consensual sex but not caring about Bella's rape. She subsequently runs away from the house. Steve and MJ fight about the former not being present during Frankie's childhood, while Frankie takes a train alone to New York ("Unprodigal Daughter"). When she gets lost in the city, Frankie calls Phoenix. She tells him that she loves him and that he should come pick her up. However, when Phoenix doesn't say "I love you" back and says he needs to stay at home to help his sister with a medical condition, Frankie gets angry, feeling that Phoenix used her for her body. Students gossip about Bella and her accusations against Andrew. Bella comes to the Healys' house to talk to Nick, but MJ is the only person at home. MJ tries to comfort Bella by telling her she was also raped in college. Bella asks MJ when she started to feel better after her rape, but MJ doesn't answer. Bella leaves, realizing that it may never get better. Nick comes clean to MJ, telling her he walked in on Andrew raping an unconscious Bella but did nothing and left ("Predator"). Nick says he wants to go to the police, but MJ protests, stating it would only ruin his life. When Nick accuses her of selfishness, MJ slaps him. Jo comes to New York to pick up Frankie after she calls them out of desperation, lost, and out of money. Frankie shows little remorse for sleeping with Phoenix since she didn't think her relationship with Jo was exclusive. She tells Jo that she is in love with Phoenix. Jo, enraged that the one person they felt understood them doesn't love them, ends the relationship ("You Oughta Know"). At home, MJ overdoses on pills. Steve and Nick find her unconscious ("Uninvited"). When Steve gets to the hospital, he is devastated that he didn't know MJ had an addiction and promises her he will be there for her and the family from now on ("Mary Jane"). When Nick gets to the hospital, MJ tells him he should report to the police, but Nick reveals he already told them about what happened to Bella. Meanwhile, several students attend the rally that Frankie organized to get justice for Bella. Nick apologizes to Bella, who is angered that people only believed her once Nick came forward ("No"). A year has passed, and MJ is writing the Christmas letter again. She writes about the progress being made in their relationships and lives. MJ tells Frankie that she wanted her to feel like every other kid and not be treated differently because of her race, but Frankie tells her that she wouldn't have wanted to fit in with the people in their town ("Thank U"). Frankie dares MJ to email the Christmas letter to everyone, despite its frankness about her overdose and her dislike of the culture in their town. MJ sends it, deciding that this will be her last Christmas letter. Jo and Frankie rekindle their friendship, and Jo has a new girlfriend. Frankie and Phoenix are now just friends. Frankie and MJ, Bella and Nick, and Steve and MJ all now appear to have mended their relationships. Everyone acknowledges that their bad decisions all help them learn and become better people ("You Learn").
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