1634 shows
Clear filtersA Joyful Noise is a musical with a script by Edward Padula and music and lyrics by Oscar Brand and Paul Nassau. The 1966 Broadway production was a flop but introduced choreographer Michael Bennett in his Broadway debut. Based on Mississippi author Borden Deal's 1959 novel The Insolent Breed, the story centers on Shade Motley, a fiddler who arrives in a small Southern town and shocks the stern community with his exuberant love of hillbilly music and life in general.
A Knight for a Day is a musical with music by Raymond Hubbell and a book and lyrics by Robert Bache Smith. It debuted in 1907. East Coast and West Coast versions were also performed. The play was produced by B. C. Whitney.
The setting is Sweden, around the turn of the 20th century. One by one, the Quintet – five singers who comment like a Greek chorus throughout the show – enter, tuning up. Gradually, their vocalizing becomes an overture blending fragments of "Remember," "Soon," and "The Glamorous Life." The other characters enter waltzing, each uncomfortable with their partner ("Night Waltz"). After they drift back off, the aging and sardonic Madame Leonora Armfeldt, a wealthy former courtesan, and her solemn granddaughter, Fredrika, enter. Madame Armfeldt tells Fredrika that the summer night "smiles" three times: first on the young, second on fools, and third on the old. Fredrika vows to watch the smiles occur. Middle-aged, successful lawyer Fredrik Egerman has recently married an 18-year-old trophy wife, Anne, a naive girl who loves Fredrik but is not attracted to him. The two have been married for eleven months, and Anne still protects her virginity. Upon coming home from work, Fredrik surprises Anne with tickets to a play, starring Desiree Armfeldt, a glamorous actress whom Anne greatly admires. Anne giddily fantasizes about what it would be like to be as beautiful and beloved as Desiree, and starts talking at Fredrik about her day. Fredrik, distracted by his lust, considers various ways he might seduce his wife but ultimately rules each one out and elects to take a nap instead ("Now"). Meanwhile, his son Henrik, a seminary student a year older than his stepmother, is frustrated and ignored ("Later"). Anne promises her husband that shortly she will consent to have sex even though she can't help recoiling at his touch ("Soon"), and all three of them lament at once. The number concludes with Fredrik sighing Desiree's name in his sleep, which Anne overhears. Anne's maidservant Petra, an experienced and forthright girl, slightly older than the teen herself, offers her worldly but crass advice. Desiree Armfeldt, although once prominent, is now a fading flower clinging onto what's left of her past fame. Desiree tours in small, obscure towns with her theatre troupe. Madame Armfeldt, Desiree's mother, has taken over the care of Desiree's daughter Fredrika. Fredrika misses her mother, but Desiree continually delays seeing her, preferring, somewhat ironically, her life on tour ("The Glamorous Life"). As Fredrik and Anne take their seats at Desiree's play, Anne's previous excitement quickly devolves into anxiety, suspicious that Fredrik and Desiree have a romantic history that he never disclosed to her. The play begins and Desiree immediately notices Fredrik in the audience, and the Quintet reveals their shared memories and passionate relationship ("Remember"). Desiree, ironically playing a sexually irresistible countess, exchanges amorous glances with Fredrik and delivers her lines in an overtly suggestive tone, confirming Anne's suspicions as true. Anne, upset and overwhelmed, demands that Fredrik take her home. Meanwhile, Petra tries to seduce a nervous and petulant Henrik. That night, as Fredrik remembers his past with Desiree, he sneaks out to see her. The two have a happy but strained reunion, reflecting on their new lives. Desiree sarcastically boasts of her own adultery, as she has been seeing the married dragoon, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm. Following, Fredrik tries to explain how much he loves Anne, fending off Desiree's interjecting quips, but he ultimately reveals his sexual frustration ("You Must Meet My Wife"). Upon learning that Fredrik has gone for eleven months without sex, she agrees to accommodate him as a favor for an old friend. Madame Armfeldt offers advice to young Fredrika. The elderly woman reflects poignantly on her own checkered past and wonders what happened to prior refined styles of living ("Liaisons"). In Desiree's apartment, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm proclaims his unannounced arrival in his usual booming tones. Fredrik and Desiree fool the Count with an innocent explanation for their disheveled appearance, but he is still suspicious. He boasts of his many duels and the various wounds he has suffered before demonstrating his skills in knife-throwing. Fredrik responds sarcastically, causing the dragoon to dislike him immediately. Carl-Magnus returns to his wife, Countess Charlotte. Charlotte knows of her husband's infidelity, but Carl-Magnus is too absorbed in his suspicions of Desiree to talk to her ("In Praise of Women"). When she persuades him to blurt out the whole story, a twist is revealed—Charlotte's little sister Marta is a schoolfriend of Anne's. Charlotte visits Anne and describes Fredrik's tryst with Desiree. Anne is shocked and saddened, but Charlotte explains that such is the lot of a wife, and love brings pain ("Every Day a Little Death"). Meanwhile, Desiree asks Madame Armfeldt to host a party for Fredrik, Anne, and Henrik. Madame Armfeldt reluctantly agrees and sends out a personal invitation; its receipt sends Anne into a frenzy, imagining Desiree further seducing Fredrik at the estate. Anne does not want to accept the invitation, but Charlotte convinces her to do so to heighten the contrast between the older Desiree and the young and beautiful teenager. Charlotte relates this to the Count, who (much to her chagrin) decides to visit the Armfeldts, uninvited, as well. Carl-Magnus plans to challenge Fredrik to a duel, while Charlotte hopes to seduce the lawyer to make her husband jealous and end his philandering. The act ends as all characters head to Madame Armfeldt's estate ("A Weekend in the Country"). Madame Armfeldt's country estate is bathed in the golden glow of perpetual summer sunset at this high latitude ("Night Waltz One and Two"). Everyone arrives, each with their own amorous purposes and desires—even Petra, who catches the eye of Armfeldt's fetching manservant, Frid. The women begin to quarrel with one another. Fredrik is astonished to learn the name of Desiree's daughter. Henrik meets Fredrika, and confesses to her he deeply loves Anne. Meanwhile, in the garden, Fredrik and Carl-Magnus reflect on the difficulty of being annoyed with Desiree, contrasting her immoral actions with her physical beauty ("It Would Have Been Wonderful"). Dinner is served, and the female Quintet singers comment on the characters’ suspense regarding the coming meal ("Perpetual Anticipation"). At dinner, Charlotte attempts to flirt with Fredrik and trades insults with Desiree. Soon, everyone is shouting and scolding everyone else, except for Henrik, who finally speaks up. He accuses the whole company of being amoral, and flees the scene. Stunned, everyone reflects on the situation and wanders away. Fredrika tells Anne of Henrik's secret love and the two dash off searching for him. Meanwhile, Desiree meets Fredrik and asks if he still wants to be "rescued" from his life. Fredrik answers honestly that he loves Desiree but cannot bring himself to hurt Anne. Regretful and hurt, Desiree can only reflect on the nature of her life and relationship with Fredrik ("Send In the Clowns"). Anne finds Henrik, who is attempting to commit suicide. The clumsy boy cannot complete the task, and Anne tells him she loves him, too. The pair begins to kiss, which leads to Anne's first sexual encounter. Meanwhile, not far away, Frid sleeps in Petra's lap. The maid imagines advantageous marriages but concludes that in the meantime, "a girl ought to celebrate what passes by" ("The Miller's Son"). Charlotte confesses her plan to Fredrik, and both watch Henrik and Anne, happy together, run away to start their new life. The two commiserate on a bench. Carl-Magnus, preparing to sleep with Desiree, sees this and jealously challenges Fredrik to Russian Roulette; Fredrik nervously misfires and merely grazes his own ear. Feeling victorious, Carl-Magnus reaffirms his love for Charlotte, finally granting her wish. After the Count and Countess leave, Fredrika and Madame Armfeldt discuss the recent chaotic turns of events. The elderly woman asks Fredrika a surprising question: "What is it all for?" Fredrika thinks about this and decides that love, for all of its frustrations, "must be worth it." Madame Armfeldt is surprised, ruefully noting that she rejected love for material wealth at Fredrika's age. She praises her granddaughter and remembers true love's fleeting nature. Fredrik finally confesses his love for Desiree, acknowledging that Fredrika is his daughter, and the two promise to start a new life together ("Send in the Clowns" (Reprise)). Madame Armfeldt sits alone with Fredrika, who tells her grandmother that she has watched carefully but still has not seen the night smile. Madame Armfeldt laughs and points out that the night has indeed smiled twice: first on Henrik and Anne, the young, and second on Desiree and Fredrik, the fools. As the two wait for the "third smile... on the old", it occurs: Madame Armfeldt closes her eyes and dies peacefully with Fredrika beside her ("Last Waltz").
A Million Dollars is a musical in three acts with music by A. Baldwin Sloane, lyrics by George V. Hobart, and a book co-authored by Hobart and Louis Harrison. The musical's plot is about a barber who comes into sudden wealth and rapidly spends his new fortune. The work premiered on Broadway at the New York Theatre on September 27, 1900. It ran there for 28 performances; closing on October 20, 1900. A Million Dollars was directed by Frank Smithson and produced by Meyer L. Sire and Henry B. Sire. The cast included Joe Ott as Prince Punxatawney, Ignacio Martinetti as Consomme de Noodle, Cora Tanner as Aurora Borealis, Josie Sadler as Tryphena Shoolz, Nat M. Wills as Cecil Roads, Joseph Sparks as Wishbone McManus, Ethel Everton as Grace Bullion, and Grafton Baker as Harold Spotwood.
Lisa, a homeless woman, asks the audience for change. Songwriter Gordon Schwinn works at his piano to meet a deadline for a children's television show, hosted by Mr. Bungee, whom he resents ("Prologue: Frogs Have So Much Spring (The Spring Song)"). Gordon takes a break from writing The Spring Song to meet his best friend Rhoda at a restaurant, who encourages him to keep working on the song. The waitress at the restaurant overhears them talking, and tells the pair about her love for the Mr. Bungee T.V. show and the specials at the restaurant. ("Specials"). During lunch, Gordon falls unconscious unexpectedly. Rhoda calls him an ambulance ("911 Emergency"), and Gordon is taken to the hospital. Gordon's greatest fear is dying with his greatest songs still inside him ("I Have so Many Songs"), to which he ponders about what makes a song ("Heart and Music"). Gordon's mother, Mimi, tries to reassure Gordon and herself that everything will be alright ("Mother's Gonna Make Things Fine"). Shortly after, a neurosurgeon, Dr. Jafar Berensteiner, explains that an MRI is necessary to find out what is afflicting Gordon ("Trouble in His Brain"). Gordon snaps at Mimi for underestimating his condition and not listening to the Doctor, to which a hallucination of Mr. Bungee appears to lecture Gordon about being rude ("Be Polite to Everybody"). Gordon awaits his boyfriend, Roger Delli-Bovi, who sings a song about his love for sailing ("Sailing"). The nurses, Nancy D., "the thin nurse", and Richard, "the nice nurse" appear to request a family history from Gordon, to which he states that he has only inherited the worst traits of his parents ("Gordo's Law of Genetics"). Thinking of his parents, Gordon sings about his father's horse betting addiction and his parents' eventual divorce ("And They're Off"). Rhoda announces that Roger is finally back from his sailing trip ("Roger Arrives"), and Roger and Gordon spend time together, though Gordon tells him to leave due to his own weak condition ("Just Go"). Richard enters to give Gordon a sponge bath in preparation for his MRI ("MRI Tomorrow"). During the sponge bath, Richard complains about being unsuccessful, causing Gordon to hallucinate a Mr. Bungee, who berates him. ("Poor, Unsuccessful, and Fat"). Gordon is visited by a minister, who tries to impose his Protestant beliefs on Gordon, who is Jewish. Gordon asks him to leave, and goes to sleep. Gordon is woken by Nancy, who tells him that it's time for his MRI ("MRI Day"). To cope with his claustrophobia, he imagines that he is on a sailing trip with Roger ("Sitting Becalmed in the Lee of Cuttyhunk"). Dr. Berensteiner tells Gordon that he has an arteriovenous malformation, and that Gordon needs a craniotomy ("Craniotomy"). Nancy D. informs him of the risks - if he doesn't go through with the operation, he could die, however, if Dr. Berensteiner is not exact with his surgery, he could also die. Gordon, given the choice by the Doctor, decides to go through with the operation, and Roger offers to sleep with Gordon that night. Rhoda arrives with news that Mr. Bungee needs a new song by the next morning, so Gordon declines Roger's offer and decides to write instead, as it may be the last song he ever writes ("An Invitation to Sleep In My Arms"). He then hallucinates about Lisa, who he encountered earlier on his way to lunch with Rhoda. Lisa implores the audience for both social change and change in the form of money ("Change"). Gordon sends his new song, to Mr. Bungee, who hates it, storming off to have his son write the song ("Yes"). Gordon, dejected, argues with his mother, as she still insists to him that everything will be perfectly fine ("In the Middle of the Room"). Mimi cleans Gordon's apartment, and in a rage, throws out all of his books ("Throw It Out"). Gordon waits anxiously as his surgery is delayed ("In the Middle of the Room (Reprise)") before the operation starts. Roger, distraught about the surgery, encounters Lisa, who consoles him ("A Really Lousy Day in the Universe"). In a coma, Gordon hallucinates a surreal mini-opera featuring people from his life ("Brain Dead", "Whenever I Dream", "Eating Myself Up Alive", "The Music Still Plays On"), concluding with a friendly Mr. Bungee telling Gordon to wake up ("Don't Give In"), leading him back to consciousness. Dr. Berensteiner celebrates the successful surgery ("Craniotomy (Reprise)"). Gordon and Roger fool around in the hospital shower, with the permission of Richard ("You Boys Are Gonna Get Me In Such Trouble!"). Content, Gordon expresses his new appreciation for life ("Sailing (Reprise)"). Months later, Gordon has recovered and is enjoying a new, more fulfilled life with Roger. They run into Lisa, who is selling Gordon's books that Mimi threw out. Gordon and Roger ask for them back, but she refuses ("On the Street (The Homeless Lady's Revenge)"). She flees with the books, leaving Gordon upset, but Roger calms him, telling him that they're "just books" ("Time"). Gordon has apparently overcome his fear of dying with his greatest songs inside him ("Time and Music"). With his life at last in balance, he is able to write again and finishes the spring song ("I Feel so Much Spring").
Act I The sculptor Joseph Pinglet is henpecked by his domineering wife, and is ready to rebel by a little unauthorised outing. He intends to dine with the attractive Marcelle Delavaux, the neglected fiancée of Maurice Paillard, in a private room at the Hotel Pimlico. Madame Pinglet has been summoned to visit her sick sister, but she locks Pinglet in his studio before she leaves. Pinglet uses the bell-pull as a rope and escapes by the balcony. Act II Pinglet and Marcelle have arrived at the hotel. Unknown to them, their fellow guests include Monsieur Matthieu and his four young daughters, who are given a room that is reputed to be haunted. By an oversight, the same room has also been allotted to Maurice Paillard, who is intent on an intimate evening with Victorine, the Pinglets' maid. Pinglet and Marcelle are disturbed by frantic banging on their door and the voice of Paillard, who has been terrified at finding in his room four figures in white – Matthieu's daughters – who he assumes are ghosts. The confusion is compounded by a police raid. The police take the names of all present. Victorine gives her name as Madame Pinglet. Back at his studio, Pinglet climbs in just before his wife returns. She is very dishevelled from a traffic accident. The summonses arrive from the police. Pinglet sees Mme. Pinglet's name on one of them and turns on his bewildered wife and upbraids her for her licentious behaviour. The police arrive with the others who have been at the hotel. In the ensuing row over Victorine's imposture, Pinglet's and Marcelle's part in the evening's events are overlooked and they escape any adverse consequences of their night out.
A Night with Janis Joplin is a musical that includes works of singer-songwriter Janis Joplin (1943–1970). Written and directed by Randy Johnson, the show has toured consistently since 2011, with a forthcoming stint at the Peacock Theatre in London beginning on August 20, 2024. The show mounted at Portland Center Stage from May 24 through June 26, 2011 with Cat Stephani in the lead role, before it traveled for stints at The Allen Theatre at the Cleveland Playhouse, the Mead Center for American Theater, Milkwaukee Repertory Theater, and the Arena Stage in Washington, DC in 2012 with Mary Bridget Davies. One review wrote of the opening night that “Davies not only filled in, she transcended, delivering a performance so raw, real and in-the-moment that it brought people to their feet again and again.” A Night with Janis Joplin officially opened at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway on October 10, 2013 and closed in February, after 140 performances. The show was produced by Todd Gershwin and Daniel Chilewich, in association with The Estate of Janis Joplin and Jeffrey Jampol for JAM, Inc. The Broadway version garnered a Tony Award Nomination for the lead actress Mary Bridget Davies. Davies, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, has previously played Joplin in the 2005 production of Love, Janis. She has also toured in Europe with Joplin’s original band, Big Brother and the Holding Company. Post-Broadway, the show traveled through North America beginning in 2015, touring for seven years and making over 130 stops at cities including Toronto, Ontario, Los Angeles, California, Detroit, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, Austin, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia and more. On August 23, 25 and 26 of 2022, the show traveled to Japan for three days of performances at the Tokyo International Forum Hall for an all-Japanese cast helmed by singer Aina the End playing the lead role of Janis Joplin. In 2023, it was announced that the hit show would move to the West End for a limited-run at the Peacock Theatre in London from August 20 – September 28, 2024 with Mary Bridget Davies returning to star in the lead role.
A Parisian Model is a 1906 Edwardian musical comedy with music by Max Hoffman, Sr. to a book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith. The story concerns a dressmaker's model who comes into a fortune. It opened on Broadway in 1906, ran with success and toured. It was produced by Frank McKee and Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., and starred Anna Held, Ziegfeld's common law wife. Soon after the success of this piece, Ziegfeld would launch his famous series of Ziegfeld Follies revues.
The fairy Azuriel is jealous of the long-dead Prince Albion, so Puck and Kenna stage a false awakening and wedding. They enlist sailor William Jelf as a substitute Albion and try to pair him with Joy, disrupting her love for Lieutenant Brook Green. After complications involving Jelf’s actual fiancée Nell, Azuriel accepts that Albion is dead, the fairies return home, Joy and Brook marry, and Jelf returns to sea.
Philip FitzStubbs secretly calls Rose, whose father forbids their romance. Rose’s mother, a spiritualist, mistakes his voice on the telephone for that of her dead husband and converses with him. When Philip rushes over, the misunderstanding is cleared up, the mother accepts his father’s proposal, and both families agree to the young couple’s marriage.
A Runaway Girl is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts written in 1898 by Seymour Hicks and Harry Nicholls. The composer was Ivan Caryll, with additional music by Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Aubrey Hopwood and Harry Greenbank. It was produced by George Edwardes at the Gaiety Theatre, London, opening on 21 May 1898 and ran for a very successful 593 performances. It starred Hicks's wife, Ellaline Terriss and the comic actor Edmund Payne. The work had stiff competition in London in 1898, as other successful musical comedy openings included A Greek Slave and The Belle of New York. A Runway Girl ran at Daly's Theatre in New York City in 1898 and again in 1900. Marie Celeste portrayed Winifred Grey in the 1900 Broadway cast. The story concerns an Englishwoman who joins a group of musicians in Italy who are really bandits. It is set in Corsica and Venice.
A Saint She Ain't is a musical with lyrics written by Dick Vosburgh and music by Denis King. The piece is inspired by Le Cocu Imaginaire, by Molière, but the story has been updated to an American port in the 1940s. The characters are based on famous performers of the era, such as Jimmy Durante, Mae West, W.C. Fields, and Rita Hayworth. A Saint She Ain't depicts a young couple who, receiving bad information, each believe that the other is unfaithful. The musical deals with the repercussions of love, jealousy, impulsiveness, and deception.
An author struggling with writer’s block learns that the characters in his sensation novel have lives and affections of their own. They resent being forced into melodramatic plots and repeatedly frustrate the author’s plans. In the final volume they discover that Sir Ruthven has decapitated himself, demand his return and their preferred marriages, and force the author to rewrite the ending.
Seven teenagers dance and eye each other and flirt on a Saturday night at popular Club A Go Go in a town in the British provinces. Sue is going out with Gary, but he flirts with Penny and the other girls at every opportunity. Sharon and Rick like each other but are too shy to tell each other. Eddie is challenged by the boys to persuade "frigid" Bridget to "touch his whatsit" by closing time, over the course of the night he tries everything, with very little success. The owner of the club, ageing rocker Eric "Rubber-legs" De Vene, watches and lends an ear to the young people as they navigate the rituals of teenage fashion, music, sexual mores and relationships.
On the Lower East Side of Manhattan on Orchard Street, in 1910, Eastern European immigrants, the Lomansky Family, begin a new life in America. An old vaudeville actor, Benny Lomansky, recalls his poverty-stricken childhood and the gossip around the tenement stoop, reliving the struggles and triumphs of his family and neighbors. He remembers that his father Hiram, who worked long hours for little pay, was envious of the lifestyle of his more affluent Americans. Hiram eventually abandons his family.
While working as a Broadway theatre usher at The Lion King, aspiring musical theater writer Usher contemplates the show he is writing, wanting it to represent what it is like to "travel the world in a fat, black, queer body" ("Intermission Song"). He plans to change himself, but his thoughts are too disruptive ("Today"). His mother, who constantly reminds him how hard she and his father worked to raise him, calls with a request that he write a Tyler Perry-style gospel play ("We Wanna Know"). Usher wishes he could act more like his "inner white girl" but is held back by expectations put on Black boys ("Inner White Girl"). His Thoughts criticize the show, claiming the main character should have more sex appeal and telling him to add certain elements. Usher's father leaves a voicemail saying he found Scott Rudin's number and urges him to leverage their common sexuality to make a connection ("Didn't Want Nothin'"). At a medical checkup, Usher's doctor inquires about his sex life and prescribes Truvada. Usher starts using dating apps but is rejected, causing him to rage against the gay community ("Exile In Gayville"). A stranger flirts with Usher before revealing he is a figment of Usher's imagination and dismissing the war between the "second-wave feminist" and "the dick-sucking Black gay man" within him ("Second Wave"). Usher's agent tells him Tyler Perry is seeking a ghostwriter for a gospel play, but Usher has a low opinion of Perry's work. Appearing as famous Black figures, his Thoughts accuse him of being a race traitor and persuade him to take the job ("Tyler Perry Writes Real Life"). Usher writes the play, acting out all the characters as caricatures ("Writing a Gospel Play"). At work, Usher tells a patron he cannot continue the show without confronting his parents with his artistic self. The patron advises him to live without fear ("A Sympathetic Ear"). Usher speaks with his parents over the phone, his father asking if he has contracted HIV and his mother asking about the status of the gospel play. After hooking up with "Inwood Daddy", a white man who fetishizes him and calls him racial slurs, Usher questions his "Boundaries". On his birthday, Usher's mother leaves a voicemail reminding him that homosexuality is a sin ("Periodically") while his father calls to inform him their church does not approve of his music ("Didn't Want Nothin' [Reprise]"). During Usher's arguing with his parents, his mother, horrified by her portrayal in the play, accuses him of hating and disappointing her. Usher recalls how his friend Darnell, thinking he deserved to die, refused HIV medication and concludes living with AIDS is worse than dying from it ("Precious Little Dream/AIDS Is God's Punishment"). His mother tells Usher he is loved but thinks he is struggling because of his homosexuality. The Thought who is portraying Usher's mother breaks the fourth wall, asking Usher if he wants the show to end with hateful caricatures of his parents. Usher claims that he is depicting life as it was when he was 17, to which the Thoughts remind him he is now 26. Usher then reflects on his childhood, realizing his perceptions must change before he can change ("Memory Song"). With his back to the audience, Usher wonders what will happen when the show ends. He turns around, concluding that he does not need to change because change is an illusion, and he, like everyone else, is in "A Strange Loop".
A Stubborn Cinderella is a musical in three acts with music by Joseph E. Howard, and book and lyrics co-written by William M. Hough and Frank R. Adams. A reinvention of the classic Cinderella folk tale, the plot is a spoof on American college life during the early 20th century. The musical is set at a fictional Columbus University in the United States, a Mountain Wilderness near the Mexican Border, and at a beach in Coronado, California. A Stubborn Cinderella premiered at the Alhambra Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 24 1908. The production then moved to Chicago where it played for the grand opening of the newly built Princess Theatre at 319 S. Clark St. After an extensive run in Chicago, the production moved to New York City where it opened at the Broadway Theatre on January 25, 1909 and played for 88 performances. The Broadway production was produced by Mort H. Singer Jr. and staged by George Marion. Arthur Pell served as the musical director, and the scenic design were by Frank E. Gates and Edward A. Morange.
The musical opens with Lucie Manette as a child, en route from France to England. She is delivered by Mr. Jarvis Lorry, an employee of Tellson's Bank to the home of Miss Pross, who had been nanny to Lucie's now-deceased mother. Later, Mr. Lorry returns to the Pross household to tell the now-adult Lucie that her father, Dr. Alex Manette, has been found alive in the Bastille after 17 years (Prologue: The Shadows of the Night). Dr. Manette, Lucie and Lorry set sail for England and meet Charles Darnay. Upon arriving, Darnay is arrested as a spy as he is discovered in possession of papers showing British troop placements. It is later found that the papers were dropped by John Barsad, henchman of Darnay's uncle, the Marquis St. Evermonde's (Dover). Lucie requests that Mr. Lorry arrange for a lawyer to defend Darnay in exchange for the kindness he has shown her and her father during their journey and Lorry agrees. We are then taken to the law office of Mr. Stryver and Sydney Carton - who arrives clearly intoxicated (The Way it Ought to Be - London). Carton decides with his friend, grave robber Jerry Cruncher, to attempt to blackmail Barsad by visiting several local taverns (No Honest Way). The next day, the trial commences (The Trial). Darnay is acquitted after the blackmail attempt succeeds and prompts the key witness to assert that Darnay and Sydney look similar after Sydney removes his barrister's wig and robe. The witness then admits it could have been either man-or anyone else-with those papers. Darnay takes Sydney and Stryver out to celebrate at a tavern that Sydney calls "home." (Round and Round) After Darnay is insulted by Sydney and leaves, Sydney reflects on why he acted this way (Reflection). Several months have passed and Darnay now desires Lucie's hand but asks her father's permission first (The Promise). On Christmas Eve, Lucie attempts to convince Sydney to have supper with her and her father, but he declines; out of kindness, she invites him to dinner the following evening, which he must accept. Awakened by her kindness, Sydney realizes what he has been missing in his life (I Can't Recall). The next day Darnay asks Lucie to marry him and she accepts (Now at Last). Sydney arrives and Lucie gives him his gift - a scarf. Unaware that he would be receiving one, Sydney tells Lucie to close her eyes and kisses her. Shocked, she informs him that Mr. Darnay has asked her hand in marriage. Upset - and embarrassed — Sydney leaves and reflects on the life he now cannot attain, and on the marriage and life of Darnay and Lucie together (If Dreams Came True). The action then switches over to France, where the king is expected to drive his carriage past Defarge's wine shop. Many children are very excited however near the road. One, the son of a man named Gaspard, is killed when the Marquis St. Evremonde's carriage passes. Madame Defarge, who was unaware of what the children were waiting for, expresses disgust for the death the Marquis has caused and urges Gaspard to murder him (Out of Sight Out of Mind). Gaspard later follows the Marquis to his chateau and does so. Darnay receives a letter from Gabelle, a former house servant in France, and agrees to defend him in the courts and leaves (Gabelle's Letter/I Always knew). Stryver and Sydney visit the Manette household one evening and Stryver tells of the killings and other developments there. During their visit, Sydney agrees to help put Little Lucie to bed (Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep). Meanwhile, a funeral is being held for Gaspard's son (Little One). At the funeral, officers come to arrest Gaspard for murder, but Ernest Defarge tells him to remain and the revolution begins (Until Tomorrow) Darnay is arrested when it is revealed that he is the Marquis' nephew. Lucie is devastated and turns to Sydney for guidance as Darnay left without explanation or revealing his true identity. Act 2 opens with the storming of the Bastille. The Defarges have found the notes left by Dr. Manette in his cell so many years before, but the people of Paris are still unsatisfied after the prison's fall (Everything Stays the Same). Darnay is sent to trial because he is a member of the aristocracy. At his trial, Madame Defarge reads Dr. Manette's charges against the Marquis St. Evremonde and his brother, who is Charles' father. At the end of his journal, Manette condemns them and all their descendants. Manette himself makes an impassioned plea to recant this and say that Darnay is nothing like his father and uncle. He adds that Darnay's execution would inflict a further burden on him and Lucie who suffered so greatly during his imprisonment. Manette's plea is denied and Darnay is sentenced to death. (The Tale). Lucie is depressed that Darnay has left without telling her why. Sydney at first is tempted to steal her from her husband, but realizes rather that the right thing would be to help Darnay (If Dreams Came True [Reprise]). Lucie wishes to die with her husband, but she realizes this may put her daughter in the same position she was in as a child. She vows to save both her husband and family yet still questions why Darnay left for France without telling her (Without a Word). Sydney makes arrangements with his old acquaintance Barsad to allow him entrance into the prison where Darnay is held (The Bluff). Realizing that he cannot simply escape with Darnay, Sydney concocts a plan to save him, and to allow Little Lucie to have her father and a brilliant life ahead (Let Her Be a Child). In Darnay's prison, after denying that he loves Lucie, Sydney switches clothes with Darnay and then drugs him, to the surprise of Barsad. Barsad delivers the unconscious Charles to Tellson's Bank, where his family is waiting. Lucie believes it is Sydney who has returned and reads a letter from him which is delivered by Barsad. In the letter, he explains he had to do this and that she has meant more to him than anything else in his entire life (The Letter). With both sadness for Sydney and joy for the opportunity for her life with Charles, Lucie and her family quickly leave France. Madame Defarge arrives armed and vows to not let any of the Evremonde family escape. She and Miss Pross struggle over the pistol and Madame is killed. Ernest learns of Madame's death and calls-off the massive hunt for the Evremondes to have the opportunity to mourn his wife (Defarge Goodbye - Lament). On the way to the gallows, a friendly and innocent seamstress realizes that Sydney is not Darnay, with whom she was imprisoned. However instead of betraying him, she calls him an angel and the two console each other. When she is called to the guillotine, Sydney bids her a final goodbye. He is next and as he climbs the stairs, he realizes the good that he has done for the woman who opened his eyes to so much love (Finale - I Can't Recall [Reprise]).
A Time for Singing is a musical with music by John Morris, lyrics by Gerald Freedman and John Morris, and a book by Freedman and Morris. The work was based on Richard Llewellyn's novel of a Welsh mining village, How Green Was My Valley.
The musical opens on a Saturday morning when the community is getting the week's pay (Payday). Hildy is waiting with her friend Katie for her boyfriend Johnny Nolan. While they wait they switch hats. Johnny arrives (Mine Till Monday) and thinks Katie is Hildy as Katie is wearing Hildy's hat and kisses her. Hildy angrily leaves. Meanwhile, Cissy, Katie's sister, hopes to marry Oscar, who would be her tenth husband, all of who she calls Harry after her first who left when he had to go back to his other wife. Oscar agrees to marry her if she can produce a baby. Katie and Johnny decide to marry (Make the Man Love Me) and Johnny resolves to quit drinking and spending money at saloons (I'm Like a New Broom). Johnny gets drunk anyway and doesn't have enough money to pay for their first piece of furniture, a bed. Katie pays for it, giving up having a grand wedding in church (Looks who Dancing). Meanwhile, Hildy has ended up marrying Aloysius (Mine Next Monday). Cissy pretends she is pregnant and has Johnny and Katie smuggle in an adopted baby while she sends Oscar away repeatedly to fetch food (Love is the Reason). Katie has had to get a job as a janitress to support herself, Johnny, and their daughter Francie. Johnny, who disappeared for two days, reappears during a rooftop party (If You Haven't Got A Sweetheart). Johnny tells Katie he got a job as a piano player and that sings will be better for them (I'll Buy You A Star). As the curtain rises on Act Two an old clothes man passes through an alley (That's How it Goes). Francie Nolan is teased by the other children until Katie comes to her defense. Cissy is excited to meet her first husband after his other wife has died, and narrates his qualities to Francie (He Had Refinement). Johnny is hoping to win a raffle at his job for a piano, which he hopes to give to Francie. He comforts Francie when she realizes that she no longer wants to make believe (Growing Pains). Cissy and her first Harry meet and are disgusted by each other and Cissy's beloved Oscar walks in on the scene, suspects the worst, and abandons Cissy (Is That My Prince?). At the raffle, Johnny wins, but is refused the prize as the rules forbid employees receiving the prize and he is thrown out. A surreal ballet chronicles his resulting downfall. Johnny leaves Katie and Francie to find work in the city (Don't Be Afraid of Anything). Cissy and Oscar reconcile and Cissy reveals that she pregnant with Oscar's child. Katie receives news that Johnny has been killed. She uses the money he left for her to buy flowers for Francie's graduation, making Francie the first person in the family to graduate (Finale).
A Trip to Chinatown is a musical comedy in three acts with a book by Charles H. Hoyt, music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Hoyt. In addition to the Gaunt and Hoyt score, many songs were interpolated into the score at one time or another during the run, as was fashionable for musicals of the era.
Jenny and Griffith are in love, and he has won a Covent Garden audition. He imagines a future of fame and wealth for them in London. Jenny asks him to sing before he leaves; when he finishes, she appears lifeless. Griffith realizes that the success he wanted was for her, and that he has lost her.
A Winsome Widow is a 1912 musical produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., which was a revised version of Charles Hale Hoyt's 1891 hit, A Trip to Chinatown, with a score by Raymond Hubbell.
A Wonderful Life is a 1986 musical with a book and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and music by Joe Raposo. Based on the 1946 Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life starring James Stewart, the story closely follows the original plot, set in 1945, telling the story of a suicidal man whose guardian angel reveals to him how different the world and everyone whose life he has touched would be if he'd never been born.
A Wonderful World - The Louis Armstrong Musical is a jukebox stage musical with a book by Aurin Squire. The show features a score of music originally performed by Louis Armstrong and others, with orchestrations and arrangements by Branford Marsalis. The show was conceived originally by Christopher Renshaw and Andrew Delaplaine and is directed by Renshaw with choreography by Rickey Tripp. The musical tells an autobiographical account of the life of jazz musician Louis Armstrong (1901–1971), from the perspective of the four wives he had during his lifetime, Daisy Parker, Lillian Hardin, Alpha Smith, and Lucille Wilson. The title comes from the song "What a Wonderful World", originally released in 1967 and written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. The show opened on Broadway at Studio 54 on November 11, 2024, following previews beginning a month earlier. The show closed on February 23, 2025. The production ran for 151 performances, including 31 previews.
A Yankee Circus on Mars is a musical in two scenes with music by Manuel Klein and Jean Schwartz, lyrics by Harry Williams, and a book by George V. Hobart.
Act I Frog and Toad are hibernating ("A Year With Frog and Toad"). The birds are ready for spring, as the sleeping friends sing about their friendship and the year ahead ("Spring"). The protagonists awaken, and Toad begins to plant a garden, impatient that his plants grow slowly. He yells at the seeds but then worries that they are afraid to grow ("Seeds"). He sings, dances and plays the tuba to encourage them, which seems to work. The next day, Frog writes a letter to Toad, because Toad is sad that he never receives mail, and gives it to Snail to deliver ("The Letter"). They then go swimming in the pond, but Toad is embarrassed to be seen in his bathing suit, and he tries to slip unseen into the water ("Getta Load of Toad"). The animals, however, come to look at Toad in his suit, and eventually, freezing, he must come out, where everyone sees him in his bathing suit. Turtle proceeds to feed the fish in the pond ("Underwater Ballet"). Later on, Frog has left Toad a note that he has gone to the island on the lake to be alone, after embarrassing Toad in his bathing suit, and Toad worries that Frog is sad. He rides a log out to the island, bringing lunch for the two of them, but he falls off the log into the water. It turns out that Frog is in fact happy and simply wanted time alone to think ("Alone"). The two friends eat wet sandwiches without iced tea. Snail continues on his quest to deliver the letter to Toad. ("The Letter (Reprise)") Later on, at Toad's home, Toad is baking cookies. Frog and Toad, along with the Birds, go kooky eating cookies and wolf down the whole batch that were supposed to be for dessert ("Cookies"). Act II Frog and Toad try to fly a kite with some difficulty, eventually succeeding despite heckling from the birds ("The Kite"). By the end of summer, leaves cover the ground and the Birds fly south for the winter ("A Year With Frog and Toad (Reprise)"). Each of the two friends intends to surprise the other by raking his yard ("He'll Never Know"), but the squirrels soon make a mess of the neat piles of leaves, so neither of the friends discovers the good deed that the other has done. A few days pass as a storm comes, and Frog tells Toad a scary semi-autobiographical story about a young Frog, whose parents Mother Frog and Father Frog leave Young Frog to go find a way out of the woods. The story continues as the young Frog escapes from being eaten by a Large and Terrible Frog ("Shivers"). Now it is winter and the Moles come out to play ("Snow Ballet"). Snail continues to Toad's house to deliver the letter ("The Letter (Reprise)"). Frog and Toad decide to go sledding down a hill that frightens Toad ("Down The Hill"). Frog falls off the sled, which bears Toad on a dangerous and bumpy path. Toad, angry that Frog had supposedly made him sled down the steep hill on purpose, initially declares to dissolve their friendship. Snail finally arrives with the letter that Frog had sent to Toad months earlier. The letter tells how Frog is only happy when his friend Toad is happy. Toad forgives Frog, and Snail is proud to have delivered his first letter ("I'm Coming Out of My Shell"). Frog is late on Christmas Eve, and Toad is worried about all the bad things that might have happened to him ("Toad to the Rescue"). Finally, Frog arrives, delayed by wrapping Toad's present ("Merry Almost Christmas"). Frog and Toad are hibernating again in their respective beds. The Birds sing as spring approaches ("Finale").
Abyssinia is a musical in one act with music by Will Marion Cook and Bert Williams, and both book and lyrics by Jesse A. Shipp and Alex Rogers. Created by African Americans and featuring African-American entertainers, the work is set in Abyssinia (now referred to as the Ethiopian Empire) and was…
Thetis disguises Achilles as Pyrrha on Skyros to keep him from the Trojan War. Achilles falls in love with Deidamia, daughter of King Lycomedes, and Ulysses eventually recognizes him. Achilles and Deidamia marry before he leaves to fight at Troy.
The plot revolves around the original (fictional) actors reprising their roles from stage. Contrary to their wishes, the experimental director adapts it into a gritty commentary on British suburban life, although the cast, led by Bo Beaumont (Julie Walters), want a fun piece with a good tap number. After a disastrous open dress rehearsal, the cast hijack the concept to return it to its original roots, and take it to the West End, funded by Bo Beaumont's lottery win. The second act is the musical within the musical, and is much more like the original series. Miss Babs (Celia Imrie) and Miss Berta (Sally Ann Triplett) run Acorn Antiques, aided by their employees and friends, Mrs Overall (Walters) and Mr Clifford (Duncan Preston). Soon, they discover a third sister, Miss Bonnie (Josie Lawrence), who is initially scheming and devious (for instance, she fires Mrs Overall, even after finding out she's her mother). The plot unfolds, the sisters are faced with financial woes, and family secrets. The show ends with the triumphant return of Mrs Overall, a windfall, and the union of Miss Berta and Mr Clifford.
Adding Machine is a musical with music by Joshua Schmidt, and book and lyrics by Schmidt and Jason Loewith. It is an adaptation of Elmer Rice's 1923 play of the same name. The show opened in 2007 in Illinois before moving off-Broadway in 2008. The show was nominated for numerous Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk awards.
Adele is a musical in three acts with book, music and lyrics by Adolf Philipp. The musical was coyly marketed and published as an English adaptation by Adolf Philipp and Edward A. Paulton with the claim that the original French book and lyrics were by Paul Hervé, and the music by Jean Briquet. However, both Paul Hervé and Jean Briquet were pseudonyms of Adolf Philipp and the work had never been written or performed in French prior to the original English language production. This was done to make the work seem like an authentic French stage work rather than the original creation of Adolf Philipp, an American. The musical is set in France in the cities of Paris and Trouville, Normandy. The plot concerns a French girl who falls in love with the son of her father's business rival.
Act 1, scene 1: Talamea's Studio in Athens The sculptress Talamea has created a statue of a beautiful man called Adonis. The Duchess of Area and her four silly daughters, Nattie, Hattie, Mattie, and Pattie, visit Talamea's studio and admire her creation. The villain of the play, the Marquis de Baccarat, also arrives under the pretext of examining Talamea's creation, but with the intent of trying to seduce the duchess in order to obtain her money. The Duchess purchases the statue and leaves the studio with her daughters and the Marquis after being promised it will be delivered to her. Alone, Talamea cannot bear to lose her beloved creation, and invokes the goddess Artea to bring the statue Adonis to life. Adonis is then forced to choose a life full of love but poverty with Talamea, or a life with riches with the Duchess. He decides he wants wealth more than love, and chooses a life with the Duchess. Act 1, scene 2: Bunion Turke's cottage Meanwhile, a small-town miller, Bunion Turke, and his daughter, Rosetta are enjoying their lives in a small cottage. Rosetta is introduced through the song "I'm a Merry Little Mountain Maid", which was one of the hit songs of the musical. The Marquis de Baccarat arrives in the village and attempts to seduce Rosetta who resists. The miller interrupts and catches him physically accosting Rosetta. He chases the Marquis off. Act 1, scene 3: Duchess of Area's Garden The scene begins the "Guards' March and chorus", in which the Duchess's Guards are on parade as viewed from the elaborate gardens of her estate. This is followed by the "Duchess's Tigers"; a song which featured an octet of little boys. After this, Adonis sings the song "I'm Such a Susceptible Statuette" which, while possessing original words, was set to the music of the Lord Chancellor's song from Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe. Jealous of Adonis, the Marquis de Baccarat gets into a duel with Adonis and loses. Adonis meets Rosetta, falls in love, proposes, and they run off together. This upsets Bunion Turke, the Duchess, and Talamea who all have song laments. Act 2, scene 1: A country village The act opens with a humorous lament of the show business chorister; with each member of the chorus ensemble getting an opportunity for a short solo in which they sing of the perils of wishing to be a star only to end up in the chorus. The song featured the tenor Horace Frail, a longtime ensemble player for Rice, singing a "high C" for an extended period; a feat which earned him plaudits in the press and made him an audience favorite. Adonis and Rosette arrive to get married. Several songs ensue, including one that featured a mechanical donkey. The wedding is interrupted by the Marquis who stops the wedding after producing papers which challenge the impending marriage. Act 2, scene 2: The Enchanted Wood The Marquis de Baccarat forces Rosetta to marry him in secret. He attempts to dominate her after their marriage, but is thwarted by Rosetta's grit and wits. Act 2, scene 3: Interior of a Country Store. This scene has no plot but featured Adonis showing off his sleight of hand abilities, a barbershop quartet, and other random entertainments. Act 2, scene 4: Forrest Unhappy with his separation from Rosetta, Adonis begs Talamea to assist him in becoming a statue again. She eventually relents. Act 2, scene 5: The Mystic Home of the Goddess of Art Talamea invokes the goddess Artea once again. Adonis transforms back into statue. A placard is hung around his neck saying "Hands off!"
Afgar is an operetta by Charles Cuvillier, originally written with Michel Carré and André Barde and first staged in Paris in 1909. A London adaptation with a book by Fred Thompson and Worton David and lyrics by Douglas Furber opened in 1919.
In 1899 London, the upper crust gather at Lord and Lady Windermere's London house for a spectacular ball. Lady Windermere at first ignores the gossip that she has a rival for her husband's affections, an older woman called Mrs Erlynne, but she eventually confronts Lord Windermere with the accusation. He admits that he has been paying money to Mrs Erlynne but denies that he has had an affair with her and refuses to say more. In fact, Mrs Erlynne is Lady Windermere's mother, whom her daughter believes to be dead, and Lord Windermere is paying her money to keep her from revealing the relationship. Lady Windermere, still believing the worst of her husband, is tempted by the amorous advances of the debonair Lord Darlington and agrees to visit him at his flat. Mrs Erlynne, learning of this before Lord Windermere, rushes to Darlington's flat to prevent her daughter from committing a destructive folly similar to that which she herself committed twenty years earlier. Without letting Lady Windermere know that they are mother and daughter, Mrs Erlynne persuades her that a liaison with Lord Darlington would be disastrous, but before they can leave, Lord Windermere arrives. The ladies conceal themselves, but Lord Windermere discovers the fan that he has recently given his wife as a birthday present and demands to know if Lord Darlington has Lady Windermere in his rooms. To prevent the exposure of Lady Windermere, Mrs Erlynne enters, saying that it is she who is under Lord Darlington's roof and must have picked up Lady Windermere's fan by mistake. Lady Windermere's reputation is saved, but Mrs Erlynne's is compromised. Fortunately, her admirer, Lord Augustus Lorton, is convinced of her honour and proposes marriage. The Windermeres are reconciled, and all ends happily. Lady Windermere never learns that Mrs Erlynne is her mother.
Act 1 In the Egyptian wing of a modern museum, a man and a woman touring the exhibit catch each other's eyes. A statue of Amneris, a female Pharaoh, comes to life ("Every Story Is a Love Story") and transports them to Ancient Egypt, where Radames, captain of the Egyptian army, and his men are returning from an expedition through the land of Egypt's long-time enemy, Nubia ("Fortune Favors the Brave"). When his soldiers capture a group of Nubian women, he is captivated by one of the women, Aida, who tries to free herself by out-dueling one of his soldiers. Radames orders her to wash his back, but she refuses, saying that although the Egyptians took everything from the Nubians, they will never take their spirit ("The Past Is Another Land"). Radames saves Aida's companions from the copper mines (and certain death) by sending them to the palace groundskeeper instead. He also ensures Aida serves as a handmaiden to his betrothed, Princess Amneris. Radames' father, Chief Minister Zoser, greets his son with news that the Pharaoh is dying, and Radames must prepare to become the next ruler of Egypt ("Another Pyramid"). Unbeknownst to Radames, his father is poisoning the Pharaoh in order to accelerate Radames' ascension to the throne. Radames' Nubian servant, Mereb, is a young man who has learned the tricks of survival in Egypt. While delivering Aida to the princess, Mereb recognizes her as the daughter of the Nubian king under whom he had served during his days in Nubia. She commands him to keep her identity a secret, lest the Egyptians kill her ("How I Know You"). Presented to Amneris, Aida is liked immediately, and she perceives that the Princess' love of fashion only serves as a mask of her insecurities ("My Strongest Suit"). At a banquet, Amneris and Radames learn from the Pharaoh that they are to marry in seven days, leaving the captain distraught that his days as an explorer have ended ("Fortune Favors the Brave (Reprise)"). Together, he and Aida share their dreams and regrets ("Enchantment Passing Through"). Later that night, Amneris worries about her father's illness, and finds in Aida someone who understands and encourages her ("My Strongest Suit (Reprise)"). Bursting into his fiancée's chamber, Radames steals a moment with Aida to share his growing attraction to her. Aida is taken by Mereb to the Nubian camp, where she reluctantly submits to her people's pleas to lead them ("Dance of the Robe"). When she implores Radames to help the Nubians, he opens his heart by giving his possessions to them ("Not Me") and declaring his love for Aida ("Elaborate Lives"). Unable to fight her feelings any longer, she falls into his embrace. Their bliss is interrupted by news that Radames' armies have captured Amonasro, king of Nubia and also Aida's father. Unable to comfort her, Radames leaves Aida in distress. Rallying her people, Aida assures them that Nubia will never die ("The Gods Love Nubia"). Act 2 Amneris, Radames, and Aida are entangled in conflicted loyalties and emotions ("A Step Too Far"): Amneris is afraid that Radames's affection for her is waning, Radames worries his love for Aida could end his life as he knows it, and Aida fears she might be a traitor to her people as she loves Radames. Aida and Mereb bribe their way into Amonasro's prison cell, where she is reunited with her father. Mereb hatches a plan to escape with the king during the commotion of Amneris' wedding. To save her father and her nation, Aida must betray the man she loves ("Easy as Life"). Meanwhile, Zoser discovers Radames' affair and warns his son that it could cost him the throne, but Radames no longer shares his father's ambitions ("Like Father, Like Son"). After an emotional bout with his son, Zoser orders his men to find Aida and kill her. At the Nubian camp, Aida receives a written apology from Radames for the thoughtless way he acted upon hearing of Amonasro's capture ("Radames' Letter") and for his lack of showing affection. When Egyptian soldiers arrive seeking Aida, another Nubian, Nehebka, sacrifices herself so that the princess can live. Now even more determined to leave Radames forever, Aida goes to say good-bye to him over Mereb's objections ("How I Know You (Reprise)"). Radames informs Aida that he is calling off the wedding. Aida knows that this would ruin her father's escape and tells him he must go through with it ("Written in the Stars"). Radames agrees, on condition that she escapes to freedom on a boat he will provide. The heartbroken lovers part, but Amneris has overheard their entire conversation and tries to face the fact that her upcoming marriage is a sham ("I Know the Truth"). News of Amonasro's escape disrupts Amneris' wedding. Radames learns the truth of Aida's identity when he arrives at the docks just as she is about to board his boat with her father. Although he is angry that Aida hid this from him, she says she never lied about loving him. Zoser suddenly appears and attacks, and in the ensuing chaos, Mereb is mortally wounded by Zoser, but Radames makes possible Amonasro's escape by cutting the rope tied to the dock, while Aida stays with Radames and a dying Mereb. Zoser flees, and Mereb dies in the arms of his kind master and beloved princess. Radames and Aida are then arrested for treason. At the ensuing trial, Pharaoh announces Zoser's apprehension and sentences both Aida and Radames to be buried alive. Amneris foreshadows her role as a future Pharaoh by convincing her father to let the lovers die in the same tomb, an act of mercy for two people she has come to love. Facing death, Aida looks to Radames for strength ("Elaborate Lives (Reprise)"). As they are slowly deprived of light and air ("Enchantment Passing Through (Reprise)"), Radames swears he will search through a hundred lifetimes to find her again if he has to. Back in the contemporary museum, the spirit of Amneris reveals that as she became Pharaoh, "the lovers' deaths gave birth to a reign of peace" between Egypt and Nubia. She watches as the modern man and woman are strangely drawn to each other. They are the reincarnations of Aida and Radames, finding each other in a new beginning ("Every Story is a Love Story (Reprise)").
Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations is a 2017 jukebox musical with music and lyrics by The Temptations and a book by Dominique Morisseau. Based on the story of The Temptations, the musical had a series of regional productions and opened at Broadway's Imperial Theatre in March 2019.
A man welcomes the audience to the Middle Eastern city of Agrabah. He notes that Agrabah is a diverse place, full of revered nobles, misfits, and even a few villains ("Arabian Nights"). Aladdin is a young man who spends his days stealing food from the street vendors of Agrabah along with his three best friends, Kassim, Omar and Babkak ("One Jump Ahead"). After being referred to as a "worthless street rat", Aladdin expresses his dreams of showing the world he's more than just a common urchin ("One Jump Ahead (Reprise)"). He notes his guilt in thievery, having vowed to never steal again after the death of his mother ("Proud of Your Boy"). Meanwhile, in the palace of Agrabah, Princess Jasmine is scolded by her father, the Sultan, for refusing yet another suitor. The Sultan demands that Jasmine must marry a noble prince before her birthday, which is only three days away. Jasmine laments the situation to her handmaidens ("These Palace Walls"). This news also disturbs the Sultan's Grand Vizier, Jafar, who wishes to usurp the throne himself. He and his assistant, Iago, search for a way to enter the "Cave of Wonders", a mysterious cavern in the desert said to hold untold power. The voice of the cave reveals that only one who is worthy, a "diamond in the rough", may enter. When Jafar asks about the identity of this "diamond in the rough", it is revealed to be Aladdin. Jafar and Iago set out to find him. While entertaining the locals ("Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim"), Aladdin meets Jasmine, who has disguised herself as a commoner to get a sense of life outside the palace. Aladdin has no idea who she is, but he is immediately smitten. After a brief scuffle with the guards, he takes Jasmine to his hideout, where they each reveal their unhappiness in their own lives ("A Million Miles Away"). They are discovered by the guards and Jasmine is escorted back to the palace. Aladdin is ordered to be killed, but he is saved by Jafar and Iago, who lead Aladdin to the Cave of Wonders ("Diamond in the Rough"). Grateful for saving his life, Aladdin honours Jafar's request to enter the cave. Once inside, Aladdin is instructed to bring the magic lamp to Jafar and touch nothing else. Astonished by all the treasure buried within the cave, Aladdin attempts to take the Egyptian chain along with the lamp. The cave angrily seals itself, trapping Aladdin inside. Engulfed in darkness, Aladdin rubs the lamp which, to his surprise, unleashes a magical Genie (revealed as the man from the beginning of the show) who offers to grant him three wishes. Aladdin initially shrugs this off in disbelief, prompting the Genie to display his powers with a musical number ("Friend Like Me"). The Genie then reveals that he has limitations to his powers. He can not grant wishes that include murder, romance, the revival of the dead, or wishing for additional wishes. Amused and overjoyed at his good fortune, Aladdin tricks Genie into magically freeing them from the cave without actually using a wish; thereafter, Genie states that Aladdin will not receive any more magic help unless he explicitly states "I wish". After Aladdin asks what Genie would wish for, Genie muses that he would wish for freedom since he is a prisoner of his lamp, so Aladdin promises to use his last wish to free Genie. Aladdin decides to use his first wish to become a prince in order to be legally able to court Jasmine (Act One Finale: "Friend Like Me"/"Proud of Your Boy" (Reprises)). A great parade storms through the streets of Agrabah, led by Genie, Babkak, Omar and Kassim. They announce the arrival of "Prince Ali of Ababwa" ("Prince Ali"). Once at the palace, Aladdin, disguised as Prince Ali, expresses to the Sultan his desire to marry Jasmine. Jasmine overhears the conversation and perceives Ali to be just another shallow prince. Jafar, who is suspicious of Ali, tells him the location of Jasmine's bedroom, not mentioning that it is against Agrabah law for the Princess to have a suitor in her quarters unsupervised. Aladdin courts Jasmine with a ride on his magic carpet provided to him by Genie ("A Whole New World"). Once they return, Jasmine recognizes Aladdin as the young man whom she met in the marketplace. Aladdin lies and says that he really is a prince, he just sometimes likes to dress as a commoner to escape the pressures of palace living, much like Jasmine did that day. Seeing he isn't shallow and self-absorbed like the others, Jasmine kisses Aladdin good night. After she leaves, Jafar has Aladdin arrested for entering the Princess' room unsupervised. Upon hearing the news, Babkak, Omar and Kassim storm the palace to rescue their friend ("High Adventure"). They are captured and thrown into the dungeon as well, but with a little help from Genie, Aladdin uses his second wish to free them ("Somebody's Got Your Back"). The Sultan greets Aladdin in the hall and gives him his blessing to marry Jasmine, meaning that Aladdin himself will inherit the throne as the new Sultan one day. Fearful of this great responsibility, he tells Genie he's going to save his third wish for a day he may need it rather than use it to free Genie like he promised. Distraught, Genie returns to his lamp and refuses to speak to Aladdin. Aladdin laments ("Proud of Your Boy" (Reprise II)). Meanwhile, Jafar and Iago manage to steal the lamp that Aladdin carelessly discarded. As the Sultan announces to the public that Jasmine is to wed Prince Ali ("Prince Ali" (Sultan Reprise)), Jafar appears and reveals Ali to be merely a common street rat named Aladdin whom the former then threatens to send to "the end of the road" if no one changes the latter's personality to meet his standards ("Prince Ali" (Jafar Reprise)). Genie then enters with Jasmine in chains, saying that Jafar is now his master and that his first wish was to make Jasmine his prisoner. Jafar uses his second wish to crown himself Sultan, which Genie reluctantly grants. Remembering what Genie told him earlier about the limitations to his powers, Aladdin tricks Jafar into wishing for himself to become a genie so that his power will be unmatched. Genie grants Jafar's wish, and Jafar is sucked into a lamp of his own, bound to it for eternity. Aladdin uses his third and final wish to set Genie free. He then admits to Jasmine that he loves her, but he cannot pretend to be someone he's not. Seeing the nobility in Aladdin, the Sultan decrees that henceforth the Princess can marry whomever she pleases. Babkak, Omar and Kassim are made royal advisors, while Iago is arrested. Aladdin and Jasmine are married, and Genie prepares for a long-awaited vacation. All ends well as Aladdin and Jasmine board the magic carpet and take flight (Finale Ultimo: "Arabian Nights"/"A Whole New World" (Reprises)).
Alice by Heart is a musical with music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater, and a book by Sater with Jessie Nelson. Inspired by the 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the musical was originally presented in 2012 at the Royal National Theatre in London.
Act I, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", is in two scenes: "A Forest in Autumn" and "A Glade in Wonderland". Act II, "Through the Looking Glass", consists of four scenes: "Through the Looking Glass"; "The Garden of Live Flowers"; "A Sea-Shore"; and "The Banqueting Hall – The Forest Again." A review in The Theatre summarised the story as follows: The story runs glibly, opening with a chorus of fairies surrounding Alice asleep in a chair beneath a tree, from there we progress splendidly, making a new acquaintance with all our old friends, the White Rabbit, the Caterpillar, the duchess with her Baby, the Cook with her reckless use of pepper, the Cheshire Cat with his remarkable smile, the Hatter, the Hare, and the Dormouse, who have their perpetual tea party, and treat Alice to conundrums and unconventional rudeness. Then comes a long and brilliant procession, which should fill Alice's heart with awe, if not with admiration, but our heroine is nothing daunted by this large crowd. "Why, they're only a pack of cards," she says, "I needn't be afraid of them?" and so she answers the sanguinary-minded queen of Hearts, in a reckless manner, and refuses to see heads knocked off in such profusion. She then dances with the Cards in a graceful gavotte, and afterwards protects her old friend, the Cheshire Cat, from an undeserved execution. The Gryphon and Mock Turtle then appear, and Alice receives some hints as to a sea education, and the first act of the dream play for children ends with the trial of the Knave of Hearts for eating the tarts, in which Alice's verdict of acquittal is unanimously passed. In the second act, Mr. Savile Clarke takes us to another book, Through the Looking-Glass, and Alice is introduced to the chessmen and Chorus, who dance stiffly for her delectation, then the Red Queen gives her some advice after she has spoken to the live flowers, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee appear. She soon makes friends with these massive twins, and pleads hard when they determine to have a mortal combat, but all to no purpose, and so after she has witnessed the greedy Carpenter and Walrus devour their daily portion of oysters, she assists in arming Tweedledum and Tweedledee for the fray. The arrival of a Crow sends the warriors to speedy flight, and Humpty Dumpty appears on his wall, and so the play goes on until we see Alice once more asleep in her chair, and hear her wake to say, "Oh! I've had such a curious dream!"
All Aboard is a musical in two acts and ten scenes with lyrics by E. Ray Goetz, music by composers E. Ray Goetz and Malvin M. Franklin, and a book by Mark Swan. The work also features additional songs written by composers Irving Berlin, Jack Glogau and Joaquin Valverde; and lyricists Irving Berlin and Earl Carroll. All Aboard premiered on Broadway at Lew Fields' 44th Street Roof Garden on June 5, 1913. It closed on September 6, 1913, after 108 performances. The production was produced by Lew Fields who also portrayed the roles of Jan Van Haan and Harold Hargreaves in the show. The musical was co-directed by William J. Wilson and William H. Post. The costumes were designed by Melville Ellis, the sets were designed by H. Robert Law, and the lighting was designed by David Atchison. Other members of the cast included Zoe Barnett as both Marime Sinkavitch and Florence DeForrest, Carter DeHaven as Dick Cyril Mahoney, Flora Parker DeHaven as Mary, Dolly Connolly as Tillie Whiteway, the drag performer George W. Monroe as both Nancy Lee and Boss Mahoney, Nellie DeGrasse as Nellie, Marcia Harris as Mrs. Van Haan, Nat Fields as Hook, Stephen Maley as Mr. Smooth, Venita Fitzhugh as Alice Brown, Arthur Hartley as Mr. Scoot, Natalie Holt as Carmen, Katherine Witchie as Margot, and Lawrence D'Orsay as the Captain of the ship.
Act 1 A group of immigrants arrives via plane in New York ("Melt Us"). Among them is Professor Stanislaus Fodorski, who has accepted a position as professor of engineering at a small college. Taking a bus to the campus, he marvels at the panorama passing by ("What a Country!"). He is greeted by the school's dean, Elizabeth Hawkes-Bullock. Surprised that the dean is a woman, he is even more surprised to learn he will be boarding in a room in her house. An accomplished author, he confesses doubt about his teaching skills, and she admits the school may not be strong academically, but needs more teachers who think of their students as "Our Children". Two of those students are confined to their respective dorm rooms after Doctor Snoops, professor of comparative religion, catches Ed Bricker climbing the ivy to visit Susan Thompson's room ("Animal Attraction"). Fodorski's first engineering class does not go over well with any of the students except Ed, who has always been interested in bridges ("We Speak the Same Language"). The professor's fears about his teaching skills vanish when he watches his first football game, which he sees as an example of applied engineering ("I Can Teach Them!"). He starts incorporating football strategy into his lessons, and soon all his students are engaged and learning ("It's Fun to Think"). The admiration between the dean and the professor grows, and one evening, they reminisce about past romances ("Once Upon a Time"). Less happy is Susan, still confined to her dorm room and unable to join in the "Nightlife" fun on campus, but her mood changes when Ed appears on her balcony trellis. After a short visit, he climbs down the ivy, ecstatic about their growing affection for each other ("I've Just Seen Her"), and is almost caught again by Dr. Snoops, but Dean Hawkes-Booth's sudden arrival allows Ed to slip away unnoticed. Fodorski visits the gym to give a pep talk to Ed and the rest of the football team ("Physical Fitness"). The team's spirits are high on the day of the game against the school's rivals ("The Fight Song"), but their performance on the field is terrible. Coach "Hulk" Stockworth is knocked out by a charging player from the other side, and the only one who can take over is Fodorski. Following his advice to think of his legs as a giant lever, Ed kicks a 98-yard field goal, winning the game. Act 2 Professor Fodorski's sudden rise to fame has been noticed by Henderson, the owner of an advertising company called Exploiters Unlimited. Henderson plots to exploit the professor, make much money, then get him deported. Back on campus, the big hero at the Homecoming Ball is Ed "Bricker-the-Kicker", who accepts an award for his game-winning kick, claiming that "I Couldn't Have Done It Alone." Outside the ball, Fodorski proposes to the dean, who happily accepts ("If I Were You"). Suddenly, Henderson appears with a different kind of proposal, to form a Fodorski Foundation, and after a little persuasion, the professor agrees ("Have a Dream"). The football team has been winning game after game, and they are soon heading for the Cotton Bowl. As their successes continue, Fodorski's name is being used to endorse hundreds of products, and his face is on the cover of many magazines ("I'm Fascinating"). Ed Bricker's ego has also grown with each win, and he has given up interest in engineering in favor of professional football. Ed has also lost interest in Susan, who pleads for help from the dean. Feeling ignored by Fodorski, the dean shows up in Ed's dormitory with martinis and dressed seductively, planning to get him disqualified from the football team ("The Real Me"). Dr. Snoops arrives with the school president, who fires the dean. Hearing the news, Fodorski is shocked, and realizes he needs to make things right ("Which Way?"). He benches Ed so the school will lose the Cotton Bowl, thwarting Ed's hopes for a football career, and ruining Henderson as the Fodorski Foundation collapses. The two pairs of lovers reconcile, and with the dream of a football championship gone, the students go back to their studies, and Fodorski receives a letter granting his application for citizenship ("Finale").
This synopsis is based on the current licensed version Somewhere in the Midwest in the summer of 1955, Chad, a guitar-playing roustabout, is released from a week in jail ("Jailhouse Rock"). In a nearby dreary little town, a young mechanic named Natalie Haller yearns for love and adventure, unaware that her best friend Dennis has a crush on her. Sitting in Sylvia's Honky-Tonk, the townspeople lament their feelings of loneliness ("Heartbreak Hotel"), before getting interrupted by the roar of a motorbike; Chad has arrived in town ("Roustabout"). In need of a mechanic, Chad is introduced to Natalie, who is instantly smitten ("One Night With You"). Upon learning that Mayor Matilda Hyde and the silent Sheriff Earl enforce the Mamie Eisenhower Decency Act, outlawing "loud music, public necking, and tight pants", Chad seeks to incite rebelliousness in the citizens ("C'mon Everybody"). Whilst Natalie repairs his motorbike, Chad inspires her to take to the open road ("Follow That Dream"). Chad recruits Dennis as his sidekick. The newly-formed duo meets the town's museum owner, Miss Sandra, whom Chad instantly falls in love with. He attempts to smooth-talk her, but she resists ("Teddy Bear/Hound Dog"), retreating to the Honky-Tonk where Natalie's widowed father, Jim Haller, also falls for her. Matilda's teenage son, Dean Hyde, declares his love for Sylvia's daughter, Lorraine. Chad encourages their blossoming relationship, much to Sylvia's dismay ("That's All Right"). Matilda demands that Dean be sent away on a bus to a military academy. However, Dean disobeys his mother to stay in town with Lorraine ("It's Now or Never"). Desperate for Chad's attention, Natalie disguises herself as a bearded man named 'Ed' to grow closer to him ("Love Me Tender"). Ed dramatically rides into town, with Chad instantly dropping Dennis as his sidekick in favor of him ("Blue Suede Shoes"). Jim receives romance advice from Chad, both unaware they seek the same woman ("Don't Be Cruel"). Under Chad's orders, Ed visits the museum to give Sandra a Shakespearean sonnet, which Dennis had previously suggested, though Sandra unexpectedly finds herself attracted to Ed. Flustered, Ed tries leaving, but Sandra is intent on seducing him ("Let Yourself Go"). Matilda, appalled that Dean has stayed in town to be with Lorraine, vows to arrest Chad due to his influence. Ed suggests that Chad should hide in the town's abandoned fairgrounds to evade capture. Jim, now with extra confidence, condemns Sylvia for having grown so bitter and gives her a very surprising kiss. Soon, everyone in town finds themselves escaping to the fairgrounds, desperate for someone to love ("Can't Help Falling in Love"). In the abandoned fairgrounds, the townspeople each search for their love ("All Shook Up"). Dennis reveals to Natalie that he's upset about the way Chad treats her, but she disregards his concerns ("It Hurts Me"). Disguised as Ed, Natalie attempts to bond with Chad by asking for advice on seducing a woman, but accidentally kisses him in the process ("A Little Less Conversation"). Chad and Jim discover they are both pursuing the same woman: Sandra, who is lustfully searching the fairgrounds for Ed ("The Power of My Love"). Chad quickly realizes that he, too, has feelings for his new sidekick ("I Don't Want To"). Meanwhile, Matilda and Earl are hunting for the elusive roustabout ("(You're the) Devil in Disguise"). Jim, heartbroken that Sandra doesn't care for him, comes across Sylvia, who confesses her feelings for him ("There's Always Me"). Dean and Lorraine plan to leave town, but they run into Chad, who convinces them to stay and fight for their love ("If I Can Dream"). Chad, Dean, and Lorraine confront Matilda. Earl finally breaks his silence, denying Matilda's orders to arrest Chad and instead confessing his love for her. With a newfound acceptance for love, Matilda allows Dean and Lorraine to remain together, as does Sylvia ("Can't Help Falling in Love (Reprise)"). Chad bravely confesses his feelings for Ed, who reveals his true identity as Natalie, causing Chad to leave town abruptly. Dennis takes the opportunity to confess his long-time crush to Natalie, who kindly rejects him. However, he and Sandra realize a common admiration for Shakespeare and subsequently fall for one another. Left alone with her father, Jim, Natalie reconciles with Chad's absence ("Fools Fall in Love"). The next day, a triple wedding takes place: Jim & Sylvia, Matilda & Earl, and Dennis & Sandra. Chad makes an unexpected return to the town, interrupting the wedding and declaring his love for Natalie. She decides to pursue her dreams with him and hit the open road together. The brides and grooms marry while the town celebrates ("Burning Love"). After the bows at curtain call, the cast sings one last song ("C'mon Everybody (Encore)").
All for the Ladies is a musical with music by Alfred G. Robyn and both lyrics and book by Henry Blossom. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre on December 30, 1912. It closed on April 5, 1913, after 112 performances. The musical was created as a starring vehicle for comedian Sam Bernard who portrayed the central character of Leon von Laubenheim of Pantural, Clemente & Co. The production also starred Adele Ritchie as Nancy Panturel, Alice Gentle as Georgette Clemente, and Jerome Uhl as General Villefranche. The musical is set in France.
All the Fun of the Fair is a 2008 jukebox musical with a book by Jon Conway, based on the songs of David Essex. The title of the musical is taken from David Essex's 1975 album All the Fun of the Fair. The show had an initial provincial run in the UK in 2008. The show transferred to the Garrick Theatre in the West End in April 2010 for a limited season which concluded in September 2010. It toured again in late 2011.
In 2001, aged World War II veteran Sam Kimura prepares for a Pearl Harbor anniversary ceremony. A woman arrives and tells him his estranged sister Keiko (Kei) has died; as Kei's executor, she gives Sam a packet and tells him the funeral will be held that afternoon. Angered by the opening of his old family wounds after nearly 60 years of estrangement, he berates his once-beloved sister for not leaving him in peace. Kei's ghost informs Sam that she couldn't rest in peace without making one last attempt to reconnect with him ("Prologue"). It is 1941, and Sammy is a newly elected class president who dreams of "Going Places", like college and high political office ("Wishes on the Wind"). His widowed father Tatsuo and grandfather Kaito (Ojii-chan) own a farm in Salinas, California. Sammy adores his older sister Kei, who has postponed her dreams to help raise him. Tatsuo is always pushing Sammy to be better and reach his potential. Sammy believes that Tatsuo blames Sammy for his wife's death in childbirth. After the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in December, the US government fears that Japanese-Americans might be loyal to the Empire of Japan. Although Tatsuo advises his family to keep a low profile, Sammy volunteers for the military but is rejected as an enemy alien. Even as Japanese-Americans in the Western US are incarcerated in internment camps, Mike Masaoka, head of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), advises them to trust the US government. Sammy's family sells their beautiful farm for a discounted price and are sent to the bleak Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming ("Do Not Fight the Storm"). There Kei counsels patience; Tatsuo grimly accepts the events that led to internment ("Gaman"). Sammy believes military service is the way to prove internees' patriotism and win their freedom ("What Makes a Man"). When Ojii-chan becomes sick, Sammy asks the white Quaker volunteer nurse at the camp, Hannah, for cough syrup. She tells him it is only for the staff, but Sammy persuades her to give him the medication ("I Oughta Go"). Sammy helps the JACL organize the camp to petition for concessions ("Get in the Game"). Hannah and Sammy begin a relationship that causes additional tensions because interracial marriage is illegal ("Should I"). Tatsuo, outraged by the unjust loyalty questionnaire intended to identify "disloyal" Japanese, refuses to swear his allegiance to America; against his father's wishes, Sammy continues to try to enlist ("Allegiance"). Ojii-chan persuades Kei to go to the dance by insisting that mountains can be moved one stone at a time ("Ishi Kara Ishi"). Sammy and Hannah wish for a world where they could be together ("With You"). Kei has fallen in love with a draft resistance leader, Frankie Suzuki. Masaoka and the JACL advise internees to swear allegiance on the loyalty questionnaire to avoid being separated from their families ("Paradise"); Tatsuo is sent to a brutal prison for refusing. Kei reflects on her dead mother and Sammy's childhood ("Higher"). The siblings choose diverging paths: Sammy will risk his life in military service, while Kei joins the resistance advocating for internees' rights ("Our Time Now"). Masaoka obtains permission for Japanese-Americans to enlist, but only if they take the most dangerous assignments in Italy. Sammy enlists in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-Nisei unit. Frankie pledges to resist the draft unless his family is freed; Sammy condemns Frankie as a draft-dodger in an interview with Life magazine that trumpets Sammy's combat record ("Resist"). Tatsuo is given a copy of the magazine and released from prison because of Sammy's actions. Kei and Frankie help lead the camp's resistance ("This Is Not Over") before Frankie is jailed ("Resist" (reprise)). Hannah promises to help Kei win Frankie's freedom ("Stronger Than Before"). Sammy sees Hannah while on leave ("With You" (reprise)) before he leads a suicide mission, which kills most of his fellow soldiers ("442nd Battle"). In camp, during a scuffle between Frankie and a military policeman, Hannah is accidentally and fatally shot. Ojii-chan dies peacefully while tending his vegetable garden. Upon release, Frankie asks Kei to marry him ("Nothing in Our Way"). After the Enola Gay bombs Hiroshima ("Itetsuita"), America celebrates victory, and each internee is released and given $25 and a bus ticket ("Victory Swing"). After the war, Sammy learns that Frankie and Kei have a daughter, Hanako, named after Hannah. Aghast, he confronts Tatsuo, who tells him that Frankie was the son he always wanted. Already furious at Kei and Frankie for their role in the draft resistance, their involvement in Hannah's death is the final straw; he accepts a job in Washington offered by Masaoka. Kei argues with Sammy, calling him a coward for leaving ("How Can You Go?"). She tries to stop him, but only manages to tear the Purple Heart off of his uniform. Sammy bitterly insists that his sacrifice was worth losing his family ("What Makes a Man" (reprise)). Back in 2001, Sam opens the packet from Kei: inside is the Life issue, featuring Sammy's exploits, that Tatsuo had kept since the war. Sam attends Kei's funeral; her executor tells him her mother wanted to give Sam something else, and hands him his old Purple Heart medal. He realizes that the executor is his niece, Hanako. He breaks down, aware of his chance to forgive and to share in the love and compassion of his family ("Still a Chance").
Allegro is a musical by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics), their third collaboration for the stage. Opening on Broadway on October 10, 1947, the musical centers on the life of Joseph Taylor Jr., who follows in the footsteps of his father as a doctor, but is tempted by fortune and fame at a big-city hospital.
Dennis Lee's children's poems become a theatrical world of songs, games, and invented characters. An ensemble transforms everyday objects and familiar Canadian settings into a playful musical exploration of language and imagination.
Almost Famous is a 2019 stage musical with music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Cameron Crowe and Kitt, and a book by Crowe. It is based on the 2000 film of the same name written and directed by Crowe. Loosely based on Crowe's life, the musical follows a teenager who becomes a journalist for Rolling Stone magazine in the 1970s. The show debuted in San Diego at The Old Globe in 2019, with previews beginning on September 13 and a premiere on September 27. It ran through October 27. Creative work continued during the COVID-19 shutdown. Like the film, the musical begins in the San Diego, home of the Miller family, progresses to the San Francisco offices of Rolling Stone, and then travels through the United States on tour with the fictional band Stillwater. The Broadway production began previews on October 3, 2022, and opened November 3, 2022 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre to mainly negative reviews. On December 19, it was announced that the show would close on January 8, 2023, after 30 previews and 77 performances. Critics thought the story didn't perform well on stage. The New York Times said the show was “too faithful to the movie to feel new, yet too staged to feel authentic.” Viewers also complained that the score lacked originality and memorability, but despite the poor reception, it received a nomination for Best Original Score at the 76th Tony Awards. In November 2023, Kitt and Crowe reworked Almost Famous during a residency at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. Public readings of the workshop were given on November 11, 15, and 18. The workshop has not yet received public reviews.
The revue's theme was the city of New York. The sketches and songs were set mostly in recognizable city backdrops like a restaurant, a hospital, chic shops on Fifth Avenue, an upper East Side mansion, a midtown skyscraper, outside on Fifth Avenue and at iconic New York landmarks like Rockefeller Center, Washington Square Park, and Harlem.
Altar Boyz is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker and a book by Kevin Del Aguila (based on an idea by Marc J. Kessler and Ken Davenport). Centering on a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio, the show satirizes, among other things, the phenomenon of boy bands and the popularity of Christian-themed music in contemporary American culture. It began an Off Broadway run on March 1, 2005, and closed on January 10, 2010, after sixteen previews and 2,032 regular performances, making it the 9th longest-running Off-Broadway musical of all time.
Amazing Grace is a musical with music and lyrics by Christopher Smith and a book by Smith and Arthur Giron. The musical is Smith's first foray as a professional writer or composer. It is based loosely on the life of John Newton, an English slave trader who later became an Anglican priest and eventually an abolitionist. He wrote many hymns, including "Amazing Grace". The musical had a 2012 production by Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut and a pre-Broadway run in Chicago in 2014.
Lewis Lambert Strether experiences a clash of cultures when he journeys to 1906 Paris to find his fiancée's wayward son and bring him back to America to take his rightful place as heir to the family fortune. The strait-laced Strether's mission falls by the wayside when he finds the openness of the European lifestyle far more attractive than his stifling existence and comes to the realization the only rescue the young man requires is from the values of his manipulative mother.
Amen Corner is a musical with a book by Philip Rose and Peter Udell, lyrics by Udell, music by Garry Sherman, orchestration by Garry Sherman & Dunn Pearson and dance arrangements by Dunn Pearson & George Butcher, based on the 1954 play of the same title by James Baldwin. The score consists of mostly gospel-inspired music.
Set in the early 2000s, the musical opens with a group of suburban youths living unhappily in "Jingletown, USA". Fed up with the state of the union, the company explodes in frustration during "American Idiot". One of the youths, Johnny, begins to tell his story in "Jesus of Suburbia", revealing he comes from a broken home and feels dissatisfied with the world. He soon goes to commiserate with his friend Will, and a third friend, Tunny, joins the two at Will's house. As they party and get drunk they run out of beer, prompting them to pick up more at the local 7-Eleven. Tunny exposes the do-nothing go-nowhere quicksand of their lives in the "City of the Damned". Realizing they are not going anywhere, Johnny challenges his friends to start caring about their lives and everything around them ("I Don't Care"). Will's girlfriend, Heather, finds out that she is pregnant with Will's child, and expresses her conflicting feelings in "Dearly Beloved". Johnny borrows money and buys bus tickets to the city for the three young men, eager to escape suburbia. Before the boys are able to leave, Heather tells Will of her pregnancy. With no other choice, he tells his friends he must stay at home in "Tales of Another Broken Home". Johnny and Tunny depart for the city with a group of other jaded youths ("Holiday"). Johnny's dreams and expectations of the city have fallen short so far, and he walks around the city to establish more of a bond with it. While wandering the streets alone, he pines for a woman he sees in an apartment window ("Boulevard of Broken Dreams"). While Tunny finds it hard to adjust to urban life, he spends his time watching television and is seduced by advertisements featuring America's favorite son, an attractive and masculine all-American sex symbol. He becomes convinced that the favorite son is everything he wants to be as well. The favorite son is revealed to be an American soldier ("Favorite Son"). Believing that joining the military will give Tunny the purpose he believed Johnny and the city would give him, Tunny enlists ("Are We the Waiting"). Back in the city, a frustrated Johnny manifests a rebellious drug-dealing alter ego called St. Jimmy, who is the carefree punk Johnny has always wanted to be. Johnny takes party drugs for the first time during "St. Jimmy". His new-found courage thanks to St. Jimmy and the drugs allow Johnny to make a successful move on the girl in the window. Two weeks later, Johnny admits he has injected heroin for the first time and spends the night with the girl he saw in the window, whom he calls "Whatsername". Back in Jingletown, Will sits on the couch drinking beer as Heather's pregnancy progresses. Meanwhile, Tunny is deployed to a war zone, and is shot and wounded. Will and Tunny beg for relief in "Give Me Novacaine". Johnny is smitten with Whatsername and they go to a club together to celebrate, but St. Jimmy has other plans for them in "Last of the American Girls / She's a Rebel". St. Jimmy hands Johnny heroin and Johnny pressures Whatsername into injecting with him. St. Jimmy sets the mood, Whatsername expresses her trust in Johnny, and Heather pledges her love to her newborn baby in "Last Night on Earth". Will is increasingly neglectful as Heather devotes herself to caring for their baby. Heather has had enough of Will's pot-and-alcohol-fuelled apathy. Despite Will's protestations, she takes the baby and walks out ("Too Much, Too Soon"). At around the same time, lying in a bed in an army hospital surrounded by fellow injured soldiers, Tunny falls victim to the hopelessness he has seen during wartime ("Before the Lobotomy"). Tunny hallucinates while on medication and imagines he and his nurse engaging in a balletic aerial dance ("Extraordinary Girl"). He quickly falls in love with her. His hallucination disappears, and he's left with his fellow soldiers in agony ("Before the Lobotomy (Reprise)"). Back in the city, Johnny refuses some dope from Jimmy and instead chooses to reveal the depth of his love for Whatsername as she sleeps ("When It's Time"). His relationship with Whatsername threatens the very existence of St. Jimmy, and so Jimmy forces Johnny to become increasingly erratic, and amidst hallucinations and paranoid delusions, Johnny threatens Whatsername and then himself with a knife ("Know Your Enemy"). Whatsername attempts to convince Johnny to get help, while the Extraordinary Girl tends to Tunny's physical and emotional wounds as it is revealed that Tunny is now an amputee, and Heather and her baby are far away from Will who sits alone on his couch ("21 Guns"). Jimmy makes Johnny leave a note for Whatsername, saying he has chosen St. Jimmy and drugs over her. Angry and done, Whatsername tells Johnny that he is not the "Jesus of Suburbia" and reveals that St. Jimmy is nothing more than "a figment of [his] father's rage and [his] mother's love" ("Letterbomb"). She leaves him and his unwillingness to acknowledge his issues behind. Hurt by Whatsername's departure, Johnny longs for better days ahead, Tunny longs for home, and Will longs for all the things he's lost ("Wake Me Up When September Ends"). St. Jimmy appears and makes one last attempt to get Johnny's attention, but Johnny has made the conscious decision to end his self destruction, resulting in the metaphorical suicide of St. Jimmy ("The Death of St. Jimmy"). Johnny cleans up and gets a desk job but realizes there is no place for him there or in the city ("East 12th St."). Will, all alone with his television, bemoans his outcast state ("Nobody Likes You"). Will imagines Heather appearing with her new show-off rockstar boyfriend who is much cooler than Will ("Rock and Roll Girlfriend"). Sick of staying on his couch, Will heads to the 7-Eleven and, surprisingly, finds Johnny there. Johnny had sold his guitar for a bus ticket home. Tunny also appears at the 7-Eleven, having returned from deployment with the Extraordinary Girl. Johnny becomes furious with Tunny for leaving him in the city, but quickly forgives him, and the three friends embrace. Tunny introduces his friends to the Extraordinary Girl. Heather and her rockstar boyfriend arrive in style, and in an uneasy truce, she allows Will to hold their baby. Other friends show up to greet the three men they haven't seen in a year ("We're Coming Home Again"). One year later, Johnny laments that he lost the love of his life, but he accepts that he can live with the struggle between rage and love that has defined his life. With this acceptance comes the possibility of hope ("Whatsername"). After the cast takes their bows, the curtain rises to reveal the entire company with guitars, and they perform "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". Each performance of this song was recorded and given to the audience as a free digital download.
This synopsis reflects the 2016 Broadway production. Act I Patrick Bateman is a 26-year-old investment banker living in New York City at the end of the 1980s. Bateman documents his morning routine, which involves fastidious grooming, tanning, and carefully selecting a designer suit, before travelling to Wall Street ("Opening (Morning Routine)"/"Selling Out"). He arrives at Pierce & Pierce, the elite bank for which he works, and is greeted by his doting secretary, Jean ("Everybody Wants to Rule the World"). He anxiously enquires about the Fisher account, an exclusive account that is highly sought after by Patrick and his colleagues. Later, Patrick has lunch with his coworkers, Tim Price, Craig McDermott, Luis Carruthers and David Van Patten. They exchange fashion tips and critique restaurants before another colleague, Paul Owen, enters. Patrick learns that Owen has secured the Fisher account as well as reservations at Dorsia, New York's most exclusive new restaurant. Absurdly jealous, Patrick attempts to save face by showing everyone his new business card, which leads Paul to show his ("Cards"). Paul mistakes Patrick as Marcus Halberstam, another coworker of Bateman's. Patrick then invites him to his birthday dinner, thrown by Evelyn Williams, his girlfriend, and Courtney Lawrence, her best friend and Luis Carruthers' girlfriend. Patrick calls Evelyn, telling her about Paul coming to the party. Evelyn hates the idea of having an odd number at her table, so Patrick also invites Jean to appease her. Evelyn and Courtney discuss their designer clothes and expensive food before the party ("You Are What You Wear"). Patrick and Tim arrive at Evelyn's townhouse late, which irritates Evelyn. Over dinner, the party blandly pontificate about social and political issues, such as homelessness, gentrification and the Sri Lankan Civil War. Patrick makes a scene by butchering his birthday cake with a huge knife he is carrying ("Happy Birthday"). After dinner, Patrick and Tim go to a club, where they dance and snort cocaine ("True Faith"/"Killing Time"). Suddenly overcome with despair and an awareness of the hollowness of his existence, Patrick rushes out of the club ("In the Air Tonight"). Patrick meets a homeless man on the street, offering him money and taunting him, before stabbing him to death. At the gym, McDermott, Van Patten, and Luis work out and comment on the physiques of their female instructors ("Hardbody"). Meanwhile, it is revealed that Patrick is having an affair with Courtney. After having sex, Courtney ends the affair, telling a dismissive Patrick that they are betraying their respective partners. He meets his friends at the gym and attempts to strangle Luis in the steamroom. Luis interprets Patrick's actions as a sexual advance and begs him to continue; disgusted, Patrick flees. During the intermission of a showing of Les Misérables, Evelyn broaches the subject of marriage with Patrick, who is not convinced by the prospect, while Jean, also attending the show, observes from across the theater ("If We Get Married"). Patrick heads to the Meatpacking District and picks up a prostitute named Christine, to whom he introduces himself as Paul Owen. He hires another prostitute named Sabrina and pays the two to engage in violent, sadistic sex with one another and with him ("Not a Common Man"). On Christmas Eve, Patrick waxes lyrical about Les Misérables to Jean and the two discuss their plans for the holidays. Patrick escorts his mother to Evelyn's Christmas party, where he binges on drugs and alcohol ("Mistletoe Alert"). He runs into Paul Owen at the party and invites him back to his apartment. The two dance to "Hip to Be Square". Patrick spikes Owen's drink, puts on a raincoat and begins a long one-sided analysis of the artistic and commercial merits of the band Huey Lewis and the News before slaughtering Owen with an axe. Act II Patrick takes Owen's body to an apartment he owns anonymously and dissolves it in a bathtub with a bag of lye. Afterwards, he lets himself into Paul's apartment and stages his disappearance by resetting his voicemail and packing many of his possessions into a suitcase ("Clean"). Months pass, during which Patrick murders several people ("Killing Spree"). One afternoon, Patrick's mother arrives on Wall Street expecting to have lunch with her son; Patrick, who has totally forgotten about the appointment, panics and begs Jean to get rid of her. Jean convinces Patrick to attend the lunch and offers to join the pair. Much to Jean's delight, Mrs. Bateman tells her stories about Patrick as a child, and says they would make a good couple ("Nice Thought"). Back at Pierce & Pierce, Detective Donald Kimball calls on Patrick to question him about Owen's disappearance. Uneasy, Patrick tries his hardest to evade questioning and asks Kimball to keep him updated about the manhunt. Keen to disentangle himself from New York, Patrick calls Evelyn and suggests a holiday, and Evelyn proposes a trip to the Hamptons. The idyllic setting cannot heal Patrick's psyche, however; while Evelyn flourishes amid garden parties and Pilates classes, Patrick's grasp on reality loosens further ("At the End of an Island"/"Hardbody Hamptons"). He promises Evelyn that if they return to New York he will marry her. On his return, he appropriates Paul Owen's apartment as a place to host and kill more victims, beginning with Sabrina and Christine ("I Am Back"). Luis runs into Patrick at a Barneys store and begs Patrick to run away with him. Patrick responds aggressively, assaulting Luis. With his appetite for murder now totally unchecked, Patrick targets Jean, offering to take her to dinner at a restaurant of her choice. His sense of inferiority is piqued once again when she suggests Dorsia, where he is still unable to get reservations. Patrick gives Jean the rest of the day off and she wonders about her feelings for Patrick ("A Girl Before"). At Patrick's apartment that night, the pair discuss her hopes and aspirations. As he is preparing to murder her, Jean tells Patrick that she is in love with him; her confession causes him great distress and he implores her to leave. He leaves a long voicemail for Kimball confessing to the murder of Paul Owen and countless other people ("Clean (Reprise)"). The next morning, Jean apologizes to Patrick for what happened the night before. He forgives her and tells her that he will be recommending her for a promotion. Tim unexpectedly arrives at Patrick's office, announcing to Patrick that he's getting the Fisher account. Patrick is stunned, and Tim suggests celebrating with the rest of their crew. Patrick, Evelyn, McDermott, Van Patten, Tim, Luis, Courtney, and Patrick's brother, Sean, head to Tunnel ("Don't You Want Me"). Patrick is noticeably ill at ease and is desperate to go to dinner. Sean says he is able to get reservations at Dorsia, which impresses the guests. Patrick sees Kimball at the bar and approaches him, asking him about the voicemail confession. Kimball breaks into laughter, stating that he found Patrick's 'joke' "hilarious", despite Bateman's protestations that the confessions were genuine. Kimball tells Patrick that his narrative of what happened to Owen is impossible, as Owen is in fact in London; Kimball allegedly had dinner with him there twice. The next day, Patrick goes to Paul Owen's apartment, expecting it to be full of decomposing bodies and cordoned off by the police. Instead, he finds the apartment vacant and in pristine condition; the real estate agent, Mrs Wolfe, deflects all of Patrick's questions about Paul Owen and the bodies that were left in the apartment, before asking him to leave and never return. He marries Evelyn and resigns himself to a pointless existence in which the punishment and notoriety that he craves will forever be denied him ("This Is Not an Exit").
America's Sweetheart is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields.
Amour is a musical fantasy with an English book and lyrics by Jeremy Sams, music by Michel Legrand, and original French lyrics by Didier Van Cauwelaert, who also wrote the original French libretto. The musical is adapted from the 1943 short story Le Passe-Muraille by Marcel Aymé and set in Paris shortly after World War II. It centers on a shy, unassuming clerk who develops the ability to walk through walls, and who challenges himself to stick to his moral center and change others' lives, and his own, as a result.
NOTE: The Broadway synopsis is based on its first preview. Changes to the plot were implemented in 2019 with the development of the UK production; the revisions are now what is licensed via Concord Theatricals and are therefore described here. The musical opens with an introduction of young Amélie and her family ("Times Are Hard For Dreamers (Prologue)"). Young Amélie is born to germaphobe father, Raphael, and to neurotic mother, Amandine, and she feels isolated and emotionally distant from her parents. She takes solace in her telescope, which she uses to view the universe from afar. Her only contact with her parents comes in the form of a monthly health check-up from her father. One day, Amélie gets so excited to see him that her heart races and Raphael misdiagnoses her with a heart condition ("World's Best Dad"). Her parents, paranoid, begin to homeschool Amélie and cut off all of her contact with the outside world. In a lesson with Amandine one day, Amélie imagines her goldfish, Fluffy, coming alive and speaking to her ("World's Best Friend"). When Amélie allows Fluffy to jump into her drinking glass, her parents panic and force Amélie to release Fluffy into the Seine, leaving her alone. Feeling bad, Amandine takes Amélie to Notre Dame to make up for what happened, and Amandine prays for guidance on how to deal with Amélie and hopes for a son ("World's Best Mom"). When they leave the cathedral, Amandine is crushed and killed by a suicidal tourist who leapt from the top of it. The death hits Raphael hard, and he builds a shrine in their home to Amandine, complete with a garden gnome. Years pass, and Amélie becomes bored with her quiet life and distant father, and she decides to leave home. Five years later, she is a waitress at a café in Montmartre ("Times Are Hard for Dreamers"). She has a quiet, happy life, and spends her time with her three co-workers: Suzanne, the café's owner and a past circus performer, Georgette, a hypochondriac, and Gina. Some of Amélie's regular customers include Gina's ex-boyfriend Joseph, Hipolito, a poet, and Philomene, an air hostess. ("The Commute") On the night of Princess Diana's death, Amélie discovers a box of childhood treasures belonging to the man who used to own her apartment ("The Bottle Drops"). She is determined to find the owner and anonymously deliver the box to him, and if the owner is touched by her gesture, she resolves that she will become an anonymous do-gooder. She first meets with a cranky grocer, Colignon, who constantly abuses his assistant, Lucien, a mentally-ill young man that has an obsession with fruit ("Three Figs"). Colignon tells Amélie to confer with his mother on the other side of town. At the train station, Amélie spots a man her age, Nino, who she is attracted to. However, the train arrives before she can introduce herself to him. At Colignon's mother's home, Amélie learns the surname of the box's owner: Bredoteau. When Amélie returns home Nino spots her on the street, noticing how pretty she is and finds himself intrigued with the box. Time passes, and Amélie's search for Bredoteau isn't working out. One day, she speaks to her neighbor, Julien Dufayel—an artist who suffers from a brittle bone disease, giving him the nickname 'The Glass Man'—and, possibly recognizing the box, tells her that Bredoteau is the incorrect name. The man was really called Bretodeau. Dufayel then shows Amélie his recreation of the painting The Luncheon of the Boating Party, remarking on Amélie's isolation ("The Girl with the Glass"). Amélie discovers Bretodeau in the phonebook and calls him from a payphone, telling him where he can pick up the box ("How To Tell Time"). When Bretodeau finds it, he reflects on his childhood and decides to call his ex-wife and arrange to meet their son. Taking it as a sign, Amélie continues her good-doing, taking a blind beggar on a tour of the streets of Paris, describing his surroundings in detail. ("Tour de France"). Later that night, Amélie has a strange dream where she imagines her lavish funeral in the style of Princess Diana's, where she is serenaded by Elton John and dubbed 'Godmother of the Unloved' – someone who gives herself to help others despite not being able to find her own love ("Goodbye Amélie"). Amélie suddenly realizes she hasn't helped her father and visits him the next day and tries to convince him to leave home ("Backyard"). He refuses, saying he can't leave the garden gnome, so Amélie secretly steals it as she leaves. On her way home, she spots Nino again at the train station, where he drops a photo album on the ground that Amélie takes. Amélie explores the album with Dufayel, and finds it is full of photo-booth photographs, one of which is a picture of a man who appears over and over again, expressionless. Nino appears and explains the meaning of the photos to the company ("When the Booth Goes Bright"). Amélie watches him from the distance, and Dufayel, seeing her attraction to him, encourages her to give the album back and meet Nino. Amélie seeks out his place of work, a sex shop, and goes dressed as a nun. While she waits for Nino, the other employees mock him, unknowingly painting him as a perfect match for Amélie. However, when he arrives, Amélie runs away ("Sister's Pickle"). He chases her but she escapes and reflects on her childhood, remembering how her mother told her never to get too close to anyone ("Halfway"). Amélie then calls Nino, but refuses to give him her identity, instead sending him a photo of her in another disguise and a riddle to solve. At the café, Amélie secretly instigates a romantic encounter between Joseph and Georgette. She also writes a letter in the voice of Gina's ex-husband, telling Gina that he greatly regrets eloping with his secretary; this final letter gives her the closure she needed to move on from mourning ("Window Seat"). Her father then turns up, telling Amélie about the missing gnome and how he has been getting anonymous postcards detailing the gnome's travels ("There's No Place Like Gnome"). The travels encouraged Raphael to step out of the house to look for him, and Amélie uses the opportunity to get him to relax and embrace the change, while introducing him to Suzanne, who he falls for. Meanwhile, Nino has been searching Paris for Amélie, and handing out posters with her photo on them to anyone he sees, wondering how he's fallen for someone who doesn't want to be found ("Thin Air"). While doing another of her good deeds—spray painting a quote from one of Hipolito's poems on walls around Paris—Amélie notices the flyers and runs home, sending Nino another photo and instructions to meet her at the Montmartre Carousel. Amélie constructs an elaborate trail to lead Nino to the album ("Blue Arrow Suite") and watches him follow it. When he finds the album, she calls out to him, asking about the man in the photo-booth. However, Nino is more interested in seeing her face, and she agrees to meet him at the café on Tuesday. Tuesday arrives and Nino is late for the meeting, prompting Amélie to imagine an elaborate story to his reasoning ("The Late Nino Quincampoix"). Meanwhile, Georgette is overwhelmed by Joseph's clingy nature. Nino shows up, but when he recognizes Amélie, she finds herself nervous and runs from him. Hurt and tired, Nino leaves, but the girls in the café go after him just as Amélie reconsiders and returns. Asking of Nino's whereabouts, Joseph lies and says he went off with Gina. Heartbroken, Amélie returns home. Outside the café, Gina, Georgette and Suzanne demand to know Nino's intentions with Amélie ("A Better Haircut"). Nino says he is honestly in love with her, and needs to know how she feels for him. Touched, Georgette gives him Amélie's address. At home, Dufayel tries to talk to Amélie, but she angrily tells him to stay out of her business, not stopping to hear that he has finally gotten out of his rut and painted a unique picture: a portrait of her. As she goes inside, Nino shows up outside her door and begs a conflicted Amélie to let him inside and stop running from him ("Stay"). She is convinced to let Nino inside when Dufayel, through the apartment's window, shows Amélie his painting and insists that she'll regret not trying a relationship with Nino. She opens the door and tells Nino she wants to be with him. He tells her he loves her, even if she cannot love him back ("Halfway (Reprise)"). They kiss and Amélie takes him to the photo booth, where she shows him the answer to the mystery of the man in the album: he's the repairman who takes a photo after fixing the booth, to check if it works properly. They go into the photo booth, taking pictures together, and reflecting on their newfound happiness and wondering what will happen next ("Where Do We Go From Here?"). The story of Amélie is narrated by all of the people in her life. They tell us how every moment of our lives and everyone we meet are connected in ways we may not know or understand ("The Flight Of The Blue Fly"). Born to two neurotic and self-centered parents— Raphael and Amandine—young Amélie doesn't learn how to love. One day during her monthly medical exam, her heart beats wildly and Raphael misdiagnoses her with a heart defect, leading the parents to homeschool her away from the outside world ("World's Best Papa"). They give her a goldfish, Fluffy, to keep as a friend. One day during a geometry lesson, Amélie gets distracted by Fluffy, causing Amandine to scold her ("World's Best Friend"). Amandine's irritating neuroticism causes Fluffy to become suicidal, leading him to jump out of his bowl; when chaos ensues as Raphael and Amandine attempt to get the fish back in its bowl, they decide that it has to go, and Amélie is forced to release him into a nearby canal. Later on, Amandine and Amélie go to Notre Dame Cathedral, where they pray for a baby brother ("World's Best Mama").
This synopsis reflects the American version of the musical play, which was revised after its premiere 2014 run in Paris. Setting: Paris, 1945, at the end of the Second World War. Act I Adam Hochberg walks on stage and downs a cup of liquor. He sits at a piano and recounts the story of the day his friend, Jerry Mulligan, came to Paris. Just after the liberation of France, US Army Lieutenant Jerry Mulligan is struck by a mysterious girl after seeing her on the maze-like streets of Paris ("Concerto in F"). Ready to rebuild his life after the war, he deliberately misses his train home and decides to stay in Paris to nurture his passion for painting. He makes his way to a cafe/lodging house, where he meets Adam Hochberg, a fellow veteran and pianist, whose war injuries have left him with a permanent limp. Recognizing a kindred spirit, Adam helps Jerry find a place to live and helps him get started in Paris. Henri Baurel, the son of wealthy French industrialists, enters to rehearse the nightclub act he is putting together with Adam. Henri reveals his plans to run his family's American branch while becoming a nightclub star in secret, fearing his parents' disapproval of his dreams of being an entertainer. Both Henri and Jerry berate Adam for making his new song too dark when what Paris needs is light. Adam retorts that as artists, they have a duty to show the horrible things they've seen, and teases Henri about his fear of proposing to his girlfriend, whose name he will not tell Adam. The three bond in friendship as they imagine a brighter future ("I Got Rhythm"). Adam takes Jerry to the Paris ballet, where he is accompanying auditions, to sketch the dancers. Jerry bumps into headstrong American philanthropist, Milo Davenport, who, struck by his talent and good looks, invites him to a party to introduce him to gallery owners. Henri's mother, Madame Baurel, arrives with Ballet Director Maestro Z, and introduces Milo to him as a potential donor. Dancers arrive for the audition, and the audition has begun when to Jerry's shock, the mysterious girl arrives, apologizing for being late. She is told to leave, but Adam convinces her to dance in the back. As the audition continues, the girl dances beautifully, impressing the Ballet Director, Milo and both Jerry and Adam ("Second Prelude"). The girl introduces herself as Lise Dassin, and Maestro Z recognizes her as the daughter of the famed ballerina Arielle Dassin. In gratitude for his help, she gives Adam a flower and a kiss on the cheek before hurriedly leaving for her job. Milo, charmed by Lise and her mysterious demeanor, tells the maestro she will fund his season only if he commissions a piece just for Lise with a score written by Adam. She then takes it a step further, demanding it be designed by the 'noted painter' Jerry Mulligan. Helpless at her charismatic hands, the maestro agrees, except for allowing Jerry to design the ballet—he has his own stable of designers. Immediately infatuated with Lise, Adam sits down, thrilled with the prospect of writing a ballet that joins French and American culture. Jerry interrupts Lise at her job at a perfume counter to tell her that she got the job. Lise is reserved, and but Jerry will not be dissuaded as he tries to get her to agree to meet with him at the Seine that evening, causing a ruckus in the store until he is thrown out ("I've Got Beginners' Luck"). Madame Baurel enters and congratulates Lise she is to be the prima ballerina of the Théâtre du Châtelet Ballet. It is revealed Lise lives with the Baurel family, which they have not disclosed to the Ballet in order to avoid charges of nepotism. At the Baurel home, Henri attempts to write a letter proposing to his girlfriend, who is revealed to be Lise. Meanwhile, Lise sits down at a cafe and writes a letter to her mother; although presumed dead, she still hopes they are alive and writes a letter every day. She begs for advice: whether to marry Henri as expected, or try for true love ("The Man I Love"). Adam watches the scene from afar, falling deeper in love with Lise. Jerry is sketching a bench at the banks of the Seine when Lise arrives for their meeting, telling him she cannot accept his friendship. He shows her an incomplete sketch of her he began after their first encounter on the street, and proposes she meet him every day so he can draw her until he gets it right. Offended, she refuses, but Jerry calms the atmosphere by saying Lise doesn't have to say anything if she doesn't want to. It becomes clear both are haunted by events during the War, and she solemnly agrees with him to put the war behind them. To lighten the mood, he declares her name too sorrowful and decides to call her Liza, telling her that in the hour they are together, they are just two crazy, happy fools down by the river ("Liza"). She agrees, only if he swears to never tell anyone. Overjoyed, he tries to kiss her, but she pushes him in the river. They both agree to meet the next day, same time, same place. Henri is still attempting to draft his proposal letter, and his mother warns him if he doesn't do it soon, somebody else will. She implies his reluctance to propose is perhaps due to a romantic interest in men, which Henri denies, and warns him the family, vulnerable to accusations of collaboration with the Nazis, must be concerned with appearances. Lise enters with Mr. Baurel who says Henri has something to say to her. Dodging the subject, he asked her about her new position and tells her of him coming American tour. Lise tells him should he ever want a companion in America, she will accompany him gladly, and he takes this as an agreement to the proposal he has not yet made, mistaking her obvious glow of happiness for excitement about the ballet rather than for love of Jerry. Back at the cafe, all three men rejoice over their love for Lise, eventually joining in a trio without realizing they are all singing about the same woman ("S'Wonderful"). Henri shows the other two his proposal letter, only to find he has Lise's notebook by mistake. He reads the letter to her mother about her doubts over doing what is expected of her, marrying Henri and following her heart. Stricken, he nonetheless finds a glimmer of hope in the letter. Adam offers to console him with a drink while Jerry heads over to Milo's party. Jerry arrives at Milo's apartment to discover there was no party, and Milo has invited him on a date on false pretenses ("Shall We Dance?"). Initially annoyed, Jerry relents after Milo gives him constructive criticism on his art and takes him to meet various gallery representatives, and they begin a casual relationship. Over the next week, Adam and Lise work on the new ballet, and struggle with the material. Milo continuously brings Jerry's designs in and they are routinely rejected. Milo and Jerry embark on a trek of the Parisian art world, exploding with new life and post-war energy as Milo falls in love with him. Jerry's designs are finally accepted, but the ballet continues to run into many problems, and Lise and Jerry find solace in their short daily meetings. Milo and Jerry go to a costume party, and Jerry is shocked to discover Lise there with Henri. Jerry realizes Lise is engaged to his friend and, in a fit of rage, he removes both his and Milo's masks, and with Lise watching, kisses her ("Second Rhapsody/Cuban Overture"). Act II Adam is commissioned by the Baurels to play at one of their parties, not knowing his connection to Henri. Jerry is brought as Milo's plus one, and, in an attempt to cover up his secret nightclub act, Henri denies knowing them, arousing his parents' suspicions. After learning the party is a benefit for the ballet and dancers will be there, Jerry tries and fails to leave for the fear of confronting Lise. After seeing Lise is not among the dancers, he laughs in relief, causing a stir among the guests which eventually turns into a wild dance number ("Fidgety Feet"). After the performance, he discovers Lise is indeed there as a guest of honor. The Baurels, surprised to find both enjoy jazz, ask Milo for a recommendation for a nightclub, and when Milo asks Jerry, he recommends the nightclub where Henri and Adam are booked to perform. The Baurels announce Lise and Henri's engagement, crushing both Adam and Jerry, who lashes out at Milo and storms into the garden. Henri asks Milo to dance to comfort her, and they recognize each other as kindred spirits. Lise follows him out into the garden. Jerry confronts her. Lise cannot lie and says she loves him, but cannot be with him because she is beholden to Henri for a reason she refuses to disclose. Jerry questions Henri's love for her and begs her to meet him again. Lise tells him she does not have the luxury of love and runs away because "life is not like your American movies." Jerry is left in despair. It is revealed Milo, Adam and Henri have been watching the altercation the whole time. Back at their respective homes, they all act as if nothing has happened. In parallel conversations, Milo and Henri ask Jerry and Lise if they have anything to tell them. Dodging the question, they ask if they're worried of what the public thinks of them. They respond they don't care as long as they're in love ("Who Cares?/For You, For Me, For Evermore"). Henri pledges his love for Lise, but Jerry decides to be honest with Milo and break things off. Although she has fallen in love with him, she thanks him for being honest and they end their relationship amicably. Adam and Milo reflect on the love around them and wonder why there is no love for them ("But Not For Me"). In a nightclub in Montparnasse on one of their last shows, Adam and Henri get ready for a show. Adam begs Henri to let Lise stay in Paris and accuses him of being a coward both during the war and afterwards. Henri, furious, admits the truth: Lise is beholden to Henri because he and his family saved her life during the occupation.
An Artist's Model is a two-act musical by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank and music by Sidney Jones, with additional songs by Joseph and Mary Watson, Paul Lincke, Frederick Ross, Henry Hamilton and Leopold Wenzel.
In 1906, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna comforts her youngest granddaughter, five-year-old Grand Duchess Anastasia, who is saddened that her grandmother is moving to Paris, France. Before departing, the Dowager Empress gives Anastasia a music box as a parting gift ("Prologue: Once Upon a December"). Eleven years later, Anastasia is attending a ball with her family when the Bolsheviks invade the palace. As they attempt to escape, Anastasia tries to retrieve her music box, only to be captured along with the rest of her family ("The Last Dance of the Romanovs"). The Dowager Empress later receives word in Paris that the entire family has been executed. In 1927, Gleb Vaganov, a general for the Bolsheviks, who now control Russia, announces to the gloomy Russians that the now-poor Saint Petersburg has been renamed Leningrad, and he promises a bright and peaceful future. The Russians protest this change, but are then uplifted by a rumor that Anastasia may have survived and escaped the royal family's execution. Two wanted con men, the handsome young Dmitry and an ex-member of the Imperial Court, Vlad Popov, hear the rumors and brainstorm "the biggest con in history": they will groom a naïve girl to become Anastasia in order to extract money from the Dowager Empress ("A Rumor in St. Petersburg"). Dmitry and Vlad hold unsuccessful auditions for the scheme at the theater in the abandoned Yusupov Palace. Just as they are about to give up hope of finding a suitable impostor, a street sweeper named Anya walks in to ask Dmitry about paperwork to get tickets for Paris. Dmitry and Vlad become fascinated as Anya explains that she doesn't remember who she is due to her amnesia and has very few memories of her past ("In My Dreams"). Realizing that she bears a strong resemblance to Anastasia, they select Anya as their impostor. At the capital, government workers sort through rumors and reports for any that require further action. Three bitter actresses report Anya, Dmitry, and Vlad's plot to Gleb; he dismisses them and decides to have Anya put under surveillance ("The Rumors Never End"). Back at the palace, Vlad and Dmitry groom a feisty Anya to become Anastasia through history, dining, and dancing lessons ("Learn to Do It"). Gleb orders Anya's arrest, and she is brought to his office in the Nevsky Prospect. The general interrogates the girl and warns her about the consequences of pretending to be Anastasia. He tries to convince her that Anastasia is really dead by revealing that his father was one of the soldiers who shot the Romanovs and, as a boy, Gleb heard the gunshots and the family's screams. However, Gleb notices that Anya has the "Romanov eyes" and realizes that Anya could indeed be Anastasia. As he harbors feelings for her, he lets her off with a warning ("The Neva Flows"). Anya reunites with Dmitry and they are teased and attacked by his old con partners, whom they must fight off ("The Neva Flows Reprise"). Impressed by Anya's fighting skills, Dmitry opens up to her for the first time and tells her about his childhood in the streets of St. Petersburg and how he had to take care of himself as an orphan ("My Petersburg"). Dmitry begins to trust her enough to show her a music box that he's failed to open, unaware that it is the memento which had been given to Anastasia by the Dowager Empress. Anya easily winds and opens the box and begins to vaguely remember her past, including an imperial ball many years earlier ("Once Upon a December"). After this episode, Anya is more resolute than ever in her desire to get to Paris, but Dmitry lacks the money for tickets. Anya then gives him her only possession: a diamond that was found sewn into her dress in the hospital years earlier ("A Secret She Kept"). At the train station, Count Ipolitov recognizes Anya as Anastasia and kisses her hand. As they board the train to Paris, the count leads his fellow exiles in a prayer of farewell to Russia ("Stay, I Pray You"). During the train ride, Anya, Dmitry, and Vlad reflect on what they hope to accomplish in Paris: Anya hoping to discover that she is actually Anastasia, Dmitry's desire for the money, and Vlad hoping to win back Countess Lily Malevsky-Malevitch ("Sophie" in the 1997 animated film), the Dowager Empress's lady-in-waiting with whom he had an affair ("We'll Go From There"). Count Ipolitov is fatally shot by the police for illegally boarding the train. The police officers then go after Anya, Dmitry, and Vlad since they are wanted criminals in Russia, but they all jump off the train, narrowly avoiding capture. As they travel across Russia by foot, Gleb receives orders to follow Anya and kill her if she is the real Anastasia ("Traveling Sequence"). Gleb agrees to the task, but he realizes that he is in love with Anya and questions his heart ("Still"). Anya, Vlad, and Dmitry finally arrive in France, and as they travel to Paris, Anya summons the courage to continue on with the hope that she will finally discover who she is ("Journey to the Past"). Anya, Vlad and Dmitry arrive in Paris and are swept up by the sights and sounds of the city ("Paris Holds the Key (to Your Heart)"). When Vlad and Dmitry go off on their own, Anya visits the Pont Alexandre III bridge, named after Anastasia's grandfather, and she feels a strong connection to it ("Crossing a Bridge"). Now a bitter, elderly woman, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna reads the letters from various women claiming to be Anastasia and, heartbroken, declares that she will see no more of them ("Close the Door"). As Gleb arrives in Paris, Lily parties at the Neva Club, where she and her guests reminisce about the old Russia ("Land of Yesterday"). Lily is reunited with Vlad, with whom she is angry for stealing her jewelry when they were lovers. The two rekindle their scandalous romance and Vlad convinces her to let Anya meet the Dowager Empress at the ballet the next week ("The Countess and the Common Man"). However, Vlad accidentally drops the ballet tickets and Gleb, overhearing their plans, reaffirms his loyalty to the Bolsheviks ("Land of Yesterday Reprise"). At the hotel, Anya has a nightmare about the execution of the Romanovs ("A Nightmare"). Dmitry comforts her and recounts a story of how he bowed to Anastasia at a parade as a young boy. Anya vividly remembers this, and the two realize that Anya is indeed the Grand Duchess Anastasia ("In a Crowd of Thousands"). At the ballet, Vlad suspects that Anya and Dmitry are falling in love and is heartbroken on their behalf that the two can never be together ("Meant to Be"). During the performance of Swan Lake, Anya sees the Dowager Empress and remembers her. The Dowager Empress also sees Anya and recognizes her, but clings to denial. Dmitry and Gleb (who is conflicted about whether or not to shoot Anya) reflect on their romantic feelings ("Quartet at the Ballet"). After the ballet, Lily also recognizes Anya as Anastasia and immediately takes her to the Dowager Empress. Dmitry is anxious about the meeting and realizes that he has fallen in love with Anya, but knows he must let her go to her family ("Everything to Win"). Anya leaves the meeting enraged, having learned from the Dowager Empress that Vlad and Dmitry intended to use her in their scheme for money. As she storms off, Dmitry waits for the Dowager Empress. Marie coldly dismisses him, but Dmitry disrespectfully stops her. He begs her to see Anya, but she refuses again. Back at the hotel, Anya begins to pack, but she is interrupted by the Dowager Empress who, impressed by Dmitry's courage, has come to give her an opportunity. Anya is shocked by the Dowager Empress's cruelty, asserting that she isn't the nana that Anya remembered. The Dowager Empress angrily questions Anya about her past and the Romanov family, but Anya compels her to reflect on the person she has become. Anya suddenly remembers the night that the Dowager Empress left her for Paris. When Anya produces the music box and sings the lullaby, the Dowager Empress finally realizes that Anya really is Anastasia and the two embrace, now reunited after twenty years ("Once Upon a December Reprise"). A press conference is held the next morning, where Vlad and Lily try to fend off the hungry reporters ("The Press Conference"). Before appearing in public, the Dowager Empress tells Anya that Dmitry did not take the reward after all and reveals her respect for him. Anya expresses misgivings about her future life as a princess and the Dowager Empress insists that no matter what she chooses, they'll always be together. Anya runs off to think; she realizes that she is in love with Dmitry, and decides that she must go after him ("Everything to Win Reprise"). As she turns to leave, Anya sees that Gleb has slipped in and locked them in the room. She realizes why he is there and Gleb says that he must kill her to complete his father's mission. Anya now clearly remembers the day her family was killed and, without fear, taunts him to kill her so that she can be with her family. Overcome with emotion and not willing to bear the shame of his father, Gleb is unable to kill Anya ("Still/The Neva Flows Reprise"). Anya comforts Gleb and they call a truce. The Dowager Empress realizes that Anya has chosen to renounce her royal status; she and Gleb announce to their people that the rumors of the Grand Duchess will now cease; as far as the world is concerned, Anastasia is dead. Anya discovers Dmitry at Pont Alexandre III, where they embrace. The couple leaves Paris as the spirits of the Romanovs celebrate the life that Anya and Dmitry will have together ("Finale").
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella, produced on Broadway as Bad Cinderella, is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by David Zippel, and a book by Emerald Fennell.
Angel is a Broadway musical that opened at the Minskoff Theatre in New York on May 4, 1978. It was based on Ketti Frings’ Pulitzer Prize winning 1957 theatrical adaptation of Thomas Wolfe's best-selling 1929 novel, Look Homeward, Angel.
Animal Crackers is a musical play with music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical starred the Marx Brothers and is set at the Long Island Home of Mrs. Rittenhouse; a character portrayed by Margaret Dumont in the 1928 production on Broadway. The lyrics and music of several songs in Animal Crackers entered the public domain in the United States in 2024. The full script, copyrighted in 1929, entered the public domain in the United States in 2025.
Ankles Aweigh is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton and Eddie Davis, lyrics by Dan Shapiro, and music by Sammy Fain. The plot involves Hollywood starlet Wynne, who secretly marries a Navy pilot while filming a movie in Sicily. She disguises herself as a sailor and stows away on his ship to grab a covert honeymoon. They get mixed up with an espionage ring. The original Broadway production opened April 18, 1955, and ran for 176 performances, but lost money.
In 1870s Russia, Anna Karenina is a virtuous woman married to a government official 15 years older than she. Anna falls in love with the handsome and charming Count Alexei Vronsky, but she is torn by her loyalty to her husband and small son. Meanwhile, Vronsky had first courted Ekaterina "Kitty" Alexandrovna Shcherbatsky, who chose him over gentleman farmer Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin. When Vronsky falls in love with Anna instead, Kitty becomes ill, and Levin, heartsick, withdraws to his country estate. Kitty and Levin finally declare their love for each other. Anna's choice of love over duty leads to tragedy: Her affair with Vronsky is revealed, and she is shunned; eventually, she throws herself in front of an oncoming train.
In 1933 New York City, eleven-year-old Annie sleeps in an orphanage, with many other girls her age. When six-year-old Molly wakes up from a bad dream, Annie comforts her by singing about her own parents; even though they abandoned her at the orphanage as a baby, she holds on to the hope that they will come back for her ("Maybe"). Annie decides to escape to find her parents, but is caught by Miss Hannigan, the cruel keeper of the orphanage. To punish Annie's behavior, she forces all the girls to clean, and they lament the terrible conditions of the orphanage ("It's the Hard Knock Life"). Later on, Bundles the laundry man comes in to pick up the blankets, allowing Annie to escape in his truck. Miss Hannigan realizes she is gone and chases after the truck. The other orphans cheer her on but await punishment when Hannigan returns ("It's the Hard Knock Life (Reprise)"). Annie escapes, running into a friendly stray dog. She tells him of better days to come ("Tomorrow"). She fools a police officer into believing he is her dog, named Sandy. Later, Annie and Sandy stumble upon a Hooverville, a shanty town full of formerly well-off people suddenly rendered homeless by the Great Depression. They sarcastically toast the former president ("We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover"). The shanty town is broken up by the cops, who take Annie back to the orphanage, where Miss Hannigan punishes her with extra chores. At the orphanage, Miss Hannigan vents her frustration at being surrounded by children ("Little Girls"). Grace Farrell, the assistant to the billionaire Oliver Warbucks, comes to the orphanage, asking for an orphan to spend Christmas at his mansion. Seeing how poorly Miss Hannigan treats Annie, Grace insists on taking her ("Little Girls (Reprise)"). At Warbucks's mansion, Grace introduces Annie to the staff and explains that she will have every luxury available ("I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here"). Oliver Warbucks returns and is not happy to have Annie in his mansion, having assumed all orphans were boys. Warbucks instructs Grace to take her to a movie while he works, but when he realizes that Annie has never seen New York, he decides to take her there himself, walking the 45 blocks to the Roxy and seeing New York City in all of its glory ("N.Y.C."). Grace pays Miss Hannigan a visit to tell her that Warbucks wants to officially adopt Annie. Hannigan becomes furiously envious that the orphan she hated so much will suddenly have everything. Her ne'er-do-well brother Rooster and his girlfriend, Lily, drop by, in hopes of a handout. When Miss Hannigan mentions that Annie is going to be adopted by Warbucks, Rooster realizes they can use this situation to their advantage to bring Annie back to Miss Hannigan ("Easy Street"). Having noticed a broken locket around Annie's neck, Warbucks buys her a new, more expensive one from Tiffany's. When he offers Annie the locket and attempts to take off the old one, Annie bursts into tears, as the locket was the only thing left to her by her parents, and she still holds out hope that they will return for her. Warbucks pledges to find her parents, no matter what it takes, calling J. Edgar Hoover to get the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the job ("You Won't Be an Orphan for Long"/"Maybe (Reprise)"). Annie appears on Bert Healy's radio show ("Maybe (Reprise)"), where Warbucks announces that he is offering $50,000 to the couple who can prove they are her parents. Healy sings a song with the Boylan Sisters ("You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile"). At the orphanage, the girls are listening to the show. They joyously sing along ("You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile (Reprise)"). A couple claiming to be Annie's parents, Ralph and Shirley Mudge, arrive at the orphanage. In fact, they are Rooster and Lily in disguise. They believe they can pass themselves off as Annie's parents, with Hannigan's help, for which she demands half of the money ("Easy Street (Reprise)"). Warbucks brings Annie to Washington, D.C., where she meets President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt and his Cabinet are inspired by her optimism and decide to make it a cornerstone of their administration ("Tomorrow (Reprise)"). Once back home, Warbucks tells Annie how much he loves her ("Something Was Missing"). Because all the people claiming to be her parents were frauds, he offers to adopt her, and Annie gleefully accepts. The delighted staff get Annie dressed for the formal adoption proceedings and tell of how her arrival has changed their lives ("Annie"). As Judge Louis Brandeis shows up to begin the adoption proceedings, Warbucks and Annie dance together ("I Don't Need Anything But You"). They are interrupted by Rooster and Lily in disguise. The two present forged documents, as well as the other half of Annie's locket, seemingly confirming their story. Warbucks requests that she be allowed to stay one more night, and they can take her away on Christmas morning. The next morning, Annie wonders if her life with her parents will really be as good as her life with Warbucks could have been ("Maybe (Reprise)"). Warbucks receives a surprise visit from Roosevelt and his Secret Service. The FBI has learned that Annie's parents are actually David and Margaret Bennett, who died long ago in a fire when Annie was a baby. Mr. and Mrs. "Mudge" show up to take Annie along with the money but are quickly revealed to be none other than Rooster and Lily; the Secret Service arrests them, along with Miss Hannigan, for their crimes. Annie is officially adopted by Warbucks, who notes that this Christmas is the beginning of a new life for them, for the orphans (all of whom are adopted by wealthy friends of Warbucks) and for the rest of the country, thanks to Roosevelt's New Deal ("A New Deal for Christmas").
When the traveling Buffalo Bill's Wild West show visits Cincinnati, Ohio ("Colonel Buffalo Bill"), Frank Butler, the show's handsome, womanizing star ("I'm a Bad, Bad, Man"), challenges anyone in town to a shooting match. Foster Wilson, a local hotel owner, doesn't appreciate the Wild West show taking over his hotel, so Frank gives him a side bet of one hundred dollars on the match. Annie Oakley enters and shoots a bird off Dolly Tate's hat, and then explains her simple backwoods ways to Wilson with the help of her siblings ("Doin' What Comes Natur'lly"). When Wilson learns she's a brilliant shot, he enters her in the shooting match against Frank Butler. While waiting for the match to start, Annie meets Frank Butler and is instantly smitten with him, not knowing he will be her opponent. When she asks Frank if he likes her, Frank explains that the girl he wants will "wear satin... and smell of cologne" ("The Girl That I Marry"). The rough and naive Annie comically laments that "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun". At the shooting match, Annie finds out that Frank is the "big swollen-headed stiff" from the Wild West show. She wins the contest, and Buffalo Bill and Charlie Davenport, the show's manager, invite Annie to join the Wild West Show. Annie agrees because she loves Frank even though she has no idea what "show business" is. Frank, Charlie, and Buffalo Bill explain that "There's No Business Like Show Business". Over the course of working together, Frank becomes enamored of the plain-spoken, honest, tomboyish Annie and, as they travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota, on a train, he explains to her what "love" is ("They Say It's Wonderful"). Buffalo Bill and Charlie discover that their rival, Pawnee Bill's Far East Show, will be playing in Saint Paul, Minnesota, while the Wild West show plays in nearby Minneapolis. They ask Annie to do a special shooting stunt on a motorcycle to draw Pawnee Bill's business away. Annie agrees because the trick will surprise Frank. She sings her siblings to sleep with the "Moonshine Lullaby". As Annie and Frank prepare for the show, Frank plans to propose to Annie after the show and then ruefully admits that "My Defenses Are Down". When Annie performs her trick and becomes a star, Chief Sitting Bull adopts her into the Sioux tribe ("I'm An Indian Too"). Hurt and angry, Frank walks out on Annie and the show, joining the competing Pawnee Bill's show. Returning to New York from a tour of Europe with the Buffalo Bill show, Annie learns that the show has gone broke. Sitting Bull, Charlie, and Buffalo Bill plot to merge Buffalo Bill's show with Pawnee Bill's as they believe that show is doing well financially. Annie, now well-dressed and more refined and worldly, still longs for Frank ("I Got Lost in His Arms"). At a grand reception for Buffalo Bill's troupe at the Hotel Brevoort, Pawnee Bill, Dolly, and Frank also plot a merger of the two companies, assuming Buffalo Bill's show made a fortune touring Europe. When they all meet, they soon discover both shows are broke. Annie, however, has received sharpshooting medals from all the rulers of Europe worth one hundred thousand dollars, and she decides to sell the medals to finance the merger, rejoicing in the simple things ("I Got the Sun in the Mornin'"). When Frank appears, he and Annie confess their love and decide to marry, although with comically different ideas: Frank wants "some little chapel", while Annie wants "A wedding in a big church with bridesmaids and flower girls/ A lot of ushers in tail coats/ Reporters and photographers" ("An Old-Fashioned Wedding"o). When Annie shows Frank her medals, Frank again has his pride hurt. They call off the merger and the wedding, but challenge each other to one last shooting match to decide who is the best shot. On the ferry to the Governors Island match site, Dolly attempts to ruin Annie's chances by tampering with her guns. She is caught and stopped by Sitting Bull and Charlie. However, they then decide to follow through with Dolly's plan so that Annie will lose the match, knowing that would soothe Frank's ego allowing the two to reconcile and the merger to take place. As the match is ready to begin, Annie and Frank's egos come out again with each claiming they are better than the other ("Anything You Can Do"). Sitting Bull convinces Annie to deliberately lose the match to Frank, reminding her that she "can't get a man with a gun." That done, Frank and Annie finally reconcile, deciding to marry and merge the shows. Notes: This description is based on the 1966 revised book. In the 1999 book, Frank also deliberately misses his shots in the final match, which ends in a tie. o written for 1966 revision and included in 1999 Broadway Revival; not in the original production § omitted from the 1999 Broadway Revival
Annie Warbucks is a musical with a book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics by Martin Charnin. A sequel to the 1977 Tony Award-winning hit Annie, based on Harold Gray's Little Orphan Annie comic strip, it begins immediately after Annie ends.
Anya is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Guy Bolton and music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest. As they had done with Song of Norway (1944) and Kismet (1953), Wright and Forrest developed the musical score using themes written by a classical composer, in this case Sergei…
The story is set in an imaginary American town that has gone bankrupt. (Its former major industry was an unidentified product that never wore out. Everyone has one now, and no one needs a replacement.) The only place in town doing good business is the local mental asylum, known as "The Cookie Jar", whose inmates look much healthier than the disgruntled townspeople ("I'm Like the Bluebird"). All the money is in the hands of Cora Hoover Hooper, the stylish, ruthless mayoress and her cronies Comptroller Schub, Treasurer Cooley, and Police Chief Magruder. Cora appears carried in a litter by her backup singers, and admits that she can accept anything except unpopularity ("Me and My Town"). The scheming Comptroller Schub tells her that he has a plan to save her administration and the town, promising, "It's unethical." He tells her to meet him at the rock on the edge of town. At the rock, a local mother, Mrs. Schroeder, tries to tell her child, Baby Joan, to come down from the rock, when Baby Joan licks it and a spring of water begins flowing from it. The town instantly proclaims a miracle, and Cora and her council eagerly anticipate tourist dollars as they boast of the water's curative powers ("Miracle Song"). It is soon revealed to Cora that the miracle is a fake, controlled by a pump inside the rock. The only person in town who doubts the miracle is Fay Apple, a skeptical but idealistic young nurse from the Cookie Jar. She appears at the rock with all forty-nine of the inmates -- or "Cookies" -- in tow, intending to let them take some of the water. Schub realizes that if they drink the water and remain insane, people will discover the fraud. As he tries to stop Fay, the inmates mingle with the townspeople, until no one can guess who is who. Fay disappears and, hiding from the police, admits that she hopes for a hero to deliver the town from Cora and her lackeys ("There Won't Be Trumpets"). Cora arrives on the scene with the Cookie Jar's manager, Dr. Detmold, who says that Fay has taken the records to identify the inmates. He tells Cora that he is expecting a new assistant who might help them. At that moment a mysterious stranger, J. Bowden Hapgood, arrives asking for directions to the Cookie Jar. He is instantly taken for the new assistant. Asked to identify the missing Cookies, Hapgood begins questioning random people and sorting them into two groups, group A, and group one, without divulging which group is the sane one. The town council becomes suspicious, but Hapgood simply questions them until they begin to doubt their own sanity. Cora is too caught up with his logic to care ("Simple"). As the extended musical sequence ends, the lights black out except for a spotlight on Hapgood, who announces to the audience, "You are all mad!" Seconds later, the stage lights are restored, and the cast is revealed in theater seats, holding programs, applauding the audience, as the act ends. The two groups are now in a bitter rivalry over which is the sane group ("A-1 March"). Another stranger, a French woman in a feathered coat appears. It is really Fay Apple in disguise. She introduces herself as the Lady from Lourdes, a professional Miracle Inspector, who has come to investigate the miracle. As Schub runs off to warn Cora, Fay seeks out Hapgood in his hotel, and the two seduce each other in the style of a French romantic film ("Come Play Wiz Me"). Fay tries to get Hapgood's help in exposing the miracle. Hapgood, however, sees through her disguise and wants to question her first. Fay refuses to take her wig off and confesses to him that this disguise, leftover from a college play, is the only way she can break out of her shell. She begins to hope, however, that Hapgood may be the one who can help her learn to be free ("Anyone Can Whistle"). Meanwhile, the two groups continue to march, and Cora, trying to give a speech, realizes that Hapgood has stolen her limelight ("A Parade in Town"). She and Schub plan an emergency meeting at her house. Back at the hotel, Hapgood comes up with an idea, telling Fay to destroy the Cookies' records, so both they and Fay can be free. When Fay is reluctant, Hapgood produces a record of his own he is her fiftieth Cookie. He is a practicing idealist who, after years of attempted heroism, is tired of crusading and has come to the Cookie Jar to retire. Inspired by his record, Fay begins to tear the records up. As she does, the Cookies appear and begin to dance ("Everybody Says Don't"). Cora is at her house with her council. Schub has put the miracle on hiatus but announces that they can easily pin the blame on Hapgood. The group celebrates their alliance ("I've Got You to Lean On"). A mob forms outside the hotel, and Hapgood and Fay, still disguised, take refuge under the rock. Discovering the fraud, Cora and the council confront them. At that moment, Cora receives a telegram from the governor warning that if the quota of 49 cookies is not filled, she will be impeached. Schub tells her that since Hapgood never said who is sane or not, they can arrest anyone at random until the quota is filled. Hapgood refuses to help Fay stop the Mayoress since he has given up crusading. Although she knows she still isn't out of her shell, Fay angrily swears to go it alone ("See What it Gets You"). As Cora and the police force begin rounding up Cookies, Fay tries to get the key to the wagon from the guards in an extended ballet sequence ("The Cookie Chase"). As it ends, Fay is captured, and Dr. Detmold recognizes her. Fay tells the townspeople about the fake miracle, but the town refuses to believe her. Detmold tells Cora that even without the records, Fay can identify the inmates from memory. Cora warns that she will arrest forty-nine people, normal or not, and Fay, helplessly, identifies all the Cookies, except Hapgood. She tells him the world needs people like him, and Hapgood can't turn himself in. He asks Fay to come with him, but she still can't bring herself to break free. They regretfully part ways ("With So Little to Be Sure Of"). Word comes of a new miracle from the town beyond the valley, of a statue with a warm heart, and the townspeople, including Magruder and Cooley, rush off to see if it is real. Soon the town is all but deserted, and Cora is alone again. Again, Schub has the answer they can turn the entire town into one big Cookie Jar. Cora realizes she and Schub are meant for each other, and they dance off together. As Fay resumes work, Detmold's real new assistant Jane Borden Osgood arrives, and Fay is horrified to realize that she is even more rigid and disbelieving than Fay herself, and the new nurse marches the Cookies off to the next town to disprove the new miracle. Horrified at seeing what she might become, Fay returns to the rock calling for Hapgood. When he doesn't answer, she tries to whistle and succeeds in blowing a shrill, ugly whistle. Hapgood appears again, saying, "That's good enough for me." As they embrace, the water begins flowing from the rock a true miracle this time ("Finale").
Five versions of the libretto of Anything Goes exist: the original 1934 libretto, the 1962 off-Broadway revival libretto, the 1987 revival libretto, the 2011 revival libretto, and the 2022 revised libretto. The story has been revised, though all involve similar romantic complications aboard the SS American and feature the same major characters. The score has been altered, with some songs cut and others reassigned to different scenes and characters, and augmented with various Porter songs from other shows. Billy Crocker, a young Wall Street broker, has fallen in love with a beautiful girl he met at a party and spent the evening with in a taxi. His boss, Elisha J. Whitney, is preparing to make a business deal and is going to travel to London aboard the SS American. Evangelist-turned-nightclub singer Reno Sweeney will be traveling aboard the same ship. Billy sees Reno as a friend, but she obviously has feelings for him ("I Get a Kick Out of You"). Billy goes to the dock to say farewell to his boss and Reno ("Bon Voyage"), and glimpses the mysterious girl again. He learns that she is the heiress Hope Harcourt and, escorted by her mother Mrs. Harcourt, is on her way to England with her fiancé Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, a handsome but stuffy and hapless British nobleman. Billy stows away on the ship with a plan of winning Hope's heart. "Moonface" Martin, a second-rate gangster labeled "Public Enemy 13", and his girlfriend, Bonnie, have disguised themselves as a minister and a missionary and, innocently aided by Billy, board the ship under their assumed identities, stranding the ship's real chaplain back at the port. Moonface and Bonnie mistakenly leave behind their leader, "Snake Eyes" Johnson, Public Enemy 1. To thank him, Bonnie and Moonface let Billy have Snake Eyes Johnson's passport and ticket without telling him to whom they belong. Billy cons Evelyn into leaving him alone with Hope, by convincing him he is very ill. When he goes to get some air, Billy and Hope meet again, and it turns out she has been unable to stop thinking about him as well ("All Through the Night"). Though Hope prefers Billy, she insists she must marry Evelyn. Unbeknownst to Billy, her family's company is in financial trouble and a marriage to Evelyn would promote a merger and save it. The ship's crew gets a cable from New York saying that Public Enemy 1 is on board. Moonface admits his true identity to Billy and he and Bonnie conspire to disguise Billy as a crew member since he is now presumed to be Snake Eyes Johnson. A quartet of lovelorn sailors comfort themselves with the thought of romance when they reach shore ("There'll Always Be a Lady Fair"). On deck, Bonnie lures the sailors to her ("Where Are the Men?"), then steals the clothes of one of the men for Billy. Hope discusses her impending marriage with Evelyn and discovers that he is not particularly pleased with the engagement either. Billy asks Reno to help separate Evelyn and Hope, and she agrees. Billy and Reno reaffirm their friendship ("It's Friendship"). Reno tries to charm Evelyn; she succeeds and he invites her for a drink in his cabin. She and Moon plot that Moon should burst into the cabin and discover Reno half-naked in Evelyn's arms, providing sufficient reason for breaking off the engagement. However, when Moon breaks into the room, machine gun in tow, he instead sees Reno fully dressed and Evelyn nearly undressed. Moon tries to invent some indecent explanation for the situation, but Evelyn insists that he would be quite pleased by any rumor depicting him as a passionate lover, especially if Hope heard it. Moon admits that the plot has failed. The crew discover that Billy is not a sailor, and Moon and Reno create a new disguise for him from a stolen pair of trousers, a jacket taken from a drunken passenger, and hair cut from Mrs. Harcourt's Pomeranian and made into a beard. Reno tells Billy that Evelyn has kissed her, and she is sure she will be Lady Oakleigh soon, since love moves so quickly these days ("Anything Goes"). Mrs. Harcourt, recognizing her dog's hair, angrily pulls off Billy's beard and the crew and passengers realize he must be the wanted man. As Snake Eyes Johnson, Billy is an instant celebrity. Billy is honored by both crew and passengers as "Public Enemy Number One". He tells the Captain that Moon (who is still disguised as a minister) is helping him reform from his wicked ways. Moon is asked to lead a revival in the ship's lounge. The passengers confess their sins to the "Reverend", and Lord Evelyn admits to a one-night stand with a young Chinese woman, Plum Blossom. Hope is not impressed with Billy's charade, and to please her, he confesses to everyone that he is not really Snake Eyes Johnson. Moon attempts to compensate by revealing that he is not a minister; he is Public Enemy Number Thirteen. The captain sends them both to the brig. Reno restores the mood of the Revival ("Blow, Gabriel Blow"). Moon tries to cheer Billy up ("Be Like the Bluebird"). Billy doubts he will ever see Hope again; he and Moon cannot leave their cell until they return to America. Their card-playing Chinese cellmates Ching and Ling, imprisoned for conning all the third class passengers out of their money, will be put ashore in England. Moon and Billy challenge them to a game of strip poker, win their clothes, and disguise themselves again. Billy, Moon, and Reno show up at the Oakleigh estate in Chinese garb. Billy and Moon tell Oakleigh's uncle that they are the parents of "Plum Blossom" and threaten to publicize Evelyn's indiscretion if he does not marry her. Oakleigh offers to buy them off and Moon gleefully accepts the cash, much to Billy and Reno's chagrin. Billy and Reno find Hope and Evelyn, who are both unhappy with the prospect of their matrimony. Hope declares that she desperately wants to marry Billy ("The Gypsy in Me"). Billy spots Whitney and finally learns that Evelyn and Hope's planned marriage is really an awkward business merger. Billy realises that Oakleigh is manipulating them all; Hope's company is really worth millions and Billy informs Whitney of that fact. Whitney offers to buy the firm from Hope at an exorbitant price, and she accepts. The marriage is called off since a merger is now impossible. Billy and Hope get married, as do Reno and Evelyn. A cable from the U.S. government fixes Billy's passport problems and declares Moon "harmless". Moon indignantly pockets Oakleigh's check and refuses to return it. Young Wall Street broker Billy Crocker helps his boss Elisha J. Whitney prepare for his trip to London. Eli tells Billy the next morning he is to make a huge sale of a sinking asset. Billy then runs into his friend; evangelist turned night club singer Reno Sweeney who is leaving on the same ship to London. Reno tries to convince Billy to join her, but he refuses and she laments her unrequited love for him ("I Get A Kick Out Of You"). Billy then reveals to Reno he has fallen in love with someone else and she berates him, believing he led her on before sadly reaffirming her feelings for him after he leaves ("I Get A Kick Out Of You - Reprise"). The next morning the crew of the SS American prepare to set sail ("There's No Cure Like Travel") as Reno and the other passengers board. Among them is debutante Hope Harcourt, the subject of Billy's infatuation. She is joined by her wealthy English fiancé Lord Evelyn Oakleigh and her mother Evangeline, who has set her daughter up to be married in order to solve their family's recent financial struggles. Billy comes aboard to give Eli his passport and spots Hope. Upon hearing that she is to be wed, he stays on the ship in order to pursue her. Also sneaking on to the American is Public Enemy No. 13 Moonface Martin, who is disguised as a priest. He is joined by Erma, the promiscuous girlfriend of Public Enemy #1 Snake Eyes Johnson, who is nowhere to be found. Billy inadvertently helps Moonface evade the FBI. Moonface returns the favor by giving Billy Snake Eyes' ticket as the ship leaves the dock ("Bon Voyage"). Later that night, Billy bumps into an apologetic Reno who encourages him to go after his real love. When Billy starts to express insecurities about being with Hope, Reno builds up his confidence while playfully putting herself down, and he returns the favor ("You're The Top"). Billy then scares off a seasick Evelyn so he can court Hope away from him ("So Easy To Love"). Though she returns Billy's feeling, Hope insists on maintaining her duty and marrying Evelyn. Once alone though, she repeats his romantic words ("So Easy To Love - Reprise"). Eli drunkenly sings about his excitement for the trip, reminisces on his days in Yale, and unsuccessfully invites Hope's mother, Evangeline, to spend the night with him ("The Crew Song"). In the next room over, Moonface and Erma are visited by Billy, who hides when the ship's captain comes in and reveals that Billy is believed to be Snake Eyes Johnson. The next morning a quartet of sailors sing about the joy of seeing women as they come ashore ("There'll Always Be a Lady Fair") while Erma steals another seaman's clothes to disguise Billy from the crew and his boss. Reno then encounters her old friend Moonface, shortly after which Evelyn approaches her and reveals himself to be a huge fan. Evelyn invites Reno for tea in his room, which Moonface convinces her to accept so she can seduce Evelyn, which they'll use to blackmail him and break up his engagement. Reno agrees to his plan and they sing about what great friends they are, only to descend into bickering ("Friendship"). The attempted extortion proves to be a failure, with Reno and Evelyn instead finding themselves utterly charmed by each other. Billy and Moonface then try to frame Evelyn as a madman to Evangeline only for Hope to step in and expose Billy's identity. The crew pursues him while Reno reprimands Hope for ignoring her own happiness and chasing away the man she loves.
Middle-aged actress Margo Channing presents the Tony Award to rising star Eve Harrington, who graciously thanks "my producer, my director, my writer and above all, Margo Channing". In flashback, Margo recalls the opening night for one of her plays a year-and a-half before, when Eve entered her life. Margo's admirers crowd her dressing room and fill the air with "Backstage Babble". Among the admirers is Eve, a young woman who says that she, alone and friendless in New York, has found solace in watching her hero, Margo, perform. As soon as Margo can be alone with Bill Sampson, her director and fiancé, she tries to convince him to stay with her and not go to Rome to direct a movie. Bill firmly but lovingly tells her goodbye ("Think How It's Gonna Be"). Margo dreads facing the opening night party alone, and, wanting to have a good time, she persuades Duane, her gay hairdresser, to take her and Eve to a gay nightclub in Greenwich Village ("But Alive"). The lively evening ends back at Margo's apartment. Eve declares that it has been the best time she's ever had ("The Best Night of My Life"). Margo, seeing her 19-year-old self in one of her old movies on TV, senses the impact her increasing age will have on her career and sarcastically asks, "Who's That Girl?". Four months later, Eve has become Margo's indispensable assistant, impressing Margo's close friends, including her producer, Howard Benedict. Howard takes Eve to a "gypsy" hangout. "Gypsy," Howard explains, "is the name dancers affectionately give themselves as they go camping from show to show." The "gypsies", led by one of their own, Bonnie, celebrate "the sound that says love" – "Applause". That night, at three a.m. after a phone call from Bill in Rome, Margo longingly wishes he would "Hurry Back". Bill arranges to hurry back two weeks later, but at Margo's welcome home party for him, a misunderstanding leads to a disastrous evening ("Fasten Your Seat Belts"). Eve, as Margo's ever-present assistant, knows Margo's part in the play completely, and Eve contrives to get herself hired as Margo's understudy. Margo, feeling betrayed and threatened, faces Eve with an ironic "Welcome to the Theatre". Bill accuses her of being paranoid about Eve, and after a bitter fight, he says goodbye to Margo, ending his relationship with her. Margo is left alone on an empty stage. Margo is visiting her friends, playwright Buzz Richards and his wife Karen, in their Connecticut home. Karen, thinking Margo behaved unfairly to Eve, arranges for Margo to miss a performance by draining the car's gas tank so they cannot return to New York in time for the evening's performance. Stuck in the country for the night, they express their warm feelings as "Good Friends". Back in New York, Eve gives a triumphant performance in Margo's role. Howard again takes Eve to the "gypsy" hangout where she snubs Bonnie and her friends, who do a scathing parody of a girl who becomes an overnight star ("She's No Longer a Gypsy"). Margo is devastated when she reads a nasty interview that Eve has given in which she refers to "aging stars." Bill now realizes what Eve's true intentions are and rushes back full of love for Margo, telling her she's "One of a Kind". Margo, though, is too focused on her career to want to return to Bill. Eve, who has made an unsuccessful pass at Bill, ensnares the playwright, Buzz, and she rejoices that she now has a man who can help her career ("One Hallowe'en"). Her plans with Buzz are crushed by Howard who claims her for himself, telling her "We both know what you want and you know I'm the one who can get it for you" – Eve needs Howard's influence as a producer as well as his silence concerning her devious rise to stardom. Margo seems to have lost everything because of Eve, but suddenly she realizes she could be the winner because she now has a chance at "Something Greater" – a life with Bill. In the finale, she and Bill join with everybody answering the question "why do we live this crazy life?" – "Applause".
Apple Blossoms is a 1919 operetta with music by Fritz Kreisler and Victor Jacobi; and a libretto by William LeBaron. Apple Blossoms opened at the Globe Theatre on Broadway on October 7, 1919, and closed on April 24, 1920, after 256 performances. The original production was staged by Fred G. Latham and Edward Royce.
Neapolitan girl Aranyvirág and wealthy American tourist Ellen agree to exchange places for a day. Aranyvirág enjoys the Americans’ comfortable life, but misses her friends and invites them to a festival. They reject her when she claims to be one of them. Harry tells her he has fallen in love with her, while Ellen and Beppo prepare to leave for America. Just before departure, Aranyvirág sings to Beppo and wins him back.
Sylvia takes a job at a telephone exchange to obtain government secrets and help secure a baronetcy for her father, who works as a mechanic in a building. Gregory Lester hears Sylvia’s voice over the telephone and comes to find her. After locating her at the exchange, he takes her to a casino in Nice.
Are You with It? is an American musical with music by Harry Revel and lyrics by Arnold B. Horwitt. The musical book by Sam Perrin and George Balzer is based on the novel Slightly Perfect by George Malcolm-Smith. The production opened on Broadway at the New Century Theatre where it ran from November 10, 1945, through April 27, 1946. The show then moved to the Shubert Theatre where it played from April 30 through June 29, 1946, closing after a total of 264 performances.
Hungarian immigrant Lona Farrell runs the Sunshine Ranch and hires Roy Dexter as foreman, though Sheriff Sullivan suspects Roy is an outlaw. Roy is actually the Colorado Kid, pursuing Burt Morton, who killed his father. After a sabotaged horse race and Roy’s arrest, he escapes to a border bar and reveals his identity. The Sheriff discovers that ranch foreman Jim Slaughter is the real Morton and recovers Lona’s horse, Arizona Lady. At the Kentucky Derby, the horse wins a wager, and the Sheriff recognizes that Lona loves Roy, so he changes the bridegroom.
Arms and the Girl is a 1950 Broadway musical with a book by Herbert Fields, Dorothy Fields, and Rouben Mamoulian, music by Morton Gould, and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The show is based on the play The Pursuit of Happiness by Lawrence Langner and Armina Marshall. It opened at the 46th Street Theatre on February 2, 1950, and closed on May 27 after 134 performances.
Around the Clock had a loose plot that centers around the young Philadelphia lawyer Tom Wilson. Tom's uncle, Hank Wilson, is currently residing in a remote part of Asia and is engaged to Nellie who lives in the same city as Tom. Hank tasks Tom with assisting him in courting Nellie while he is abroad, and the two attend a music hall performance where they end up falling in love. Nellie marries Tom instead of Hank, and conflict ensues upon Hank's return; with all issues resolving happily by the end of act 2. The drunk Billie Smith provides humorous commentary and physical comedy throughout and is the true star of the show. The final act is essentially a show within a show, with the characters viewing a vaudeville production.
Around the World is a musical based on the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days, with a book by Orson Welles and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It involves an around-the-world adventure by Phileas Fogg. The expensive musical extravaganza opened on Broadway in May 1946 but closed after 75 performances. As he did with his unsuccessful 1938 stage production of Too Much Johnson, Welles shot film sequences that were integrated into Around the World. This footage is lost.
In 1953 (four years ahead), a woman (Lucille Thompson Wellington) is elected President of the United States. The First Husband (Waldo Wellington) gets around town quite a bit, presiding at events, receiving honorary degrees, and making a mess of protocol. The first female president's foes try to cook up a scandal by throwing women into the path of the flirty First Spouse, but they have no luck.
At a train station in Pau, France in 1964, 34-year-old Alex Dillingham reflects on his love life over the past 17 years ("Love Changes Everything"). A woman (Giulietta Trapani) replies to him that "it's all in the past." Flashing to 1947, Rose Vibert, a 25-year-old actress, complains that their production of The Master Builder is a flop. The producer, Marcel, tries to placate Rose by introducing her to a fan, 17-year-old Alex ("A Small Theatre in Montpellier"). Alex and Rose have a brief tryst at his uncle George's villa in Pau ("Seeing is Believing", "The House in Pau"). George Dillingham, in Paris with his mistress, Giulietta Trapani, an Italian sculptor, returns to his villa to see for himself what Alex and Rose are doing ("An Art Exhibition in Paris", "A Memory of a Happy Moment"). Rose is attracted to George, who is overcome when he sees Rose dressed in a gown belonging to his beloved late wife, Delia, also an actress, and remarks how much Rose resembles Delia ("In Many Rooms in the House at Pau"). He advises Alex that all good things have to end, and that his interlude with Rose will be a memory. Alex insists that his relationship with Rose is real love ("On the Terrace"). George leaves, and Rose leaves to rejoin Marcel. Alex realizes that Rose had never taken him seriously ("At the House at Pau"). Two years later, Alex, now a soldier, visits his uncle in Paris, and is shocked to find that Rose is now George's mistress. He accuses her of chasing his uncle's money, but Rose protests that she really loves George. She admits that she did love Alex once, and the two, drawn to each other again, fall into bed ("George's Flat in Paris"). The next morning, an agitated Rose tells Alex to leave before George returns. Alex, enraged, pulls out his gun. Rose throws a candlestick at Alex, and the gun goes off, shooting Rose in the arm, and she faints ("First Orchestral Interlude"). After George arrives, he and Alex each try to convince the other that the other is the right man for Rose. George wins the debate, insisting that Alex should begin a new life with Rose, and Alex finally agrees ("She'd Be Far Better Off With You"). George then heads to Venice to see his former mistress, Giulietta. However, Rose orders Alex to leave, having chosen to stay with George. Alex leaves, and Rose and Marcel follow George to Venice. Rose intends to confront Giulietta and reclaim George. In Venice, Giulietta and Rose bond while discussing George's foibles. They both express surprise that the other woman is not at all what they'd imagined. George returns and says that he has lost most of his money ("Stop. Wait. Please"). Rose then asks George to marry her and he agrees. At the wedding, Giulietta shocks everyone by claiming her best man's rights and kissing Rose on the mouth. George, however, is delighted ("A Registry Office"). At "A Military Camp in Malaya", Alex receives a letter from Rose telling him that she married George, and they are expecting a child. Twelve years later at a theatre in Paris, Rose has risen to stardom and has a young lover, Hugo. Marcel and the rest of the cast celebrate the latest hit (A Month in the Country) ("Leading Lady"), but Rose insists that she must return to the villa at Pau and to her husband George and their 12-year-old daughter, Jenny. Marcel reintroduces her to the 32-year-old Alex ("At the Stage Door"). Rose is delighted and insists that he come with her to Pau. At the villa, Jenny is excited by the prospect of her mother's return. George is happy to see Alex, returning with Rose, and Jenny, who has heard much about him, meets him for the first time. Rose and George insist that Alex should stay with them ("Other Pleasures"). Meanwhile, in Venice, George's former mistress, Giulietta, ponders the meaning of stable, long-lasting love versus romantic infatuation ("There Is More to Love"). Two years later, Alex suggests that Jenny needs a Paris education, which upsets Rose, who suspects that her daughter has developed an unhealthy crush on Alex ("The Garden at Pau (Version 2)"). That evening Jenny appears wearing Delia's gown, much as Rose did ("On the Terrace (Version 2)"); George happily dances with his daughter. Jenny tries to draw Alex into the dance, but Alex politely refuses ("The First Man You Remember"). Later, Jenny and Alex are left alone, and Jenny finally convinces Alex to give her the last dance. Rose catches Jenny clasping Alex in a very adult fashion, and Alex leaves. Jenny tells her mother that Alex is the first to make her feel like a woman. Rose confronts Alex, who admits to having feelings for Jenny, but insists that he would never harm her ("The Vineyard at Pau"). Later, Jenny tells Alex that she loves him. She begs him to be honest, then kisses him ("Up in the Pyrenees"). George plans his wake, insisting that there should be dancing and fun. Rose tells him that he's bound to outlive them all ("George's Study at Pau"). At a circus in Paris, George, Rose, Alex, and Jenny are celebrating Jenny's fifteenth birthday ("Journey of a Lifetime"). George becomes agitated as he watches Jenny talking with Alex ("Falling"). Later, Alex puts Jenny to bed. Jenny tries to convince him that she's really in love with him, but Alex insists that they're just cousins. Jenny falls asleep, and Alex reflects that he knows he must not love her, but cannot help loving her. George overhears Alex and is enraged, suspecting the worst. He collapses, and Alex comes out of Jenny's room to find him dead ("Jenny's Bedroom"). At George's wake, Giulietta gives a eulogy celebrating George's unconventionality and his belief in living life to the fullest ("Hand Me the Wine and Dice"). Giulietta and Alex join in the dancing and are attracted to each other, eventually trysting in a hayloft. Jenny spies on them, while Marcel tries to comfort the grieving Rose. Alex, alone with Giulietta, wonders how to end his relationship kindly with Jenny. He returns to the villa for one last confrontation. Alex tries to explain to Jenny that their relationship was unnatural. She reminds him that he was only seventeen when he met Rose, and that she is no younger than Shakespeare's Juliet ("On the Terrace (Version 3)"). Rose bids Alex farewell, but then breaks down and begs Alex not to leave her. Alex, unsure of how to reply, leaves ("Anything But Lonely"). At the train station at Pau, as Alex and Giulietta wait for the train, Giulietta wonders what will happen when Jenny reaches legal majority in three years. Alex, unable to reply, reflects once more on how love changes everything ("It Won't be Long till Jenny's a Woman").
This synopsis reflects the current licensed version of the show. The published script of the 1992 Off-Broadway production is slightly different. The show opens in a fairground shooting gallery where human figures trundle past on a conveyor belt. One by one, a collection of misfits enters, where the Proprietor of the game entices them to play, promising that their problems will be solved by killing a president ("Everybody’s Got the Right"). Leon Czolgosz, John Hinckley, Charles Guiteau, Giuseppe Zangara, Samuel Byck, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, and Sara Jane Moore are given their guns one by one. John Wilkes Booth enters last and the Proprietor introduces him to the others as their pioneer before he begins distributing ammunition. The assassins take aim as "Hail to the Chief" heralds Abraham Lincoln's offstage arrival. Booth excuses himself, a shot rings out and Booth shouts, "Sic semper tyrannis!" The Balladeer, a personification of the American Dream, appears and begins to tell Booth's story ("The Ballad of Booth") as the scene changes to Richard H. Garrett's barn in 1865. Booth, mudstained and with a broken leg, is attempting to write his reasons for killing Lincoln in his diary but cannot hold the pen. He forces his associate David Herold to write for him at gunpoint. As Booth dictates, blaming Lincoln for the Civil War and for destroying the South, the Balladeer interjects that Booth's motives really had more to do with his personal problems, much to Booth's annoyance. When a Union soldier calls for Booth's surrender, Herold abandons him and surrenders. In desperation, Booth throws the Balladeer his diary so that he can tell his story to the world. The Balladeer reads out Booth's justifications, and Booth laments that his act will not be enough to heal the country. As the Union soldiers set fire to the barn, Booth commits suicide, and the Balladeer concludes that Booth was a madman whose treacherous legacy only served as inspiration for other madmen. The Balladeer rips Booth's diary and burns the pages. The Assassins gather in a bar. Guiteau toasts to the U.S. presidency, speaking of his ambition to become Ambassador to France. Hinckley accidentally breaks a bottle, and Czolgosz flies into a rage, describing the bottle factory he works in and how many men die or are injured just to make a bottle. Guiteau jokingly tells Czolgosz to find another job, and the two begin to argue about the American Dream, with Guiteau defending America and Czolgosz dismissing it as a lie. Czolgosz grabs a bottle, barely stopping himself from throwing it. Booth urges Czolgosz to take control of his fate by breaking a bottle himself, but Czolgosz cannot. Zangara complains about his stomach pains, and Booth suggests fixing them by shooting Franklin D. Roosevelt. A radio broadcast, narrated by the Proprietor, describes Zangara's failed attempt to assassinate Roosevelt at Bayfront Park in Miami. He misses Roosevelt and accidentally kills Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak instead. Five bystanders are interviewed in turn, telling the audience their versions of the event; each is convinced that they personally saved the president ("How I Saved Roosevelt"). From an electric chair, Zangara sings his refusal to be afraid and that he did not care whom he killed as long as it was one of the men who control the money. Peeved that as an "American nothing" he has no photographers at his execution, Zangara is electrocuted as the bystanders preen for the cameras. American anarchist Emma Goldman gives a lecture from offstage as Czolgosz listens, enraptured. He introduces himself to her and declares his love, but she tells him to redirect his passion to social justice. She gives him a leaflet that she tells him contains an idea that is "not mine alone, but mine". As she prepares to leave, Czolgosz offers to carry her bag, to which Goldman protests. Czolgosz, in his first display of assertiveness, still insists. Fromme and Moore meet on a park bench and share a joint. Fromme speaks of the apocalyptic preachings of Charles Manson, remembering how they met and declaring herself his lover and slave. Juggling her purse, a can of Tab and a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Moore claims she is an informant for the FBI (or used to be), has been a CPA and had five husbands and three children. They connect over their shared hatred of their fathers, and using Colonel Sanders as a graven image, they give the bucket of chicken the evil eye and then shoot it while laughing. Moore realizes that she knew Manson in high school, and the women scream in delight over their memories of him. Czolgosz reflects on how many men die just to make a gun. Booth, Guiteau and Moore enter one by one and join him in a barbershop quartet in which they honor a single gun's power to change the world ("The Gun Song"). Czolgosz decides to shoot the president. Czolgosz arrives at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition where William McKinley is shaking visitors' hands. The Balladeer sings ("The Ballad of Czolgosz") as Czolgosz joins the line, and upon reaching McKinley, he shoots him. Samuel Byck sits on a park bench. He talks into a tape recorder, preparing a message to Leonard Bernstein telling Bernstein he can save the world by writing more love songs, and explaining that he is going to change things by crashing a 747 into the White House and killing Richard Nixon. Then he accuses Bernstein of ignoring him, just like the other celebrities he has recorded tapes for, such as Hank Aaron and Jonas Salk. After flying into a rage, Byck stands up and angrily sings the chorus to "America" before storming offstage. John Hinckley sits in his rumpus room playing a guitar. Lynette Fromme enters and asks him to play her a song, but he refuses. Fromme notices a picture of Jodie Foster, who Hinckley claims is his girlfriend. When Fromme realizes the picture is a publicity photo, she pulls out a picture of Charles Manson and mocks Hinckley for being in love with a woman he has never met, which makes him throw her out in a fit of rage. Alone, he swears that he will win Foster's love "with one brave, historic act" and sings a love song to her while Fromme individually does the same to Manson ("Unworthy of Your Love"). An image of Ronald Reagan appears on a wall in the back of the stage, and an enraged Hinckley shoots it over and over again, but the picture keeps reappearing. The Proprietor mocks Hinckley by quoting Reagan as Hinckley fires, missing each time. Back at the Proprietor's shooting range, Charles Guiteau flirts with Sara Jane Moore while giving her marksmanship tips before trying to kiss her. When she rebuffs him, he becomes enraged and attacks her. Her gun goes off in his ear, and he backs off, angrily proclaiming that he will be the next ambassador to France. The scene changes to a train station, where Guiteau goes to meet James Garfield and James Blaine. He asks to be made Ambassador, but Garfield mockingly refuses, prompting Guiteau to shoot him. Guiteau is arrested and sent to the gallows, where he recites a poem he wrote titled "I Am Going to the Lordy". The Balladeer sings about Guiteau's trial and sentencing while Guiteau merrily cakewalks up to the noose, getting more optimistic with each verse. Guiteau sings along with the Balladeer about Guiteau's optimism before he is hanged ("The Ballad of Guiteau"). Squeaky Fromme and Sara Jane Moore prepare to assassinate Gerald Ford. Moore has brought along her nine-year-old son and her dog (which she accidentally shoots), which causes an argument between the two women, who briefly turn on each other. Moore accidentally spills her gun's bullets just as President Ford enters the stage. Not recognizing him at first, the two women allow him to help them, but upon discovering who he is, Fromme tries to shoot him, but her gun jams. Having no other resource, Moore tries to throw her bullets at Ford. Samuel Byck is driving to the airport to hijack a plane, which he plans to crash into the White House. Growing unhinged, he records a message addressed to Nixon, complaining about contemporary American life, how the public is constantly lied to, and announces that killing him is the only solution. The assassins congregate in limbo to enumerate their reasons for taking action and lament not receiving any "prize" for their efforts. The Balladeer admonishes their violent methods and argues for the possibility of the American Dream. The Proprietor leads the assassins in a song for all Americans dispossessed by the Dream ("Another National Anthem"). Against his protests, the assassins force the Balladeer offstage. On the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, the ghosts of the assassins, led by Booth, appear before a suicidal Lee Harvey Oswald. They implore him not to become his own victim and to instead assassinate John F. Kennedy, thereby sharing his pain and disillusionment with the world. They tell Oswald that this act will empower the assassins of the future and revitalize the actions taken by assassins of the past. Finally moved by the idea that he has the power to unite the assassins, Oswald shoots ("November 22, 1963"). After the assassinations, various citizens recall what they were doing when they heard that the president had been killed, reflecting on their grief. ("Something Just Broke"). The assassins regroup once more at the shooting range, now with Oswald. They proudly reassert that "everybody's got the right to be happy" before loading and aiming their guns ("Everybody's Got the Right (Reprise)").
Attack of the Elvis Impersonators is a musical parody with a book, music and lyrics by Lory Lazarus. The musical features original songs based on the music of singer Elvis Presley. It was inspired by Elvis impersonator culture.
Aunt Hannah, a wealthy but religious and conservative woman, departs on a trip and leaves her mansion in the care of her nephew, Jack. To the chagrin of Hannah's servants, Jack decides to throw a wild party in his aunt's house while she is away. Everything is going off with a rip-roaring fun time, until Aunt Hannah unexpectedly returns home from her trip early. Jack must use his wits to deceive his aunt to avoid trouble. Co-opting an old beau of Hannah's into his plan, he manages to smooth things over and all ends well.
The show is set on a Sesame Street-like "outer-outer borough" of New York City. Princeton, a recent college graduate, is anxious to discover his purpose in life; but first, he must find an apartment and a job, with no work experience and an English degree ("What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?"). Beginning his search on Avenue A, he finally finds an affordable apartment on Avenue Q. His new neighbors are Kate Monster, a kindergarten assistant teacher who longs for a boyfriend; Rod, an obsessively neat Republican investment banker; Nicky, Rod's slacker roommate; Brian, an aspiring comedian recently laid off from his catering job; Christmas Eve, Brian's Japanese fiancée and a therapist with no clients; Trekkie Monster, a surly recluse who surfs the Internet all day in search of pornography; and Gary Coleman, the former child actor who now serves as the apartment superintendent. Debates ensue over whose life is worst, and they conclude that it is Coleman's ("It Sucks to Be Me"). Nicky, who is straight, suspects that Rod is gay and assures Rod it is okay with him if he is, but Rod insists otherwise ("If You Were Gay"). While moving into his apartment, Princeton learns that he has been laid off from the job he had lined up. He finds a penny minted in his birth year, declaring it a sign that he will soon find his purpose in life ("Purpose"). Kate Monster dreams of starting a "Monstersori" school for young "people of fur". Princeton innocently asks Kate if she and Trekkie are related, since they are both monsters, but Kate angrily pronounces his assumption racist. Princeton, taken aback, counters that Kate's Monstersori School would discriminate against non-monsters. Gary, Brian, and Christmas Eve join them in agreeing that racism, while problematic, is an adult reality ("Everyone's a Little Bit Racist"). Princeton receives money from his parents. The Bad Idea Bears, two charming troublemakers, convince him to spend it on beer. Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Thistletwat assigns Kate to teach the next morning's kindergarten class, her first solo teaching opportunity. She decides that her lesson will be about the Internet and all its educational attributes, but Trekkie Monster and the neighbors explain another reality of adulthood: many adults, even "normal people", use it to find pornography ("The Internet is for Porn"). Princeton gives Kate a mixtape. His puzzling song selections make her question his intended message, but eventually, she decides that he must like her after he invites her on a date to the Around the Clock Café ("Mixtape"). Brian opens the show with his lame stand-up act ("I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today"), before introducing skanky chanteuse Lucy the Slut, who wows the guys, especially Princeton, with a seductive cabaret number ("Special"). The Bad Idea Bears suggest that Kate and Princeton order some "harmless" Long Island Iced Teas, and once Kate is totally inebriated, Princeton takes her home to bed, where they have enthusiastic, high-decibel sex. Gary fields angry calls from other tenants but refuses to intercede ("You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want When You're Makin' Love"). Meanwhile, Rod hears Nicky say, "I love you, Rod," in his sleep, and is jubilant, but he eventually realizes he was dreaming. Kate and Princeton profess their mutual love, and he gives her his lucky penny ("Fantasies Come True"). The next morning, a hung-over Kate oversleeps and misses her teaching assignment. Mrs. Thistletwat berates her, and Kate angrily quits her job before she can be fired. Christmas Eve decides unilaterally that it is time she and Brian were married. At the wedding, Nicky blurts out his suspicion that Rod is gay. Rod, furious, insists he has a girlfriend none of them have ever met ("My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada") and tells Nicky he is no longer welcome in their apartment. When Kate catches Christmas Eve's wedding bouquet, Princeton panics, confesses his fear of commitment, and asks Kate if they can just be friends. Kate retorts that she already has many friends, and ends their relationship ("There's a Fine, Fine Line"). A despondent Princeton has been holed up in his apartment after breaking up with Kate ("It Sucks to Be Me" (reprise)), but the neighbors coax him outside, where he once again runs into Lucy, who seduces the rebounding Princeton ("There is Life Outside Your Apartment"). Kate is angry, but Christmas Eve explains that it means she is in love with him ("The More You Ruv Someone"). Kate writes a note to Princeton suggesting that they rendezvous at the Empire State Building and leaves it with Lucy, who promptly destroys it. Nicky, having been kicked off of all his friends' couches, laments his fate to Gary who confesses that he is deriving pleasure from Nicky's misfortune; they agree that this, while morally wrong, is yet another reality ("Schadenfreude"). On the Empire State Building's viewing platform, Kate, thinking that Princeton has stood her up, throws his lucky penny away. A hundred stories below, Lucy, who had just dumped Princeton for lacking a job, plans or money, is knocked unconscious by the penny. At the hospital, Kate figures out that Lucy sabotaged the meeting, while Kate and Princeton unsuccessfully try to work out their problems over Lucy's comatose body. Rod is too proud to accept Nicky's repeated apologies, despite clearly missing him, and tearfully consults Christmas Eve. Princeton, Kate, and Nicky dream of returning to happier times ("I Wish I Could Go Back to College"). Princeton gives a still-homeless panhandling Nicky a quarter, and marvels at how fantastic he feels. Since thinking only about himself has gotten him nowhere, he decides to raise money to build Kate's Monstersori School. He solicits everyone, even breaking the fourth wall to shake down the audience, but the results are disappointing ("The Money Song"). Then Trekkie Monster, recalling his own traumatic school experiences, donates ten million dollars and explains to the astonished cast that "in volatile market, only stable investment is porn!" ("School for Monsters/The Money Song" (reprise)). Kate joyfully opens her new school. Brian lands a consulting job, and Christmas Eve finally has a paying client (Rod), so the newlyweds move to a better neighborhood. Rod finally comes out, unsurprisingly, and takes Nicky back in. Nicky finds Rod a boyfriend – Ricky, a muscle-bound hunk who otherwise looks and sounds exactly like Nicky. The Bad Idea Bears discover Scientology. Lucy, having recovered from her head injury, becomes a born-again Christian and takes a vow of chastity. Kate and Princeton agree to give their relationship another go ("There's a Fine, Fine Line" (reprise)). A new college graduate inquires about the vacancy in the building ("What Do You Do with a B.A. in English" (reprise)), and Princeton has an epiphany: he concludes that his purpose may be to put everything he has learned into a Broadway musical. Everybody, especially the newcomer, immediately ridicules him. The cast reminds Princeton that, in the real world, many people never find their purpose, but life goes on, and everything, both good and bad, is "only for now" ("For Now").
Karoline and her daughter Marlene do not know that Franz, their long-absent son and brother, has died in the war. Franz’s friend Alwin arrives to tell them, but cannot bring himself to reveal the truth. He introduces himself as Franz, whom they have not seen for years, and falls in love with Marlene, whom he calls his sister.
Betty Boop leaves her black-and-white world for a day in New York City, where she encounters new friendships and romance.
Babes in Arms is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a work farm by the town sheriff. Several songs in Babes in Arms became pop standards, including the title song, "Where or When", "The Lady Is a Tramp", and "My Funny Valentine". The film version, released in 1939, starred Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and was directed by Busby Berkeley.
Orphans Alan and Jane are sent away by their uncle Barnaby, who seeks to take their inheritance. They escape danger and reach Toyland, where Barnaby again plots against Alan. After Barnaby dies from poison meant for Alan, the old laws of Toyland offer Alan a way to escape execution and marry Contrary Mary.
Babes in the Wood is a 1964 Off-Broadway musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The show's book and lyrics are by Rick Besoyan.
Baby is a musical with a book by Sybille Pearson, based on a story developed with Susan Yankowitz, music by David Shire, and lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. It concerns the reactions of three couples each expecting a child. The musical first ran on Broadway from 1983 to 1984.
Florence Greenberg is an average New Jersey housewife. A talent show is held at her daughter's school, and a group of African-American girls are preparing to perform. Florence's daughter is surprised at their talent, quickly notifying her mother, and Florence decides to make the group recording artists. To accommodate them, she founds Scepter Records. After the success of the Shirelles, the new name of the group, Florence and Scepter Records go on to "discover recording artists like the Kingsmen, the Isley Brothers and Dionne Warwick."
In Hill Valley, California, October 25, 1985 ("Overture"), Marty McFly arrives at the home of his scientist friend, Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, to find a pre-recorded message, playing on a large amplifier, asking Marty to meet him in the parking lot of Twin Pines Mall after midnight. After destroying the amplifier while playing his electric guitar, Marty walks through town and dreams about being a successful rock artist. A man named Goldie Wilson is running for mayor ("It's Only a Matter of Time"). When Marty's band audition is rejected ("Got No Future"), Marty's girlfriend, Jennifer Parker, comforts him ("Wherever We're Going") but they are interrupted by fundraisers for the restoration of the town's clock tower, which was damaged by lightning in 1955. Marty, with a flyer on the clocktower in hand, heads home to find his father George being harassed by his boss, Biff Tannen. George discourages Marty from chasing big dreams, his brother Dave explains his job at a burger restaurant and his mother, Lorraine McFly, discourages his sister, Linda, from dating and talks about how she first met George and kissed him at a school dance as Marty laments his family's state ("Hello, Is Anybody Home?"). At the Twin Pines Mall parking lot, Marty meets Doc who unveils a time machine made from a DeLorean and explains how he built it ("It Works"). However, due to inadequate protection while loading plutonium into the car's reactor, Doc is afflicted by acute radiation poisoning and is dying. Marty jumps in the car to seek medical help but accidentally accelerates to, sending him back in time to the day Doc conceptualised time travel in 1955. Ditching the car in a barn, Marty wanders to the town square where the citizens of Hill Valley celebrate the town ("Cake"). Marty witnesses his teenage father being threatened by Biff and his gang ("Got No Future" (reprise)) and tells him to stand up for himself. When he accidentally reveals then-diner employee Goldie will become Mayor of Hill Valley, Goldie is inspired and encourages George to also increase his self-esteem ("Gotta Start Somewhere"). Marty later finds George spying on teenage Lorraine from a tree ("My Myopia") but is knocked unconscious when George falls. Hours later, Marty wakes up in Lorraine's bedroom, where he is being cared for. Lorraine falls for Marty who tries to fend off her advances ("Pretty Baby"). Marty finds his way to Doc's house and convinces a younger Doc that he came from 1985 by revealing his knowledge about Doc's Flux Capacitor. Finding the car, Doc worries that Marty will be stuck in 1955 forever. As Marty despairs ("Future Boy"), Doc states that a bolt of lightning could power the time machine, and from the information on Marty's flyer, they plan how to use the lightning bolt. Marty tells Doc he encountered both of his parents; realizing Marty's future existence is in jeopardy, Doc instructs him to avoid meeting anyone from history and make sure George and Lorraine fall in love. The next day, they infiltrate Hill Valley High School ("Hill Valley High School Fight Song"), where Marty encourages George to ask Lorraine out to the school's upcoming dance. George tries to follow Marty's advice but runs afoul of Biff, forcing Marty to intervene. As Marty and George are chased around the campus, Lorraine tells her friends about the boy she tended to, while Biff and his gang hear rumors about Marty and plot to get rid of him. Marty fends off Biff, inadvertently awing Lorraine further ("Something About That Boy"). Doc Brown dreams of the social, technological, economic, and political advances of the future ("21st Century"), waking up as Lorraine invites Marty to the school dance to which Marty reluctantly accepts ("Something About That Boy" (reprise)). Marty visits George to boost his self confidence and dance abilities in preparation for the dance ("Put Your Mind to It"), running through the plan for George to win over Lorraine as well. As he plans to use a wire running from the clocktower to send the lightning to the DeLorean, Doc recalls how some scientists throughout history became famous, while others failed to fulfil their goals ("For the Dreamers"). Meanwhile, Biff and his gang learn of Marty's attendance at the upcoming dance and plot to beat him up ("Teach Him a Lesson"). On the night of the dance, Doc thanks Marty for giving him hope for his future; Marty secretly writes a letter to warn him of his death in 1985, despite being warned of the harm from disclosing future events. Marty reflects on his only chance to return to the future, while thinking of Jennifer back in 1985 for inspiration ("Only a Matter of Time" (reprise)). During the school dance ("Deep Divin'"), Lorraine advances on Marty ("Pretty Baby" (reprise)) before Biff locks him in a nearby dumpster and assaults Lorraine. Biff overpowers an arriving George, but George defeats him in one punch. As George escorts a grateful Lorraine to the dance, singer Marvin Berry and his band, on a smoke break, free Marty from the dumpster. Marvin's fingers are accidentally clamped by the closing lid. Knowing music will be needed for George and Lorraine to kiss, Marty volunteers to play guitar instead. The band plays "Earth Angel" as George and Lorraine kiss, saving Marty's existence. On Marvin's request for another song, Marty performs "Johnny B. Goode", but his guitar solo stuns the crowd. After bidding farewell to George and Lorraine, Marty leaves the dance to meet Doc who explains that high winds disconnected the upper cables and that he would have to reconnect them despite his fear of heights. Marty gives his letter to Doc who destroys it, worried about the consequences. Doc faces his fear and the storm to connect the wires ("For the Dreamers" (reprise)), while Marty drives the DeLorean, inserts the electric hook and accelerates to 88 miles per hour as the lightning strikes and sends him back to October 26, 1985. However, upon arrival, the car shuts down, preventing Marty from bringing Doc to the hospital. As Marty grieves over failing to save Doc, Doc appears, revealing that he pieced the letter back together and wore a better protective suit. He thanks Marty and bids him goodbye before departing to the future in the DeLorean. Marty sleeps in the courthouse square. The following morning, Marty discovers his father is now a renowned science fiction author with an annual celebration named after him, his family is more professionally and socially successful, and a timid Biff is in George's employ. At the celebration, the McFlys present the town with a check to restore the clock tower. As Marty and his band perform "The Power of Love" and the whole town joins in, Doc suddenly returns in the upgraded DeLorean, insisting Marty come with him to see the future. Marty hops in, and Doc sets the car's destination date to the exact time and date of the musical's current performance. The DeLorean takes off and flies overhead, and into the future ("Finale").
In Hamburg, the young Beatles work toward a musical identity while bassist Stuart Sutcliffe is drawn toward painting and photographer Astrid Kirchherr. Friendship, artistic ambition, and conflicting loyalties shape the group before international success.
Bad Girls: The Musical is a stage musical based on the ITV prison drama series Bad Girls, with a book by Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus, and music and lyrics by Kath Gotts.
After a performance, café-concert star Bagatelle is visited by young admirer Georges, who throws the keys out the window to prolong their time together. Her maid Finette’s lover, clarinetist Pistache, is also hidden in the apartment. In the morning, Finette releases all three; Bagatelle returns Georges’s love after learning he defended her against detractors.
Baghdaddy, now titled Who's Your Baghdaddy, or How I Started the Iraq War, is a satirical musical comedy stage play with music and book by Marshall Paillet, lyrics and book by A. D. Penedo, based on an unproduced screenplay by J. T. Allen, and produced by Charlie Fink. The musical is based on historical events leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, and focuses on how the CIA and BND (German intelligence service) provided the Bush administration with a justification for invading Iraq. A new production opened off-Broadway at the St. Luke's Theatre on May 1, 2017. Who's Your Baghdaddy, or How I Started the Iraq War, was produced in Australia in 2020 and streamed live online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bajour is a musical with a book by Ernest Kinoy and music and lyrics by Walter Marks. The musical is based on the Joseph Mitchell short stories The Gypsy Women and The King of the Gypsies published in The New Yorker. The title is allegedly a Romani word for a con game in which lonely and unhappy women are swindled out of their life savings.
Baker Street is a 1965 musical with a book by Jerome Coopersmith and music and lyrics by Marian Grudeff and Raymond Jessel, based on the tales of Sherlock Holmes.
Balada pro banditu (English: A Ballad for a Bandit) is a Czech stage musical play and film with music by Miloš Štědroň and screenplay by Milan Uhde.
Balalaika is a musical play in three acts with book and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, music by George Posford and Bernard Grun. It opened in London at the Adelphi Theatre on 22 December 1936, starring Muriel Angelus, Roger Treville, Clifford Mollison and Betty Warren, and ran for 569 performances. A love story between a young nobleman and a ballerina set mostly in Russia during World War I and the Russian Revolution, it begins and ends in 1924 at a Montmartre night-club called the "Balalaika", telling the lovers' story through a series of flashbacks. Itself a revised version of an earlier London musical play called The Great Hussar, which opened at the Adelphi Theatre on 19 October 1933, Balalaika formed the basis for the 1939 MGM movie of the same name starring Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey.
Ballroom is a stage musical with a book by Jerome Kass and music by Billy Goldenberg and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Debuting on Broadway in 1978, it was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. Based on Kass's teleplay for the 1975 Emmy Award-winning television drama Queen of the Stardust Ballroom starring Maureen Stapleton, the plot focuses on lonely widow Bea Asher, who becomes romantically involved with Alfred Rossi, a mail carrier she meets at the local dance hall. Her dream of a happily-ever-after relationship is shattered when she discovers Alfred hasn't been as honest about his personal life as she thought.
Setting: Georgia Skunkton Bowser, a performer who does one-night-stands with a minstrel show, inherits $25,000 as a bequest from the man who formerly enslaved Bowser's father. His educated friend, Bud Jenkins, appoints himself as guardian of Bowser and creates a park for African Americans called "Bandanna Land". Jenkins assists in selling the park to a railroad company that does not like the presence of the African Americans. Despite Jenkins, Bowser is determined to receive his fair share of the profits of the sale.
Newly back from the front lines, the young vet, pianist, and singer/songwriter Donny Novitski returns home from the war to Cleveland, Ohio in 1945, to find an America eager to get back to life ("Just Like It Was Before"). Unable to find a place in post-war Cleveland for himself, Donny hears of a National Radio Swing Band Competition in Tribute to the Troops, and hatches a plan to create a band composed entirely of fellow vets for a shot at instant fame and Hollywood fortune ("Donny Novitski"). With a statewide competition to win first, Donny puts his band together: Jimmy Campbell on saxophone and clarinet, Davy Zlatic on bass, Nick Radel on trumpet, Wayne Wright on trombone, and Johnny Simpson on drums ("I Know a Guy"). Each of the members of the band have struggled with the adjustment from military life to life at home, but they find friendship and commonality over this shared goal. Following their first performance ("Ain't We Proud"), Donny makes good on a promise to check in on Julia Trojan, the young widow of the man who had been his best friend in the war, Michael. Meanwhile, the vets in Donny's new band try desperately to readjust to civilian life ("Proud Riff"). As Julia prepares to host Donny for dinner in the hope of learning more about her husband's death, she confides in her mother, June Adams, that she just wants to be who she was before her husband's death ("Who I Was"). During dinner, Donny avoids discussing the death of Julia's husband. Later, haunted by the memories of war, the band members play their instruments, and Donny arrives at the church where Julia sings ("Counterpoint/Pie Jesu"). Impressed by her voice, Donny invites Julia to hear the band he's put together. Excitedly, Julia's mother hopes that all will soon be "Just Like It Was Before (Reprise)". At the club, Donny invites Julia to sing a standard with the band ("First Steps First"). After the performance, Donny convinces a hesitant Julia to join the band, and they begin rehearsing in earnest ("Breathe") for their first gig together, trying out a new tune, "You Deserve It". When Donny's confidence in winning the competition falters, Julia offers him a journal of poems she has written. Inspired by Julia's take on post-war life, Donny composes a melody for one of her poems that he is convinced will win them the preliminary in Ohio which guarantees them a slot on the final broadcast in New York City. The Ohio broadcast is in full swing ("Dwight Anson & Jean Ann"), as the Donny Nova Band featuring Julia Trojan takes the stage with "Love Will Come and Find Me Again". The band wins the state preliminary, but are told they have to pay their own way to New York and are required to compete in a second round of elimination to secure their spot in the final broadcast. From disbelief and despair, Donny rallies his band of brothers with a vision of a world where they are recognized for their sacrifices and talents ("Right This Way"). With renewed determination that ("Nobody") tells them 'no', the Band begins playing every available club in Cleveland. Their growing number of fans celebrate that ("The Boys Are Back"). Julia and Donny continue their songwriting collaboration with ("I Got a Theory") about Cleveland itself, raising more money and hometown support. With the New York trip imminent, and the bond between them growing stronger, Julia presses Donny for the truth of her husband's death in battle. Horrified by the revelation that Donny accidentally caused Michael's death in a friendly fire incident, Julia abandons the band. After expressing her feelings to her mother, June tells Julia that sometimes ("Everything Happens") without reason or fault. After deep reflection, Julia returns to Donny with a new poem as an apology, which paints a raw and truthful portrait of Donny and the Band members: Johnny was severely injured and suffers from chronic pain, amnesia, and cognitive issues; Nick was a prisoner of war, giving him anger and trust issues; Davy liberated Dachau and has turned to alcohol and humor to cope with the memories; Wayne suffers from mental illness (likely OCD), meaning his children no longer recognize him and his marriage breaks down; Jimmy is gay and his partner died in combat, and he now focuses on his law studies to avoid letting anybody in on his terrible loss; Donny is an insomniac who is experiencing survivor's guilt after the death of Michael, Julia's husband. Inspired, Donny sets Julia's new poem to music, but both of them realize that the lyrics must be rewritten if the song is ever to be performed in public; they turn it into a love song about a girl and her returning soldier ("Welcome Home"). After having received a generous donation from their hometown fans, the Band sets off to live their dream of being ("A Band in New York City"). After a magical first night in New York, Donny and Julia find themselves outside her hotel room door, finally admitting their true feelings for one another ("This is Life"). Backstage at the final broadcast, moments before their appearance, the band realizes that the fine print of the contract they've signed is a trap, and the promised prize a sham. Refusing to allow their military service to be sentimentalized and exploited by the contest promoters, and unwilling to give away the rights to his song, Donny convinces the band to make the riskiest choice of all, and fight for themselves, and he and Julia kiss ("This is Life (Reprise)"). Live on air for the entire country to hear, the band stages a virtual coup d'état of the broadcast as Julia sings every brutally honest word of her original poem ("Welcome Home (Finale)"). In an "Epilogue", a year later, the Donny Nova Band featuring Julia Trojan find themselves to be celebrated stars, with sold-out New York concerts and a nationwide tour.
Banjo Eyes is a musical based on the play Three Men on a Horse by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. It has a book by Joseph Quinlan and Izzy Ellinson, music by Vernon Duke, and lyrics by John La Touche and Harold Adamson.
Bar Mitzvah Boy is a musical with a book by Jack Rosenthal, lyrics by Don Black, and music by Jule Styne. Based on Rosenthal's award-winning 1976 BBC1 teleplay of the same name, it focuses on young Eliot Green who, filled with apprehension, escapes from the synagogue where he is about to make his…
At St. Cecilia's Boarding School, Peter dozes off during Mass and has a nightmare in which he is outed as gay and condemned by everyone ("Epiphany"). After Mass, he sees Jason, his roommate and secret lover. Jason reassures Peter about their relationship and Peter suggests that they audition for the school play ("You & I"). Alone, Peter reflects on his anxieties about his relationship with Jason ("Role of a Lifetime"). Jason shows up to the auditions for Romeo and Juliet at the last minute and competes with another student, Matt, for the part of Romeo. Drama teacher Sister Chantelle casts Jason as Romeo and Ivy as Juliet ("Auditions"). Nadia, Jason's overweight twin sister, is upset that she was cast as the Nurse and commiserates with Jason over their overbearing parents ("Plain Jane Fat Ass"). Matt tries to plan a small surprise birthday party for Ivy, with whom he is in love. Lucas, the school's party boy, organizes a trip to a rave, bringing ecstasy and other drugs ("Wonderland"). Insecure about her appearance, Nadia decides to stay behind ("A Quiet Night at Home"). At the rave, Peter dances with Jason and Ivy with Matt ("Rolling"). Peter tries to kiss Jason, who leads him outside. Peter wants to make their relationship public but Jason is afraid ("Best Kept Secret"). They kiss, but unbeknownst to them, Matt sees them together. The next morning, at Confession, Matt and Peter ask for guidance about their respective secrets: Matt about seeing the kiss and Peter about being gay ("Confession"). After Nadia jokes about Ivy's promiscuity, Ivy reflects on the way her reputation defines and confines her ("Portrait of a Girl"). Nadia turns Ivy's birthday party into a crude and uproarious event ("Birthday, Bitch!"). Peter unknowingly eats pot brownies and flirts with Jason. A drunk Ivy does the same and Jason chooses her over Peter to save face. Ivy asks Jason to kiss her as a birthday gift and he reluctantly agrees ("One Kiss"). Matt and Peter bond over their frustrations and an inebriated Peter tells Matt the secret of his relationship with Jason ("Are You There?"). Peter later has a vision of the Virgin Mary, in the form of Sister Chantelle, telling him that he needs to come out to his mother ("911! Emergency!"). At rehearsal, Matt abandons the script and tackles Jason, calling him a homophobic slur ("Reputation Stain'd"). Peter asks Jason to come home with him for spring break and help him come out to his mother. Jason panics, afraid of his father finding out, and breaks up with Peter ("Ever After"). While Nadia sardonically sings about her dislike of spring, Peter leaves for break without speaking to Jason ("Spring"). Ivy apologizes to Jason for her actions at the party, but admits that she likes him and hopes for more. While Peter and Matt pine for their respective loves and Nadia wishes to be noticed, Jason sleeps with Ivy, hoping it is the right thing to do ("One"). The school chapel is decorated elaborately for Peter and Jason's wedding. The scene turns into Jason's wedding to Ivy and reveals itself to be Peter's nightmare ("Wedding Bells"). Later, class ranks are posted and Jason has achieved the valedictorian spot, once again besting Matt ("In the Hallway"). Ivy tells Jason that though she has been with other boys before, he is her first true love. After realizing that Ivy's feelings are the way he feels about Peter, he breaks up with her ("Touch My Soul"). Peter calls his mother Claire, intending to come out. She continually evades the subject, though he suspects she already knows the truth ("See Me"). Claire hangs up, shaken at the confirmation of her fears, but eventually recognizes that her love for him is stronger than her religious objections ("Warning"). When Ivy misses rehearsal, her understudy Diane steps in but forgets her lines. Peter temporarily takes over and dances with Jason ("Pilgrim's Hands"). Ivy appears at the end of the rehearsal and insists to Jason that they need to speak privately. Sister Chantelle tells Peter that she knows what has been bothering him—that he is gay—and assures him that he is just as God wanted him to be ("God Don't Make No Trash"). Ivy tells Nadia that she is pregnant with Jason's child ("All Grown Up"). She later finds Jason practicing his graduation speech and tells him that she is pregnant and still hopes he might learn to love her back. Matt, who has overheard them, reveals that Jason is in love with Peter. Peter arrives and he, Matt, and Jason exchange heated words as the other students look on ("Promise"). Distraught, Jason reflects on his relationship with Peter, and how even through his fear, he knows that it is the only thing that will comfort him ("Once Upon a Time"). With nowhere else to go, he asks the priest at Confession if God still loves him and can forgive him. The priest tells him that he must deny his feelings ("Cross"). Backstage before the play, Lucas passes out drug orders to students, including Jason. Jason asks Peter to run away with him but Peter refuses, not wanting to hide anymore ("Two Households"). Jason, thinking that he has lost Peter for good, takes a large dose of GHB. As the play begins, he again pulls Peter aside and tells him that he has loved him since they first met. Peter tells him he loves him too and reassures him that their parting is not a permanent goodbye ("Bare"). As Peter delivers the Queen Mab speech, Jason becomes increasingly disoriented and begins to hallucinate ("Queen Mab"). During the masked ball scene, he collapses and dies in Peter's arms ("A Glooming Peace"). Peter confronts the priest about Jason's last visit, accusing him of failing to show compassion ("Absolution"). At graduation, Peter, Ivy, Matt, and Nadia wonder whether they could have prevented Jason's death and consider the role they played in it. They move forward into a world that will yield more questions than answers ("No Voice").
Barefoot Boy with Cheek is a 1947 comedic Broadway musical written by Max Shulman, with music by Sidney Lippman and lyrics by Sylvia Dee. The show, which satirizes college life at the "fictitious" University of Minnesota, is based on Shulman's 1943 novel of the same name. It premiered at the Martin Beck Theatre on April 3, 1947, and closed on July 5 of that year after 108 performances.
When the Great Mogul appoints his dog Barkouf governor of Lahore, Maïma, Barkouf’s former mistress, becomes his translator. She turns his barks into decrees granting the people’s requests and thwarting the corrupt vizier Bababeck. Barkouf dies in battle, and Saëb succeeds him as governor.
In the middle of the 19th century, Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum introduces his circus acts as he stands in front of a tent, proclaiming ("There Is a Sucker Born Ev'ry Minute"). He loves spectacle and excitement, using hype and "humbug" to promote his exhibits. His wife Charity disagrees with his use of "humbug" but loves him and aims to keep him grounded. Barnum then introduces the oldest woman alive, Joice Heth, and thanks to some Barnum humbug she becomes a success ("Thank God I'm Old"). His wife Charity ("Chairy") urges him to get a job in a factory, but Barnum refuses ("The Colors of My Life [Part One]") and Charity wryly admits and accepts the disparity between their views ("The Colors of My Life [Part Two]"). Barnum enlists clowns to help in building a museum to house his attractions (with expected comical results) and it's up to Charity to encourage him to keep going ("One Brick at a Time"), with the result that "everything about [his] museum was spectacular" ("Museum Song"); however, the museum burns down accidentally. Barnum finds two new star attractions, Tom Thumb, who appears to advise that "Bigger Isn't Better", and Jumbo the elephant. Barnum then becomes manager of the famous Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind ("Love Makes Such Fools of Us All"). Barnum becomes enamored of her and sees the attraction of going on tour with her ("Out There"). He accompanies Jenny on tour, leaving Charity behind, as a marching band greets them ("Come Follow the Band"). Although all seems to be going well for Barnum, he finds that without Charity in his life he is miserable, and he decides to break ties with Jenny and return home to the woman he loves ("Love Makes Such Fools of Us All [Reprise]"). Upon his return to Charity, he promises to live the more sedate life she desires for him, in "Black and White." After a failed stint running a clockworks factory and a failed attempt to build his own city, he turns to politics; when his campaign looks doomed to fail due to lack of interest, Charity realizes how important his talents and passion are in his life and allows him to inject color and life into his campaign. He is elected Mayor of Bridgeport, and the two of them recognize the value in each other's approach to life and how they complement one another ("The Colors of My Life [Reprise]"). Barnum is prepared to run for Senator, but his beloved Charity dies suddenly, leaving Barnum bereft and alone. When Barnum finds himself cheated of the Senatorial nomination by his political party, he laments his position, realizes that his talent for Humbug will never leave him and wishes to "make it right, shoot a rocket, shine a light" ("Prince of Humbug"). James Anthony Bailey arrives and offers him the chance to "Join the Circus". Initially resisting, he relents (thanks in part to Charity's two-headed coin, which she has used to humbug him throughout the show) and joins Bailey, and they form the famous circus Barnum and Bailey. In "a princely final attraction", Barnum appears before the audience ("The Final Event: There is a Sucker Born Ev'ry Minute" [Reprise]") and reflects on his past:
The story follows Stephen, a young aspiring songwriter, as he composes what he hopes will become a hit musical. His imagination takes him back to 1947 as he creates a story surrounding an ambitious young singer Lola la Mar who arrives in New York City from Tulsa hoping to become a star. Meanwhile, Tony Forte, a 1947 incarnation of Stephen, is attempting to make it as a songwriter while tending bar at the famous Copacabana Nightclub. Tony instantly falls for Lola as she wanders into the Copacabana. He, along with former "Copa Girl" Gladys, introduce her to the owner of the club Sam Silver, to get her a job as a new Copa Girl. The two try to make it in New York in their respective fields, but do not find it easy. After Tony helps Lola improve a song written by her former music teacher, Sam gives her a job as a Copa Girl at his club. The two fall in love, as Tony writes a song for Lola as she listens. Stephen's voice can be heard narrating the events as Rico Castelli, an Italian gangster from Cuba, enters the Copacabana with the now-waning star Conchita Alvarez. Sam confronts Rico about the disappearance of Copa Girls each time he comes to the club, and demands he leave. However, Rico, armed with thugs, is able to stay long enough to meet and develop an interest in Lola la Mar. He drugs her and flies her back to Havana, Cuba, to star in his own nightclub -the Tropicana. In Havana, Rico informs Conchita that she will be replaced by a new, younger actress: Lola. Conchita, frustrated and upset, goes to Lola in order to "welcome" her. Back at the Copacabana, Tony, Sam, and Gladys learn that Lola was kidnapped and taken to Cuba. Tony immediately heads to save her, and Sam, after some convincing from Gladys, agrees to help him. Conchita, initially intending to threaten Lola, finds that she is truly a victim, and instead treats her with sympathy. Stephen can be seen again, this time expressing his love for the troubled Lola, while also sharing his lament for she is merely a figment of his imagination. Tony and Sam, now in Cuba, find Conchita and asks her for her help. She agrees, and pretends to guide Lola to become her replacement, while telling her to play along. Near the end of the Tropicana performance of "El Bravo", Tony runs on stage, reunited with Lola once again. However, Rico is close behind, waving a gun, and points the barrel at Tony. A single gunshot is heard, and Rico falls to the floor. Conchita, saving Tony and Lola from the perils she faced for years, shot her love Rico to his death. Tony and Lola are finally reunited and go back happily to the Copacabana. Back in the present, Stephen has finished his song. His wife, Samantha, is urging him to dress for their anniversary dinner. Stephen realizes that Lola was simply an incarnation of his wife, and finds he has a new sense of love for her. Her parents, who were the base for the characters Sam and Gladys, also appear, and he realizes his imagination had simply morphed reality into something a bit more elaborate.
In the fictional town of Hope Falls, West Virginia, three teenage spelunkers, Ron, Rick and Ruthie Taylor, discover the Bat Boy, a deformed humanoid creature. Bat Boy attacks Ruthie and is taken captive by Rick and Ron ("Hold Me Bat Boy"). Ruthie is taken to the hospital, and the Bat Boy is placed in the care of Sheriff Reynolds who brings him to the home of local veterinarian Dr. Parker. Meredith, Dr. Parker's wife, agrees to take him in ("Christian Charity"). Shelley, the Parkers' teenage daughter, is repulsed by the Bat Boy and infuriated by his constant screaming, but Meredith pities him and christens him with a new name: Edgar ("Ugly Boy"). Rick Taylor, Shelley's boyfriend, arrives and, infuriated by Edgar's presence, threatens to kill him with a knife ("Whatcha Wanna Do?"). This upsets Shelley, and Meredith makes Rick leave. Meredith attempts to comfort Edgar ("A Home For You"). Meanwhile, the Mayor of Hope Falls and the local ranchers are worried by their cattle which are dying inexplicably. The rumours of the discovery of a Bat Boy lead them to believe he must be preying on the cattle ("Another Dead Cow"). Dr. Parker returns home and is about to euthanize Edgar when Meredith intervenes. Meredith begs Dr. Parker not to kill Edgar, and he consents when she agrees to sleep with him. Dr. Parker celebrates what he sees as an upturn in his failing marriage and feeds Edgar animal blood ("Dance With Me Darling"). At the hospital, Ruthie is delirious from her injuries, but her mother promises the Sheriff will kill the Bat Boy or be fired ("Mrs. Taylor's Lullaby"). With the help of Meredith's patient teaching and Dr. Parker's secret feedings of blood, Edgar learns speech, etiquette and how to dress and obtains a high-school equivalency diploma ("Show You A Thing or Two"). The town council implore Dr. Parker to prevent the reviled Edgar from attending the upcoming revival meeting. Dr. Parker protests, insisting Edgar is not a threat to anyone, but is pressured into giving his word that Edgar will not attend the revival ("Christian Charity (Reprise)") Edgar begs the Parkers to let him go to the revival ("A Home For You (Reprise)"), and Meredith eventually relents. Incensed by Meredith undermining his word, Dr. Parker grabs her aggressively, and Edgar instinctively attacks him. Meredith runs to comfort Edgar over her husband, leaving Dr. Parker humiliated and furious. Dr. Parker begins to devise a way to destroy Edgar and save his marriage to Meredith; he taunts a hungry Edgar with a live rabbit, and Edgar struggles with his feral urges to kill. Just as it seems Edgar is overcoming his hunger, Dr. Parker draws blood from the rabbit and Edgar eats it. Dr. Parker gives Ruthie Taylor a lethal injection in her hospital room, intending to blame her death on Edgar ("Comfort and Joy"). At the revival meeting Reverend Hightower offers a faith healing ("A Joyful Noise"). Meredith, Shelley and Edgar arrive, and Edgar volunteers himself for the faith healing. The town are disgusted by his presence, but Edgar implores them to accept him ("Let Me Walk Among You"). The townsfolk are won over by Edgar's eloquence and civility and embrace him ("A Joyful Noise (Reprise)"). Dr. Parker arrives at the revival and reveals Ruthie has died, blaming her death on Edgar. The townsfolk are furious and once again turn on Edgar. In the ensuing struggle Edgar attacks Rick Taylor; under the pretense of tending to his wounds, Dr. Parker administers Rick with a lethal injection to serve as further proof that Edgar is dangerous. The townsfolk form a mob, led by Dr. Parker, and pursue Edgar into the woods. In the woods Shelley and Meredith look for Edgar. Together they decide that they will run away from Hope Falls and Dr. Parker. Shelley tells Meredith she is falling in love with Edgar, and Meredith's horrified response causes Shelley to run away deeper into the woods ("Three Bedroom House"). There she meets Edgar, and the two comfort each other and confess their love for each other. The Greek God of nature Pan arrives to preside over the union of Edgar and Shelley, with the help of the woodland creatures ("Children, Children"). Ron Taylor, determined to get revenge for his brother and sister, searches the slaughterhouse for Edgar. The mob mistake the noise coming from the slaughterhouse as a sign of Edgar's presence, and Mrs. Taylor sets fire to the slaughterhouse, inadvertently burning her remaining child to death. The Sheriff asks Dr. Parker to placate the mob but, instead, he whips them into a bloodthirsty frenzy, and the hunt for Edgar resumes ("More Blood/Kill The Bat Boy!"). Back in the woods Edgar is hungry for blood and begs Shelley to leave him for her own safety. Instead Shelley offers her arm to Edgar for him to feed on ("Inside Your Heart"). Just as he is about to bite, Meredith arrives and reveals she is Edgar's mother. Overcome with grief and shame, Edgar kills a cow and runs away to the cave where he was discovered. Incensed at Dr. Parker's betrayal and Meredith's deceit, Edgar pledges to kill the pair of them and embrace his inner beast ("Apology To A Cow"). The mob arrives at the cave as do Dr. Parker and Meredith. Together they reveal to the town that Edgar was the result of an experiment gone wrong; a young Parker accidentally spilled a prototype pheromone on Meredith which caused him to go mad and sexually violate her. As Meredith ran home in tears, the pheromone also attracted a colony of bats that violated her as well. Nine months later she gave birth to Shelley and Edgar. Repulsed by the deformed Edgar, Meredith asked Parker to kill him, but he could not and instead left him at the mouth of the cave where the bats adopted him. Edgar begs Dr. Parker to kill him, but he cannot; so Edgar reveals that he slept with Shelley. Furious and overcome with grief, Dr. Parker slits his own throat, causing Edgar to leap upon him and feed, whilst Dr. Parker stabs him in the back. Meredith tries to intervene but is stabbed as well, and the three fall to the ground, dead ("Finale: I Imagine You're Upset/I Am Not A Boy"). In the aftermath, Shelley and the townsfolk reflect on the tale and the lessons they have learned ("Hold Me Bat Boy (Reprise)").
In the dystopian city of Obsidian, Strat recalls his first encounter with rock and roll ("Love and Death and an American Guitar (Strat's Soliloquy)") before his DNA froze, causing him to remain eighteen forever. (In later UK productions, this scene is performed by Raven.) Strat is the leader of a group of teens who are all frozen in eternal youth - Tink, Zahara, Jagwire, Ledoux, and Valkyrie, among others - and who call themselves 'the Lost'. Strat and the Lost march in the square outside Falco Towers, home of the city's tyrannical leader of the same name, which leads to a scuffle ("All Revved Up with No Place to Go" / "Wasted Youth"). Falco's teenage daughter Raven, who has been forbidden from leaving Falco Towers, sneaks into the fray and is drawn to Strat's discarded shirt. Picking it up, her eyes meet Strat's, but she is immediately rushed back inside by her mother Sloane. Falco himself joins the fight, injuring Strat's best friend Tink; he suffers a facial injury when Ledoux breaks a bottle over his head, but manages to drive the Lost away. At Falco Towers, Falco dismisses a resentful Raven and shares his latest political plans with Sloane: he intends to propose a housing project which will revive Obsidian, but destroy the disused tunnels and subways where masses of unhoused people live, including the Lost. They lament their long-gone youth and dismiss the Lost as unimportant ("Who Needs the Young?"). Meanwhile, Raven and Strat have a brief encounter; as she dons his shirt, he briefly climbs into her room and steals a magazine with her picture on the cover. He startles her, but he ducks out as her mother enters. When Raven inquires about the origins of the Lost, Sloane explains that during a period of chemical warfare 25 years prior, the teenagers were stuck in an earthquake and exposed to a poison that froze their aging. She then gives Raven an early 18th birthday present - Falco's old biker jacket - and encourages her to be free and fall in love. The following day, 'The Lost' are gathered in their hideaway, 'the Deep End,' located in a disused subway near the 81st Street–Museum of Natural History station. Tink crashes his bicycle, then challenges Jagwire, to a fight, but is stopped by Strat, who tends Tink's wounds and tussles with him. Tink and Zahara both flirt with Strat and attempt to kiss him; he gently rebuffs Tink and asks Zahara, 'On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?', unsettling her. As Strat ignores Zahara's departing advice to forget about Raven, the Lost briefly discuss kidnapping her for ransom and encourage Strat to pursue her romantically ("Out of the Frying Pan And Into the Fire"). Meanwhile, outside of Falco Towers, Jagwire attempts to reestablish a prior romantic relationship with Zahara, but she cannot get over her first love and gently rejects him ("Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"). At Falco Towers, Falco and Sloane throw a party for Raven to celebrate her eighteenth birthday, much to her chagrin. Raven asks again for the freedom to explore the subways and meet the Lost, which Falco bluntly and firmly refuses. Sloane attempts to brighten the atmosphere, but is quickly pulled into a reverie of her youthful trysts with Falco, causing Raven to flee in frustration and disgust ("Paradise by the Dashboard Light"). Zahara appears in Raven's bedroom, dressed a nurse, and administers 'dream suppressant' medication to her; Falco and Sloane enter as well, to apologize and put her to bed. Strat sneaks in through the window, startling a sleeping Raven; he asks her the same question he posed to Zahara, but she is too distracted to notice it. After Raven stops a disappointed Strat from leaving, they have a heart-to-heart talk and Strat invites her to go out with him for one night ("Making Love Out of Nothing at All"). Just as they are about to give in to their desires, a frantic Zahara interrupts to warn them that Falco is coming and has already invaded the Deep End. Strat and Raven escape through her bedroom window. Strat and Raven rendezvous with Jagwire, who is quickly apprehended by Falco's militia. On Strat's motorbike, Raven has second thoughts about going with him ("Bat Out of Hell"). Halfway through the ride, Raven's fear of her father's retribution prompts her to jump off the bike and run away. After a moment of devastated reflection, Strat remounts his motorbike and zooms ahead at full speed off the Atlantic Ocean cliffs, when he 'misses' a sudden curve. His motorbike shatters and crushes him, seemingly killing him. At the start of Act Two, Falco has invaded the Deep End, captured several members of the Lost, and confined them in the prison basement of Falco Towers. As Falco gleefully tortures Jagwire, Zahara appears in her nurse outfit, holding Strat's bloodied shirt. She grimly informs Falco, Sloane, Raven, and the Lost that Strat has died; Raven breaks down and is taken away by Zahara and Sloane, leaving Falco and his militia to torture the Lost ("In the Land of the Pig, the Butcher Is King"). Raven mourns Strat's death ("Heaven Can Wait"). Below, the Lost express their shock, prompting Jagwire, Blake and Ledoux to share their pasts ("Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are"). Fed up with Falco's tyrannical behavior, Sloane sneaks into the basement and frees the Lost. (In the 2021-2022 and 2025 UK Tours, "In The Land of the Pig..." is cut. Instead, Raven accuses Falco of murdering Strat and flees; Falco is deliberately vague with Sloane when she asks him whether he was truly responsible. "Heaven Can Wait" is then sung by Raven. "Objects..." is then sung in the Deep End between Jagwire, Valkyrie, and Ledoux.) After drawing a pint of blood from Raven, Zahara revives her and convinces her to leave together; a hitherto unseen Tink emerges from hiding and destroys Raven's belongings. Zahara takes Raven to a safe area where she and Tink have been secretly looking after Strat, who has miraculously survived. She transfuses Raven's blood into Strat, enabling him to become mobile again, and he stumbles down from the rocks reciting poetry ("Teenager In Love"). Raven is shocked and overjoyed to see Strat and attempts to thank Tink for saving him, but he rebuffs her. Zahara leaves with a reluctant Tink in tow, while Strat and Raven have a heartfelt reunion ("For Crying Out Loud"). The next day, Zahara returns to Falco Towers for Raven's belongings; she is confronted by Falco, who demands that she reveal Raven's location. She denies knowing where Raven is, but Falco reveals that he knows that she is actually one of the Lost. Sloane's attempts to defend Zahara provoke a confrontation in which Falco shoves and almost strikes Sloane, but Zahara fires two warning shots with her gun; Sloane declares that she is ending their marriage, and she leaves with Zahara. At the museum, Strat once again asks Raven, 'On a hot summer's night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?' Raven responds to his words and happily agrees to become his, as the Lost joyously welcome him 'back from the dead' ("You Took the Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)"). A mock-wedding is held, where the Lost dress Strat in a ruffled shirt with a sparkly silver jacket, and Raven in a white dress with a bouquet. Sloane accepts Strat as Raven's partner. Raven throws the bouquet over her shoulder - this is caught by Zahara, who is overwhelmed, so she throws it again - where it is caught by a woman of the Lost, who gets down on one knee and proposes to Sloane. After the 'wedding', Strat and Raven go to the Dunes, where Raven reveals she is now able to dream for the first time, and they attempt to consummate their relationship. They are soon interrupted by a jealous Tink, who urges Strat to send Raven back to Falco. After a heated argument, Tink vows to get rid of Raven and laments his unrequited love for Strat ("Not Allowed to Love"). At Falco Towers, Falco unsuccessfully tries to dissuade Sloane from leaving him, and he is left alone to reflect on his actions ("What Part of My Body Hurts the Most"). He is later visited by Tink, who offers him a deal: he will take him to where Raven is, in exchange that no one gets hurt and that he will leave the Lost alone after he gets Raven back. Falco becomes convinced and he agrees to the deal while amused by Tink's betrayal. In the Deep End, the Lost celebrate the union between Strat and Raven while Jagwire serenades Zahara ("Dead Ringer For Love"). Their celebration is interrupted when Falco bursts in through the wall with his militia and Tink. He orders the Lost to return Raven to him in exchange for peace. Everyone resists and a scuffle ensues, which abruptly ends when Falco accidentally shoots Tink. Overwhelmed with shock and anger, Strat dismisses Raven, prompting her to flee in heartbreak. Weak from blood loss, Tink apologizes and Strat forgives him, telling him that he will always be his best friend and soulmate. Tink dies in Strat's arms and the Lost hold a funeral for him ("Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through"). Meanwhile, Raven is left with no choice but to return home to Falco Towers, where she furiously blames her father for ruining everything. (In the 2021-2022 and 2025 UK Tours, Tink survives his injuries.) Six months later, Sloane is wandering through the city, rhapsodizing about her failures to recapture her youth. In Falco Towers, Strat finds Raven, who has been secluding herself in her room. He apologizes for spurning her; they reaffirm their love for one another as Sloane makes her return to Falco ("It's All Coming Back to Me Now"). Raven suddenly has second thoughts about their relationship; she worries about the fact that she will age normally while he stays young forever. Strat tells Raven that she will always be eighteen in his eyes, and he will always love her no matter what.
Battling Buttler is a musical in three acts with music by Philip Braham and a book and lyrics by Stanley Brightman, Austin Melford and Douglas Furber, which opened in London in 1922. It was then greatly revised by Walter L. Rosemont (music) and Ballard MacDonald (book and lyrics) and produced on Broadway in 1923 after tryouts in Detroit and Chicago. The farcical story concerns a man who pretends to be a championship boxer whom he resembles, until the two men are confused with one another, with humorous results.
Jeremy Heere, a high school junior, is a social outcast. He lives with his recently separated father, who works from home and makes Jeremy uncomfortable by repeatedly refusing to wear pants in the house. At school, Jeremy is bullied by popular student Rich Goranski. His best friend, Michael Mell, also bullied by Rich, tries to comfort Jeremy by telling him that being a loser is okay. Jeremy's long-time crush Christine Canigula signs up for the school play, which prompts him to do so as well, despite being made fun of for it. Jeremy wonders if someone can help him to become popular ("More Than Survive"). As they wait for the first play rehearsal to begin, Christine professes her love and passion for theatre to Jeremy ("I Love Play Rehearsal"). The drama teacher, Mr. Reyes, reveals that the school play will be A Midsummer Night's Dream set in a post-apocalyptic future, re-titled A Midsummer Nightmare (About Zombies). During rehearsal, Jake Dillinger, one of the popular boys, flirts with Christine, making Jeremy jealous ("More Than Survive (Reprise)"). Later, Jeremy is tormented in the bathroom by Rich, who tells Jeremy how he managed his rise to popularity: as an unpopular freshman, he took a pill called a Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor (SQUIP) containing a computer that implants itself inside the user's brain and tells the user what to do and say. Taking pity on Jeremy, Rich suggests that he buy one in order to become cooler ("The SQUIP Song"). After school, while playing video games with Michael, Jeremy tells him about Rich's offer and considers if Rich is just scamming him. After an awkward conversation with his dad, Jeremy decides to check the SQUIP out. Jeremy assures Michael that, no matter what happens, they'll always be a team ("Two-Player Game"). The two visit the mall to buy the SQUIP from a dealer at Payless ShoeSource. Jeremy, as instructed, swallows it with green Mountain Dew. When the SQUIP activates, it causes Jeremy to panic in front of Christine and Jake ("The Squip Enters"). The SQUIP criticizes Jeremy's appearance, personality, and behavior, and tells him that everything about him is terrible ("Be More Chill, Pt. 1"). The SQUIP orders him to go to a store to buy a new Eminem shirt. When Jeremy picks up a woman's shirt and encounters two popular girls from school, Brooke Lohst and Chloe Valentine, the SQUIP helps Jeremy fabricate a story in order to connect with them both. They offer Jeremy a ride home ("Do You Wanna Ride?"), which the SQUIP demands he accept, but Jeremy declines because he does not wish to leave Michael in the mall. The girls leave, and the SQUIP lies to Jeremy, telling him that Michael has already left the mall. It tells him that in order for its plan to improve his social standing to work, Jeremy needs to obey every order it gives him ("Be More Chill, Pt. 2"). The next day, Jeremy heads to school with renewed confidence, wondering if he might be less invisible than before. The SQUIP delves into the inner psyche of the student body around him, giving Jeremy insight on the fears and insecurities of his peers. Jeremy's SQUIP syncs itself with Rich's, instantly making them friends. Jeremy heads confidently to the play rehearsal ("Sync Up"). Christine tells Jeremy about her feelings for a guy she knows, who Jeremy initially believes is himself, but who turns out to be Jake ("A Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into"). Afterward, the SQUIP informs Jeremy that Christine won't date him until his social standing drastically improves and encourages Jeremy to use an interested Brooke as a stepping stone to greater popularity. Jeremy starts a relationship with Brooke, while Jake asks Christine to come to his house ("Upgrade"). Overwhelmed, Jeremy asks the SQUIP to shut itself off for a few minutes. Immediately, Jeremy sees Michael and is elated but Michael states that Jeremy has been ignoring him all day. The SQUIP explains that it was using optic nerve blocking to block Michael from Jeremy's vision and that he has to abandon him in order to be more popular. Jeremy, deciding he is tired of being a loser, turns the optic nerve blocking back on, and leaves Michael as the SQUIP plots to further boost Jeremy's popularity ("Loser Geek Whatever"). On Halloween, Jake hosts a large, unsupervised party featuring alcohol ("Halloween"). Christine arrives in her Juliet princess costume because of Jake's past compliment on it, hoping to please Jake, but he brushes her aside to party. Jeremy arrives to meet Brooke, but Chloe, who is jealous of her, tries to seduce Jeremy. Feeling uncomfortable, Jeremy tries to get away, but the SQUIP forces him to remain in the situation as it escalates to Chloe making out with Jeremy ("Do You Wanna Hang?"). Chloe also has Jeremy drink alcohol, causing the SQUIP to malfunction, and then feigns having sex with him after being caught, angering Jake and upsetting Brooke. Fleeing from Jake and the girls, Jeremy runs into a bathroom, where he finds Michael, who has crashed the party. Michael tries to warn Jeremy of the dangers of the SQUIP, having discovered that someone ended up in a mental hospital after going insane in trying to get rid of it. Jeremy accuses Michael of being jealous of his popularity and calls him a loser, storming out of the bathroom. Michael, devastated and angry, locks himself in the bathroom and experiences a panic attack as he mourns the loss of his only best friend ("Michael in the Bathroom"). Jeremy talks to Christine without the SQUIP's help and he asks her out in a burst of confidence ("A Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into (Reprise)"). Christine, who has found herself in an existential crisis after breaking up with Jake, declines. Meanwhile, an erratic Rich goes around the party frantically asking people for Mountain Dew Red. Jeremy's SQUIP finally reactivates and reviews the events of the night. Foreseeing a disturbing outcome, the SQUIP prompts Jeremy to leave the party immediately. Rich, alone and desperate, threatens his SQUIP and picks up a lit jack-o'-lantern. The next morning, Jenna Rolan informs everyone, via phone calls, social media, and texting, that Rich had burned down Jake's house at the end of the party, sending both Rich and Jake to the hospital ("The Smartphone Hour (Rich Set a Fire)"). At home, Jeremy is confronted by his father, who is worried about Jeremy's new personality and change in attitude. Jeremy reprimands his father for his behavior since the divorce, calling him a loser as well. Shaken by Jeremy's words, Mr. Heere realizes that something is very wrong and that he must help him. He tracks down Michael, who reluctantly agrees to help, on the condition that Mr. Heere puts on pants and become a better father ("The Pants Song"). Jeremy encounters Christine, who is shaken and upset about the fire, and he realizes that the SQUIP knew the fire would happen and that he could've stayed at the party and helped. Unhappy with the relationships he has damaged, Jeremy angrily blames the SQUIP for his misfortunes. The SQUIP instead blames it on human error and tells Jeremy he can improve the lives of his fellow students by providing them all with SQUIPs. In Rich's locker, Jeremy finds a box full of SQUIPs, which he then pours into a beaker of Mountain Dew, intending to use it to replace the prop liquid everyone must drink during the school play("The Pitiful Children"). Later, as the play begins, Jeremy tries to convince Christine of the SQUIP's benefits. She is disgusted by the idea of it, causing Jeremy to doubt the plan. Anticipating this, the SQUIP has already begun to take over the cast. The SQUIP reveals its intention to sync the entire student body. Remembering Rich's episode at the party, Jeremy comes to a realization: Mountain Dew activates the SQUIP, while Mountain Dew Red, which has long been discontinued, deactivates it. Michael appears from the audience with a bottle of his own. He gives the bottle to Jeremy after making him apologize for his actions, but Jake, now with a SQUIP, dumps most of it out. The SQUIP reveals that Christine now has a SQUIP as well. Under its influence, she professes her love for Jeremy. However, Jeremy makes Christine drink the last of the red Mountain Dew, causing a chain reaction that deactivaties the rest of the SQUIPs ("The Play"). Jeremy wakes up in the hospital, sharing a room with Rich, who proudly comes out to Jeremy as bisexual and is finally ready to be who he really is. Michael visits Jeremy and the two reconcile, while Mr. Heere visits Jeremy as well to inform that he'll be a better dad. Surrounded and encouraged by his friends and family, Jeremy accepts that there will always be outside influences, but he needs to learn to make up his own mind instead. He asks Christine out again; she says yes, kissing him ("Voices in My Head").
Beaches is a stage musical with music by Mike Stoller, lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart, and a book by Dart and Thom Thomas. It is based on Dart's 1985 novel of the same name. The show tells the story of two women, Cee Cee Bloom and Bertie White, lifelong friends who begin as pen pals and navigate life together through its trials and tribulations. The title comes from the beach in Atlantic City where the two girls first meet as children. The show includes the Grammy Award-winning song "Wind Beneath My Wings", written by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley, made famous by Bette Midler in the 1988 Disney film version of the story. The musical opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on April 22, 2026 to negative reviews.
Beautiful and Damned is a musical with a book by Kit Hesketh Harvey and music and lyrics by Les Reed and Roger Cook. Drawing its title from F. Scott Fitzgerald's second novel, it focuses on the turbulent relationship he shared with his wife Zelda during the Jazz Age. Young, stylish, and successful, they are the envy of high society friends who are unaware that behind their glamorous façade are two individuals doomed to tragedy.
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