DADDY COOL A Musical in 2 acts based on the songs of BONEY M and FRANK FARIAN. Book by Stephen Plaice and Amani Naphtali. Original book concept by Mary S. Applegate and Michael Stark. Orchestrations by Steve Sidwell. Shaftesbury Theatre, London - Opened 21 September, 2006: closed 17 February, 2007 STORY Young Sunny lives with his Grandma Ella in Trinidad. At the age of 10, he receives a letter from his mother, Pearl, who wants him to return to London to live with her. Sunny isn't happy about it. He wants to stay on the island and be part of the carnival for which he has passionately practised the steeldrums. But he has to go back to London. His Grandma Ella promises him: "Sunny, when you've grown up, you can come back to your Island and celebrate your carnival!" When Sunny is 18 years old, his life takes on a dramatic change. He becomes a member of a London streetgang, the Subsonic Crew, a mixture of musicians and petty criminals. Their leader, Shake, becomes Sunny's closest friend. Their rival gang is The Blades. The head of the Blades is Benny, who is encouraged to lead a life of crime by his devious mother, Ma Baker. When the two gangs clash, Sunny meets Benny's half-sister Rose and they immediately fall in love with each other. This leads to a dispute between the gangs which is to be settled by an "MC Battle". Instead of a peaceful solution, the contest escalates into a violent ending. Benny shoots Shake and through an intrigue, Sunny is falsely arrested. This breaks Sunny's mother's heart, but strengthens Rose's deep love for him. When the police finally solve the crime, Sunny is released and the real perpertrator, Benny, is arrested. Overwhelmed by the turn of justice and at being reunited with Rose, Sunny takes Rose by the hand and returns with her to his island to celebrate the carnival: A story about the search for truth, love and music. MUSICAL NUMBERS 1. Hooray Hooray ! It's a Holi-Holiday - Alani, Job, Ensemble 2. Mary’s Boy Child - Oh My Lord - Pastor, Choir, Job, Melanie, Ensemble 3. Sunny (Lullaby Version) - Melanie 4. Girl You Know It's True - Harvey, Richard, Dwayne, Duane, Helen, Donovan 5. Take the Heat Off Me - Michelle, Javine, Girls 6. Ma Baker (Duet Version) - Camilla, Shelley 7. Sweet Dreams - Be My Lover (Medley) - Camilla, Javine, Yasmin, Marc Harvey, Ensemble 8. Baby Don't Forget My Number - Dwayne, Camilla 9. Brown Giri In The Ring - 2:05 Dwayne, Hope, Ensemble 10. Sunny - Dwayne, Camilla, Ensemble 11. Flashback 70s - Baby Do You Wanna Bump - (Medley) -+ Ensemble 12. Daddy Cool - One Way Ticket (Medley)- Shelley, Ensemble 13. Rasputin - Alani, Ezra, Ensemble 14. MC Battle The Blade Squad - Gotta Go Home - The Blade Squad, Ensemble 15. MC Battle The Subsonics 1 - Painter Man - The Subsonics, Ensemble 16. Brown Girl In The Ring - Javine, Ricky, Ensemble 17. MC Battle The Subsonics 2 - Rasputin - The Subsonics, Ensemble
18. Girl I'm Gonna Miss You - Dwayne, Camilla 19. I Can't Stand Rain - Melanie 20. Where Do You Go - Davie, The Blade Squad 21. Got A Man On My Mind - Michelle 22. Blame It On The Rain - Donovan, Alani, Yasmin, Darvina 23. When I Die - Dwayne, Camilla (Dennis) 24. Calendar Song - Alani, Ezra, Ensemble 25. Ma Baker (Reprise) - Davie, Ensemble Farian 26. Let It All Be Music - Dwayne, Harvey, Javine, Camilla, Ensemble 27. When I Die (Reprise) - Dwayne, Camilla, Ensemble 28. The Sun God Karu - Ensemble 29. Carnival Medley (I Shall Sing - Hooray Hooray! It's a Holi – Holiday) - Dwayne, Camilla, Ensemble 30. Megamix: (Daddy Cool, Painter Man, Gotta Go Home, Rasputin, Ma Baker, Sunny, Daddy Cool) - Full Company 31. Rivers Of Babylon - Alani, Yasmin, Melanie, Ensemble 32. Brown Girl In The Ring - Dwayne, Ensemble Original Cast Recording
DADDY LONG LEGS By John Caird, music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, Based on the classic novel by Jean Webster Rubicon Theater Company in Ventura, CA TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, CA, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park St. James Theatre, London - 7th November, 2012 - 8th December, 2012 (Season) SYNOPSIS Set in the early 1900s in New England, Daddy Long Legs is the vivid account of a young orphan as she blossoms into a beautiful, intelligent and vivacious woman. An anonymous benefactor gives Jerusha Abbott an opportunity to attend college, requiring that she write to him monthly, even though he will not respond. Her letters to him paint a moving portrait of her former life in the orphanage, and the development of her mind and spirit. STORY Act One In an orphanage called the John Grier Home, Jerusha Abbott calls the first Monday of every month a perfectly awful day due to orphanage’s trustees’ monthly visit and how she bears the load of the preparations. After the visit, Mrs. Lippett, the home’s matron, calls for Jerusha in her office. On her way there, she glimpses one of the Trustee’s long, spindly, and spidery shadow cast by the headlights of his awaiting car (The Oldest Orphan in the John Grier Home). Mrs. Lippett hands her a letter from the Trustee she just saw leaving the home. Impressed by her amusing satirical essays about life at the orphanage, he devised a nine-point plan for her further education. The Trustee will be sending her to a local college with all expenses paid, with the intention that she educate herself to become a writer. The only condition is that Jerusha must write to him reporting her progress and impressions of the college, and that he will remain anonymous, only to be addressed as Mr. Smith. Her letters will never be answered, nor take the slightest attention to them (Who Is This Man?). Jerusha arrives at the college, and begins to pen her first letter. She complains regarding her benefactor’s alias: Why couldn’t you have picked out a name with a little personality? After musing over what she’ll call her mysterious benefactor, she finally decides on Daddy Long Legs due to his tall figure and she imagining him to be old and gray (Mr. Girl Hater). In his study in Manhattan, young philanthropist Jervis Pendleton, Jerusha’s benefactor, is amused and puzzled over her first letter (She Thinks I’m Old). Jerusha writes about her lessons from her freshman year classes (Freshman Year Studies), and describes her anxiety over trying to fit in with the other girls at her college due to her upbringing in an orphanage (Like Other Girls). She then writes about her embarrassment at her lack of education and her excitement about learning (Things I Didn’t Know). During the Christmas vacation, Jerusha stays behind in the college to catch up on her reading, and sends her love to Daddy Long Legs in her loneliness. The shy and awkward Jervis finds her affection-filled letters disconcerting (What Does She Mean By Love?). Jerusha flunks two of her first exams and is mortified. She becomes ill and writes angrily to Daddy Long Legs, accusing him of not caring for her and simply supporting her merely out of charity. Moved by this, Jervis sends her a bouquet of flowers, and Jerusha is penitent (I’m A Beast). Enthralled by her letters, Jervis arranges to meet his young beneficiary, under the pretence that he is meeting his niece Julia, who happens to be Jerusha’s least favorite friend (When Shall We Meet?). After meeting Jervis, Jerusha is immediately drawn to him: He’s a real human being, not a Pendleton after all ... he looked at me as
if he really knew me, almost better than I know myself. Despite this, Jerusha becomes more and more curious regarding her old and gray Daddy Long Legs (The Color of Your Eyes). The summer arrives, and Jerusha begs Daddy Long Legs not to send her back to the John Grier Home, as she has nowhere to go to. Jervis, adopting another guise as a secretary to Mr. Smith, sends her to Lock Willow Farm, where she explores her talent as a writer. Jerusha then proclaims that she finally knows what the secret of happiness is, and that is to live in the now (The Secret of Happiness). She also stumbles upon a connection between Jervis Pendleton and Lock Willow Farm, yet doesn’t connect this information to her Daddy Long Legs. Jerusha expresses her longing to finally see her Daddy Long Legs, while Jervis becomes increasingly frustrated on whether he should reveal himself as her benefactor or not, realizing he is falling in love with her (The Color of Your Eyes (Reprise)). Act Two Upon returning to the college for her sophomore year, Jerusha continues her studies and her writing, as well as become socially involved with the family of her friend Sallie McBride (Sophomore Year Studies). Jervis, upon reading of Jerusha’s attachment to Sallie’s attractive brother Jimmy, realizes that he is already falling for her. He then invites Jerusha, Julia, and Sallie for a long cultural weekend (My Manhattan). The summer arrives again, and Jerusha asks for permission to spend her vacation at the McBrides’ country home on the Adirondacks. Jervis, through his secretarial alias, insists that she spend the summer at Lock Willow Farm instead. Feeling alone and trapped, Jerusha writes an angry letter in response to his domineering nature and finds it hard to forgive Mr. Smith (I Couldn’t Know Someone Less). Jervis struggles to finally reveal himself to Jerusha as her Daddy Long Legs and subsequently confess his feelings. He thinks that Jerusha will never forgive him if he comes clean regarding his true identity (The Man I’ll Never Be). Jervis visits Jerusha in Lock Willow, the farm where he grew up as a boy. The couple enjoy the countryside together and find themselves growing more and more attached to one another (The Secret of Happiness (Reprise)). Jerusha receives an invitation from Sallie to join her family at Camp McBride, and another from Jervis to meet him at Lock Willow. Despite Mr. Smith’s warnings, Jerusha proceeds to Camp McBride due to some negative remarks she received from Jervis when he found out she turned down an invitation to Paris from Julia, to work as a teacher in French and algebra to support herself. Jervis then contemplates his controlling nature, both as Jervis and as Mr. Smith (Humble Pie). After four years, Jerusha completes her studies and invites Mr. Smith to her graduation ceremony to finally meet him. Jervis does attend the ceremony as Julia’s guest, but does not reveal himself to the bitterly disappointed Jerusha (Graduation Day). Back in his Manhattan study, Jervis reflects on the concept of charity and its effects on both the benefactor and the beneficiary, and how Jerusha became a recurring character in his life (Charity). In Lock Willow, Jerusha writes to Mr. Smith that she will never think of him again after his no-show at her graduation ceremony (I Have Torn You From My Heart). After a few months, she writes that her first novel has been accepted by a publisher, and enclosed a check of $1000 as a first installment of her repayment of her college fees. She then tells him that she will continue to repay her debt to him, and all future royalties will proceed to the John Grier Home, making her a trustee and therefore, meeting him at last. Jervis is overwhelmed by this gesture and overjoyed at her success as a writer (My Manhattan (Reprise)). Jervis visits Jerusha in Lock Willow to ask her hand in marriage. Unable to tell him of her origins, she turns him down, thinking that he and his family might feel indifferent towards her when she does tell him. In her final letter, Jerusha declares her love for Jervis, and appeals for a personal meeting with Mr. Smith. Jervis, writing as Mr. Smith, agrees to meet her. Jerusha finally arrives at their meeting place, and is surprised to see Jervis, whom she initially and skeptically assumes to be Mr. Smith’s secretary. Jervis finally reveals to her that he is Mr. Smith or Daddy Long Legs. Distressed over this revelation, as well as realising that he has read her private letters about him, Jerusha accuses him of playing with her feelings and the mere fact that he didn’t even write back over the course of four years, which Jervis acquiesces to (I’m A Beast (Reprise)). At last, he declares his love for Jerusha, which
she reciprocates. Jerusha finally understands the grand scheme of things that led her to where she is now (All This Time). CAST • Jerusha Abbott • Jervis Pendleton MUSICAL NUMBERS Act 1] 1. The Oldest Orphan in the John Grier Home - Jerusha 2. Who Is This Man? - Jerusha 3. Mr. Girl Hater - Jerusha, Jervis 4. She Thinks I’m Old - Jervis 5. Like Other Girls - Jerusha, Jervis 6. Freshman Year Studies - Jerusha, Jervis 7. Things I Didn’t Know - Jerusha, Jervis 8. What Does She Mean By Love? - Jervis 9. I’m a Beast - Jerusha 10. When Shall We Meet? - Jervis 11. The Color of Your Eyes - Jerusha, Jervis 12. The Secret of Happiness - Jerusha, Jervis 13. The Color of Your Eyes (Reprise) - Jerusha, Jervis Act 2 14. Sophomore Year Studies* - Jerusha, Jervis 15. My Manhattan# - Jervis 16. I Couldn’t Know Someone Less - Jerusha 17. The Man I’ll Never Be - Jervis 18. The Secret of Happiness (Reprise) - Jervis, Jerusha 19. Humble Pie - Jervis 20. Graduation Day# - Jerusha, Jervis 21. Charity - Jervis 22. I Have Torn You From My Heart - Jerusha 23. My Manhattan (Reprise)* - Jervis 24. I’m A Beast (Reprise) - Jervis 25. All This Time - Jerusha, Jervis
THE DAIRYMAIDS A Farcical Musical Comedy in 2 Acts and 3 scenes by Alexander M. Thompson and Robert Courtneidge; Music by Paul A. Rubens and Frank E. Tours. Lyrics by Paul A. Rubens and Arthur Wimperis Apollo Theatre, London - 14 April, 1906 - 8 December, 1906 (239 perfs) Criterion Theatre, New York, - 26 August, 1907 - 16 November, 1907 (86 perfs) Queen's Theatre, London - 5 May, 1908 - 18 July, 1908 (83 perfs) Aldwych Theatre, London - 22 May, 1915 - 5 June, 1915 (18 perfs) SYNOPSIS Winifred and Peggy are the `Dairymaids' of the title. In fact, they are nothing of the sort, but are merely going through the motions on a model dairy farm run by Lady Brudenell who has ideas on The Forming of the Youthful Mind. While the good lady is away, her nephews Sam and Frank arrive and begin to dally with the heroines. In the other corner, the servant Joe Mivens is making his advances to the pert maid. Now Lady Brudenell arrives home, bringing with her a fourth pair of sweethearts — her ward, Hélène and Captain Leverton — and angrily returns her errant protegées to the confines of Miss Penelope Pyechase's boarding school. After a brief glimpse at the shipboard quarters of the nautical nephews, the scene moves to the gymnasium of the school where the lads arrive, disguised as schoolgirls, to indulge in more fun, more love making, songs and dances until all is sorted out matrimonially. MUSICAL NUMBERS 1. Opening Chorus - Dairymaids we of alluring rusticity, beauties whose freshness is all unadorned... 2. Song - Winifred & Chorus - Marjorie worked on a country farm, she rose at six, fed the chicks... 3. Chorus - Entrance of Frank - They're here, 'tis they without a doubt, there's Master Sam and Master Frank... 4. Duet - Sam & Peggy - What a lot you must have been about, if the tales you tell are true... 5. Song - Eliza - There was once a pretty maid in the milk and butter trade... (three verses) 6. Concerted Number - Oh the farmer's life is the best of all, for the old ones, yes, and the young ones... 7. Song - Hélène - Love, they say, grew tired of town-- vanish'd was his old renown... 8. Sextet - Peggy, Hélène, Winnie, Sam, Fred & Frank - Little Bo Peep, she tended sheep... 9. Song - Peggy & Men's Chorus - In a certain village there liv'd a maid, a gen'ral favourite she... 10. Duet - Joe & Sam - Poaching is a dangerous career, that's what makes it fascinate you... 11. Finale Act I - We, as the tenantry, welcome 'The Quality', holiday-making with jesting and jollity... 12. Chorus of Men, with Dr. O'Bryne - With a luncheon that's fit for a King, and a circle of jolly good fellows... 13. Gymnasium Chorus - For improvement of the figure and deportment, for conducing to the cult of force and vim... 14. Song - Winifred - Little boy of today, you're atrocious! You're a man by the time that you're ten... (four verses) 15. Song - Eliza - I'm a servant, and I must confess that I try to do all in my pow'r to succeed... (three verses) 16. Song - Peggy & Chorus - The Gibson girl and the Bath bun girl, all the world has come to know... (three verses) 17. Song - Sam - I belong to a dear little club where we women have terrible larks... (three verses) 18. Song - Captain Fred, with Girls' Chorus - Now boys and girls have all been told that when the dustmen creep...
19. Song - Hélène - When all the Eastern sky's a-blush with rosy flush of day new-born... 20. Duet - Sam & Peggy - Mary and Jane were two little girls with babyish caps and innocent curls... 21. Song - Sam & Chorus - I've had some frights awake at night, I've had some shocks by day... 22. Quartet - Peggy, Winnie, Sam, Frank & Chorus - The Fates be kind to us tonight... 23. Finale Act II - See the old sea serpent swimming in the sea... Addendum. Song - Hélène & Chorus - On a sea-girt cliff grew a budding rose, and oh, she was fair to see... SCENES AND SETTINGS ACT I - Lady Brudenell's Model Dairy at Hindstead. ACT II Scene 1 - The Officers' Mess on board H.M.S. Merryman. Scene 2 - The Gymnasium at Miss Pyechase's Academy. CAST Lady Brudenell Sam Brudenell Frank Brudenell Capt. Fred Leverton . . Dr O'Byrne Joe Mivens Tim Capus Lt. Brereton Jack Biffen Todgers Peggy Winifred Hélène Miss Penelope Pyechase Eliza Daisy Betty Joan Jenny Nancy Rosie Gertie Bessie The Sandow Girls AMERICAN VERSION 1. Opening Chorus (Music by Frank E. Tours.) 2. Home Again (Music by Frank E. Tours.) 3. It's Naughty to Be Kissed (Duet) (Music by William T. Francis. Lyrics by J. B. Loughrey.) - Peggy 4. (I Must Have) A Lot of Little Girls All 'Round Me (Music by Frank E. Tours. Lyrics by Paul Rubens.) Joe 5. Quarrel Duet (Music and Lyrics by J. J. Montague and Paul Rubens.) 6. I've a Million Reasons Why I Love You (Music by Jerome Kern. Lyrics by M. E. Rourke.) 7. How the Winds Blow (Music by Frank E. Tours.) 8. Lazyland (Music by Paul Rubens.) 9. Tinker, Tailor - (Music by Paul Rubens.) Peggy, Male Chorus 10. Poaching (Duet) (Music by Paul Rubens.) - Joe 11. Finale Act 1 12. Gymnasium Chorus (Music by Paul Rubens.) 13. Hello, Little Stranger (Hullo! Little Stranger!) (Music by Paul Rubens. Lyrics by Arthur Wimperis.) - Winifred 14. Wild Rose - Hélène 15. Swimming song - Hélène 16. The Hay Ride (Music by Jerome Kern. Lyrics by M. E. Rourke.) 17. (Never Marry a Girl with) Cold Feet (Music by Jerome Kern. Lyrics by M. E. Rourke.)
18. (The) Sandow Girl (Music and Lyrics by Paul Rubens.) - Peggy 19. (Let's All Go) Down the Strand (Music and Lyrics by E. G. McLellan and Bernard Rolt.) 20. Mary McGee (Music by Jerome Kern. Lyrics by M. E. Rourke.) - Dr. O'Byrne 21. (In) Barcelona (Music by James W. Tate. Lyrics by Eustace Baynes and Vernon Roy.) 22. Oh, Mr. Brown (Music by Harry Von Tilzer. Lyrics by Andrew B. Sterling.) 23. Dat Friend of Mine (Music by Egbert Van Alstyne and Harry Williams.) 24. I'd Like to Meet Your Father (Music by Jerome Kern. Lyrics by M. E. Rourke.) - Peggy, Frank 25. Good Night (Music by Paul Rubens.) 26. In the Twi-Twi-Twilight (Music and Lyrics by Charles Wilmot and Herman E. Darewski, Jr.)
DAMASK ROSE Music by Chopin adapted by G.H. Clutsam Opened at the Savoy Theatre, 26 March, 1929 Following hard on the heels of the hit Lilac Time that was based on the life, and used the music, of Franz Schubert, this biographical show about the life of Frederic Chopin was short lived. MUSICAL NUMBERS: 1. Love' I Will Hold You 2. Skies Will Be Bright Again 3. Polish Dance 4. O Damask Rose 5. National Song 6. A Little Cloud Across the Sky 7. Love's Dream 8. You'll Be Queen 9. The Rose May Tell You
DAMES AT SEA Book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller : Music by Jim Wise off-Broadway at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre December 20, 1968. (575 perfs) Duchess Theatre, London - 27 August, 1969 (127 perfs) SYNOPSIS: New York salutes Hollywood in this affectionate spoof of the Busby Berkeley-Harry Warren an Al Dubin-Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler-style film musical of the 30s. The setting is the deck of a battleship where Ruby, the talented tap-dancer from the sticks climbs aboard a youngster and disembarks a star! The show is being floated because its songwriter, Dick happens to be a sailor and is able, therefore, to offer an alternative venue when under pressure from leading lady Mona. Unfortunately life on the ocean wave doesn't quite agree with Mona so Ruby takes over and she and Dick set off on a long voyage together. As a pastiche of the 1930s musicals the show's atmosphere and songs reflect a good-natured send-up of the real thing. STORY: After a brief musical introduction the curtain rises on the dress rehearsal of a Broadway show, Dames At Sea. Hardboiled star Mona Kent is going through her opening number. Enter Ruby, fresh off the bus from Utah and looking for a part in a Broadway show. She has left her suitcase on the bus and hasn't eaten for three days. Hennessey, the show's harassed manager - he has just produced 12 flops in a row - is turning her down when big-hearted show girl Joan informs him that one of the chorus eloped with a millionaire that morning. He gives Ruby the job. Overcome with the excitement and lack of food, Ruby faints - right into the arms of Dick, a handsome sailor who has found her suitcase, containing her tap shoes, and followed her. Ruby and Dick fall instantly in love. Dick, an aspiring songwriter, composes a love song for Ruby right then and there. Kindly Joan takes Ruby off for a meal. The glamorous Mona,wanting to get her hands on Dick for both his music and his looks, starts flirting with him - not for nothing is she known as 'the Lady Macbeth of 42nd Street'. Ambitious Dick, all too eagerly gives her one of his songs to sing. Dick's fellow sailor, Lucky, arrives. He turns out to be a former boyfriend of Joan and greets her in astonishment. Finding their earlier love rekindling, they imagine their honeymoon. To express her love for Dick, Ruby writes a letter to President Roosevelt, explaining just how much she loves the American navy in general and Dick in particular. Hennessey confounds the company when he rushes in with the news that the theatre has been sold and is scheduled for demolition. With opening night only hours away, the sturdy troopers sing as they pack up their belongings and the bulldozers move in. Dick and Lucky hit on a brilliant idea to save the show: they will persuade their commander, Captain Courageous, to allow the show to open on the deck of their battleship, which is anchored in the nearby docks. Dames At Sea will be staged at sea! Favouring a subtle approach, the two sailor boys start by lamenting the lack of girls on board ship. But their efforts are to no avail. It is Mona who vamps Captain Courageous into capitulating and allowing them to put on the show. Planning her entrances, Mona is astounded to see that the Captain is none other than 'Kewpie Doll', a former beau. She reminds him of their first meeting in Pensacola, Florida, when she, the as-yet-undiscovered singing waitress, Grace Topolovsky from Flatbush, served him chilli-con-carne. Passion flares anew as they recall that fateful night when she gave her all under the tropic stars. Dick arrives as the Captain leaves. Ever on the look-
out for more songs, Mona persuades Dick to kiss her. Just at that moment, Ruby enters and sees everything. Plunged into the blackest despair, she pours out her feelings. During last-minute rehearsals, the excitement at fever pitch, Mona becomes seasick and has to retire to the Captain's cabin. Hennessey is devastated. Who could possibly replace the star at such short notice? All turn to Ruby: "It's a chance in a million, but it might just work." The plucky girl goes on and wows the audience. After the show, Dick showers her with congratulations and they kiss and make up. There is nothing else to do but to plan the wedding. Joan and Lucky, and Mona and Captain Courageous refuse to be left out. The show ends with the three pairs deciding that simplicity should be the keynote amid cheers and a 21-gun salute. MUSICAL NUMBERS: 1. The Beguine - Mona & the Captain 2. Broadway Baby - Dick 3. Choo-Choo Honeymoon - Joan & Lucky 4. Dames At Sea - Company 5. The Echo Waltz - Mona, Joan, Ruby & Company 6. Good Times Are Here To Stay - Joan & Company 7. It's You - Dick & Ruby 8. Let's Have A Simple Wedding - Company 9. Raining In My Heart - Ruby & Chorus 10. The Sailor of My Dreams - Ruby 11. Singapore Sue - Lucky & Company 12. Star Tar - Ruby and Company 13. That Mister Of Mine - Mona & Chorus 14. There's Something About You - Dick & Ruby 15. Wall Street - Mona DISCOGRAPHY: Original 1989 Cast Recording - CDTER 1169 (5 015062 116922) Broadway Cast Recording
DAMN YANKEES Music & Lyrics by Richard Adler & Jerry Ross: book by George Abbot & Douglass Wallop. Based on the novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant by Douglass Wallop 46th Street Theatre - 5 May 1955 (1019 perfs) London Coliseum - 28 March, 1957 SYNOPSIS A twist on the Faustian legend sees the fanatical baseball fan, Joe Boyd, agreeing to sell his soul to the devil to save his favourite team, the Senators. When the time comes for Joe to pay the price of his success he manages to outwit the devil in this sure-fire musical. Hit songs include "Whatever Lola Wants" and "Heart". STORY ACT ONE Scene 1: Joe and Meg Boyd, a couple in their forties, are sitting in their comfortable living room in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on a warm evening. Meg is talking to Joe about the weather, but he's obsessed with a baseball game. She sings that for Six Months Out of Every Year," Joe is a great husband, but a lost cause during baseball season, when the Washington Senators take over his heart. The game ends; Joe is furious because his team lost. He wants them to lick those champion Damn Yankees just once. Meg gives up and goes to bed, announcing she has to play bridge the next day. As she leaves, Joe swings at an imaginary ball, and says he would sell his soul for one long-ball hitter for the Senators. Applegate, a mysterious stranger who seems to be a cross between a slick salesman and a song-and-dance man, suddenly appears from the shadows. Applegate knows of Joe's youthful dreams to play baseball. The stranger does several feats of magic, and enables Joe to touch his toes for the first time in years. Two friends of Meg's, Sister and Doris, pass by, and accuse Joe of talking to himself. Joe realizes Applegate is invisible to everyone but him. Applegate reveals his identity as the Devil, and offers Joe a chance to save the Senators. If Joe agrees, he has to disappear from his present life and become a 22-year-old baseball star named Joe Hardy. A shrewd real-estate agent, Joe insists on an escape clause. Applegate is sure he can make Joe forget his wife, and agrees to let him have one chance to escape selling his soul forever on the 24th of September at midnight. Applegate goes off to call a taxi, and Joe leaves Meg a note as he sings "Goodbye, Old Girl." Although he doesn't tell her where he is going, he insists he loves her. Applegate transforms Joe Boyd into young Joe Hardy, and they leave for the baseball stadium. Scenes 2 and 3: In the Washington Senators' dugout, the team's manager, Van Buren, is encouraging his players to keep trying to win against the Yankees. His players have talent but they also need one essential ingredient for success: "Heart." As they leave, reporter Gloria Thorpe enters to interview Van Buren. Applegate convinces Van Buren to let Joe try out for the team. Joe amazes the team with his skills, and is hired. While Applegate insists he found Joe in Hannibal, Missouri playing sandlot ball, reporter Gloria probes to learn more about him. In the meantime, Joe has to borrow a pair of shoes-his old shoes are too tight for him. Gloria decides to make him famous: she nicknames him "Shoeless Joe From Hannibal, Mo." Scenes 4 and 5: Sister and Doris are outside the ballpark trying to see the new baseball sensation, Joe Hardy. Joe, who is now hitting .480, has led the team to second place in the American League. He is in team owner Welch's office complaining about the reporters' nonstop questions about his past. Welch leaves Applegate to reason with Joe. When Applegate scolds him for sneaking around his old home, Joe says he is lonely for Meg.
Applegate says he is going to bring Joe a fascinating woman who will make him forget his wife, but Joe insists he isn't interested. He reminds Applegate that Applegate doesn't own his soul until September 24th. Left alone, Joe reflects on all he has given up to join the Senators ("A Man Doesn't Know"). Joe tells Gloria and a group of reporters that the Senators will have the pennant race sewn up by September 24th. Scene 6: Applegate gets together with Lola, his female assistant. She reports success on her last assignment; she ruined a man's life and got him to jump out a window. Applegate, who actually wants the Yankees to win, has called her in to help with Joe. He fears Joe's escape clause may endanger his evil plot. He plans to let Senators' fans believe their team can win until the last minute. Then he will pull the rug out from under them by letting the team lose, causing the fans to have heart attacks, apoplexy, or commit suicide. He wants Lola to make Joe forget Meg. She assures him she is the woman for the job ("A Little Brains, A Little Talent"). Scene 7: Increasingly lonely and disturbed by Applegate's treachery, Joe returns to his house to see Meg (who does not recognize her much-altered husband), and convinces her to let him rent a room in her house. They share their feelings of loneliness, although she has no idea who he is (Reprise: "A Man Doesn't Know"). Sister and Doris recognize Joe as the famous ballplayer, Joe Hardy. Joe pretends to find money in his room, which Meg is sure her husband left for her. Applegate tries unsuccessfully to stop Joe from renting the room. Scenes 8 and 9: In the locker room corridor, the players are enjoying their new success. Gloria presses Applegate for information about Joe's past. Applegate brings Lola to the locker room to begin working on Joe. When Joe rebuffs her initial advances, she explains, "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets." Joe is impressed, but he remains true to Meg. When Joe heads for Meg's house, Applegate accuses Lola of using old-fashioned methods. He decides to cause a scandal for Meg because she has a single man living in her house. Scenes 10 and 11: A group of teenagers and Sister are rehearsing their fan club presentations for a Senators Pep Rally. They reprise "Heart." At the rally, Lola, claiming she is on Joe's side, explains that Applegate made the team lose that afternoon as part of his plan to win Joe's soul. Gloria tells Applegate she has been to Missouri to research Joe's past; she has found out Joe is not really from Hannibal. Applegate suddenly insists that Joe is not Shifty McCoy. Gloria discovers Shifty McCoy was a ballplayer in Mexico who took bribes; she goes off to investigate. Lola performs "Who's Got the Pain" as a member of a group called the "I Love Joe Fan Club." The baseball commissioner calls Welch and accuses Joe of being Shifty McCoy. Joe insists the story isn't true and swears he will clear his name and lead the team to victory. ACT TWO Scenes 1 and 2: In the locker room, the team members discuss their support for Joe and express their determination to live by the rules, dedicating themselves to "The Game," forgetting any thought of enjoying themselves until the pennant race is over. Joe has asked Meg to meet him outside the ballpark. She apologizes for asking him to give up his room. She says she misses her husband more than ever now that Joe Hardy is gone too. Joe assures her her husband will come back ("Near To You"). Scene 3: Applegate tells Lola that once he has Joe trapped after the 24th, he will make him throw the pennant game. Joe comes in and says he is going to exercise the escape clause on the 24th and Applegate pretends to agree. After Joe leaves, Applegate chastises Lola for feeling sorry for Joe and mourns "The Good Old Days" when evil was in fashion. Scene 4: At the hearing at the Commissioner's office on September 24th, Applegate says he has a witness coming to prove Joe's innocence who will arrive at fifteen minutes past midnight. Joe says he can't wait. Meg, Sister and Doris appear, pretending to be from Hannibal, and claim they can identify Joe. They convince the postmaster from Hannibal, who has come to the hearing, that he remembers Joe too. At five minutes before midnight, Joe asks to leave the room. The commissioner won't let anyone leave. Meg is giving a speech to vindicate Joe as the clock strikes. Joe has surrendered his soul by default. Scenes 5 and 6: Lola has knocked Applegate out with strong drinks. She tells Joe she was the ugliest woman in
Providence, Rhode Island before she sold her soul to Applegate. Joe says he will find a way to win the pennant in spite of Applegate. Joe attempts to make the best of his new life and kisses Lola. They go off to spend the evening dancing together ("Two Lost Souls"). Scenes 7, 8, 9 and 10: Outside the ballpark, Doris and Sister join a crowd waiting for tickets to the big game. Applegate has awakened and is furious with Lola. He is on his way to the game and intends to make Joe throw the game, even if he has to change him back into Joe Boyd on the field. In the dugout, Lola and Van Buren are watching the game. Joe catches the ball that wins the game as Applegate turns him back into Joe Boyd. In the corridor outside the locker room, the team is looking for Joe, who has disappeared. Scene 11: Joe Boyd has returned to Meg's house. He finds her crying on the sofa. She joyfully accepts his return. As they sit together reaffirming their feelings for each other (Reprise: "A Man Doesn't Know"), Applegate and Lola appear. Applegate tries to convince Joe to come back and lead the team to win the World Series. Joe ignores him, to Lola's delight. CAST: 18 men, 6 women, chorus. Principal Characters: Lola - a temptress Joe Hardy - a baseball player Mr Applegate - a devil Van Buren - a manager Meg Boyd - Joe's wife Rocky - a baseball player Gloria - a reporter Joe Boyd - a baseball fan FULL CAST • Doris - A friend of Meg's. She is slightly quieter and more conservative than her sister, but still outspoken. An avid baseball fan very involved in the community. ( Female, 35-45 yrs old - Range: D4 - G5 ) • Gloria Thorpe - A probing reporter whose bottom-line is a good story for her paper. Fearless and biting. ( Female, 25-35 yrs old - Range: B3 - G5 ) • Joe Boyd - A middle-aged, overweight married man who is in love with baseball, especially the Senators. ( Male, 40-50 yrs old - Range: A3 - G5 ) • Joe Hardy - The 22-year-old, home run hitting alter ego of Joe Boyd. A good guy who loves that he is living out his dream, but deeply misses the life and love he left behind. ( Male, 20-30 yrs old - Range: A3 - G5 ) • Lola - The Devil's seductress assistant. Sexy and confident. Falls in love with Joe when her usual tricks don’t work on him. Though she’s done many bad things, she is a good person deep down inside. ( Female, 25-35 yrs old - Range: F3 - G5 ) • Meg Boyd - Joe's long-suffering, but loyal wife. She is lonely and misses her husband. Decides a little white lie is worth telling to save a good person. (Female, 35-45 yrs old - Range: G3 - G5) • Mr. Applegate - The Devil in disguise as a slick salesman. A controlling, greedy smooth talker. ( Male, 40-50 yrs old - Range: A3 - G5 ) • Mr. Welch - The owner of the Senators. Believes in Joe and believes in his team. A peacekeeper between the press and the team. Protective of Joe and the boys. ( Male, 50-60 yrs old - Range: D4 - G5 ) • Rocky - A baseball player for the Washington Senators. Cocky, but a little bit dopey, too. He’s a guy’s guy. (Male, 25-35 yrs old - Range: D4 - B5 ) • Sister - A friend of Meg's and Doris’s sister. Outspoken and brash, but caring. Very involved in community activities. ( Female, 35-45 yrs old - Range: D4 - G5 )
• Smokey - A catcher for the Washington Senators. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. Tries to be a tough guy like Rocky, but truly is not. ( Male, 25-35 yrs old - Range: C3 - G5 ) • Sohovik - A baseball player for the Washington Senators. The smartest and most level-headed of the players. Enjoys his side job of selling insurance. The unofficial leader of the team. ( Male, 25-35 yrs old -Range: D4 - G5 ) • Van Buren - The luckless team manager. A sort of father-figure for the team, who proudly defends them. A bit of a loose cannon. ( Male, 50-60 yrs old - Range: D4 - A5 ) • Ensemble - Ball Players; Baseball Fans MUSICAL NUMBERS: 1. The Game 2. Goodbye, Old Girl 3. A Little Brains - A Little Talent 4. A Man Doesn't Know 5. Near To You 6. Shoeless Joe From Hannibal, Mo 7. Six Months Out Of Every Year 8. Those Were the Good Old Days 9. Two Lost Souls 10. Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets) 11. Who's Got the Pain? 12. You've Gotta Have Heart INSTRUMENTATION: Reed I (Piccolo/flute/clarinet/alto sax), Reed II (piccolo/flute/clarinet/alto sax), Reed III (oboe/cor anglais/ clarinet/tenor sax), Reed IV (clarinet/bas clarinet/tenor sax/bassoon), Reed V (Clarinet/bas clarinet [opt]/ baritone sax/bassoon), horn, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, percussion, piano, guitar (acoustic/banjo), 6 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, double bass.
DANCE A LITTLE CLOSER Book & lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Music by Charles Strouse based on Idiot's Delight by Robert E. Sherwood Minskoff Theatre, Broadway - 11 May, 1983 (1 (one) perf) SUMMARY Harry Aikens, a down-at-heel supper club entertainer warms again to an old flame, Cynthia Brookfield-Bailey, when they are both ensconced in an Austrian hotel on New Year's Eve awaiting World War III. Cynthia was the mistress of a man who bore a remarkable resemblance to the American diplomat, Henry Kissinger. SYNOPSIS by Charles Strouse It is New Year's Eve again at the Barclay Palace Hotel in the Austrian Alps in the "avoidable future" but not so very far from the hotel in the Italian Alps where Robert Sherwood served up Idiot's Delight almost 50 years earlier. The international situation is still deteriorating and the jet-set crowd is dancing on the brink to the music of Harry Aikens and Delights. Harry's love life is reflected in his act. It is a chequered record that was generally fun. A New Year's past invades Harry's memory with a particular woman he could not posses. There had been an attraction but not for her. At this point in the present, who should appear but a double for the woman in Harry's past, the exotic Cynthia Brookfield-Bailey. She appears to feel that one is worth it - the Kissingeresque Dr. Josef Winkler. When Cynthia denies ever having known Harry, he joins the left-wing student, Halloway, in bemoaning the perfidy of governments and women. Cynthia's liaison with Winkler is not without its own questions. How much of an influence does Winkler have over the gathering war clouds? How much of an influence does Cynthia have over Winkler? Is she merely a woman who thinks Winkler is wonderful or is she the woman from Harry's past who has always obsessed him? Two of the other guests at the Barclay-Palace Hotel believe in love, although not perhaps in the traditional mould. Charles and Edward wonder why the world cannot just leave them alone. In an ideal world this might just happen but then Harry isn't leaving Cynthia either. Her resemblance to the "Cindy" of his memory is too marked and her relationship to the roving Winkler too apparently tenuous. Cynthia keeps denying that Harry was a part of her past or that he is likely to be part of her future. As for Winkler's famous wanderings, he always returns to Cynthia. By the time his night-club act goes on that evening, however, Harry is convinced that he has a new girl. When word arrives that the frightening international situation is threatening to erupt into war, Cynthia turns momentarily to Harry. He is now certain that Cynthia is the girls of his past even though she denies it. Act II opens with the hotel guests preparing to evacuate to safer climes as war appears to be imminent and an air base in the valley below is a likely military target. The Delights Trio is glad to be heading home but Harry is angry at the cancellation of the tour, mad at Cynthia who has run back to Winkler and mad at humanity in general. Faced with a probable war in which one, or both, may be killed, the lovers, Charles and Edward, feel it important to formalise their relationship and they ask the Reverend Boyle to marry them. His position is
firm, "I don't know" but everyone else has an opinion to offer. The boys' commitment leads Cynthia to seek a commitment from Winkler but he departs. Almost at the same time Harry, tortured by Cynthia's denials of the past declares he never wants to see her again which leaves Cynthia stranded in her seeming glory - but alone. As the last bus leaves for the border, Harry returns. What ever happens to the rest of the world, if he is to have a future, Cynthia must be a part of it. As the first air raid sirens sound these two, at least, have found the potential for a personal peace. MUSICAL NUMBERS: 1. Another Life 2. Anyone Who Loves 3. Auf Wiedersehen 4. Dance A Little Closer 5. Happy Happy New Year 6. He Always Comes Home To Me 7. Homesick 8. I Don't Know 9. I Got A New Girl 10. I Never Want To see You Again 11. It Never Would Have Worked 12. Mad 13. No Man Is Worth It 14. On Top Of the World 15. There's Always One You Can't Forget 16. There's Never Been Anyone Like Us 17. What Are You Going To Do About It? 18. Why Can't the World Go Away and Leave Us Alone? 19. A Woman Who Thinks I'm Wonderful CAST: • Harry Aikens • Cynthia Brookfield-Bailey • Doctor Josef Winkler • Shirley, Bebe, Elaine - The Delights • Contessa Carla Pirianno • Charles Castleton • Edward Dunlop • Heinrich Halloway • Reverend Oliver Boyle • Hester Boyle • Roger Butterfield • Captain Müller • Johannes Hartog • plus hotel staff and guests Dance a Little Closer - Original Broadway Cast
THE DANCING YEARS (Revised Version) Lyrics by Christopher Hassall : A new version for the theatre adapted by Cecil Clarke and Tom Arnold. First produced for television 27 August, 1981 The Dancing Years was first produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in March, 1939, and became one of Ivor Novello's best-loved musicals, playing almost continuously for a decade. SUMMARY Cecil Clarke's adaptation for television has been used as the basis for the current revised version. While retaining all the well-known musical numbers, it allows a more fluid production, no longer dependent on major scene changes, and, by omitting scenes incidental to the main plot, has concentrated on the central love story between penniless, unknown composer, Rudi Kleber, who leaps to fame in Vienna of 1911, and the operetta star who first befriends him, Maria Ziegler. STORY Act I Rudi Kleber is a composer, one of the great unplayed and therefore one of the decidedly penniless, and he and his piano board at an inn just outside Vienna where his tardiness with the rent money is a perpetual bone of contention between him and his landlady. For six months she has fed and lodged him without a pfennig of payment and now she has had enough. Returning from a night-time jaunt up the nearby mountains to pick moon-blossoms with the landlady's adoring teenage niece, Grete, he finds his piano in the inn's front garden. He has been evicted and, to pay his debt, the piano has been sold to a nearby dealer who is coming in a few hours to take it away. dy-rcdWhile the disconsolate Rudi wonders how he will raise the money to avoid losing his precious piano, the very early morning breakfast crowd is heard approaching: a group of officers and their ladies who have been partying all night and who have come to clear the fumes with a healthy breakfast. Rudi sees the chance of earning a little money by playing his compositions to the aristocratic company while they eat and, when his first waltz attracts their praises, he starts a competitive auction for its sale. The auction is cut short when all the bids are largely topped by an offer from a late arrival, the operetta star Maria Ziegler. The tune is just what she needs as an interpolated number in her new show and, while breakfast is served, she sings 'her' song to Rudi's accompaniment. Some days later, Maria returns to the inn bringing with her the Prince Charles Metterling, an old and close friend and sometime lover. She wants him to use his influence with the theatre managers of Vienna to get Rudi a commission as a composer, and she is also asking him to allow the young man to live in an empty studio at his home. Charles is not at all enamoured of the idea, but he cannot refuse Maria anything and so it is agreed that Rudi will leave the inn and be installed at the Palais Metterling where he can take, in comparative comfort, the first steps towards a career. In all the excitement of his new adventure Rudi cannot know that there is a heart which is being broken. Little Grete is losing her friend and she cannot bear it. With all the despair of her fifteen years she knows that she will die if Rudi goes away. He takes her in his arms and listens to her heartfelt words of devotion, and she is only calmed when he lovingly agrees that he will never ask anyone else to marry him until she is grown up and he has first seen if he would like to ask her. She knows that she may grow up to be perfectly awful, but she must have the chance. When he leaves she does not cry, for she has his promise and she feels safe.
A month later things have developed in a not unexpected way. Maria is falling in love with Rudi. Prince Charles is aware of the situation but he hides his discomfort under sarcastic teasing, particularly when Ruth attempts disastrously to become a Viennese gentleman and to dress himself in what he conceives to be the fashion of the town. Maria confides her growing feelings to her teacher, Frau Kurt, as they join in a duet from Rudi's score to the operetta in which Maria is to star. At the first night of the new operetta, gossip is aflame about the new composer and the prima donna.. Prince Charles pours scorn on the gossips and proudly confirms that Maria will sup with him after her premiere as she has always done but, as the curtain rises for the last act, he receives a message: the lady begs to be excused. On the stage of the Theater an der Wien, Rudi Kleber's operetta Lorelei climbs unstoppably to success as Charles's star equally inexorably declines. In Maria's apartment, after the show, Rudi is a little drunk with wine and success, but also with feeling. He asks Maria if she loves him as he loves her and she answers whole-heartedly, yes. He asks about Charles, and Maria assures him that the affair between them was over long ago. As the lovers kiss, Charles enters. With pointed charm he congratulates Rudi on both his successes. He is going to England, so he has come to collect his clothes: his dressing gown which Rudi is wearing and his other things which he remembered when he was here last night. Charles was here, in Maria's rooms last night? Maria cannot deny the truth of his words and to the bewildered Rudi it seems that Maria has lied to him. In a turmoil of wine-stained emotion he leaves the apartment, leaving Maria and Charles together. Tearfully Maria taxes Charles with destroying the first real love of her life and the Prince, his own cause equally destroyed, departs. But Rudi has overheard Maria's profession of love and he returns. Maria tells him that Charles had indeed been there the previous night: to ask her to wed him, or to say goodbye. It was goodbye. As the two lovers embrace to the strains of 'I Can Give You the Starlight', the act ends. ACT 2 It is three years later, 1914, in a chalet in the Tyrol. Much has happened in the intervening time. Rudi has become internationally known, and he and Maria have lived happily together, but through all that time he has not asked her to marry him. He remembers his vow to little Grete, now in school in England, and he will neither break it nor betray it. tn-dy-rcd2Maria feels deeply the socially unacceptable position she is in and she cannot help being hurt by Rudi's reticence where marriage is concerned. There is no doubting his love, though. It shines through his music for her, and tells her in its words what he cannot yet say to her more clearly. Grete returns to Austria, no longer a schoolgirl but a beautiful young woman. Rudi's friend Franzel is lovestruck, and Rudi himself is delighted to have his little girl back. Maria is less delighted. She is jealous, and before long a quarrel born of that jealousy builds up. He storms out and she pens a note to the still faithful Charles Metterling. The quarrel is soon mended, but the note cannot be recalled. When Charles arrives, Maria pours out her troubled heart to him. The nature of her relationship with Rudi keeps her in a perpetual state of tension and the advent of Grete has brought those tensions to an unbearable pitch. Grete entertains the artists gathered in the house for a gala performance with a little English musical comedy song but, when she has finished, Maria asks Rudi to send everyone away. She can take no more and she must speak to him alone. Rudi asks her to wait upstairs for five minutes. Now he can fulfil his promise to Grete. She will be the first woman to receive an offer of marriage from the great Rudi Kleber. She will refuse, of course, but what a triumph it will be. Rudi does it properly, bended knee and all and, as he does so, Maria, standing quietly in the shadows on the stairs', listens. Without waiting a moment longer, she leaves the house in distress and so she does not hear the rest of the scene: Grete's delighted refusal which at last leaves Rudi free to ask Maria to marry him. When Grete goes out of the room, he plays the refrain of 'My Dearest Dear', the agreed cue for Maria to come
downstairs. But she does not come. She has gone. ACT 3 The next morning rehearsals for the concert continue as Rudi worries over Maria's disappearance. Soon she returns, to flamboyantly give her congratulations to Rudi and Grete and to break her own news: she has married Charles Metterling this morning. Now, when she hears the truth, it is too late. Twelve years later, Rudi and Maria meet accidentally in a restaurant. Nothing has changed in their fierce feeling for each other. He has been hugely successful, she has become a figure in society, and they are both wretched. She promises to come to see him in a week's time, and then he shall decide what to do. When she comes, the reason for her postponement of the decision is made plain. She brings with her a little boy, her son, twelve years old. He is Rudi's son. Charles knows this, but he has brought up the boy as his own child. If she is to leave Charles and go away with Rudi, the boy's world will be shattered. They cannot do it. As Maria leaves to return to her glittering, soulless life, Rudi once more plays 'My Dearest Dear', the song which represents both their love and their parting. They will meet again, however. When war strikes Austria and Rudi Kleber is imprisoned for helping refugees to escape, the Princess Metterling is able to use her influence to effect his release. The dancing years are far behind them in this new world and the future, whatever it may be, will be for their son. Adapted from Gänzl's Book of the Musical Theatre THE CAST Singing principals: Maria; Cäcille, her mentor, Grete; Ceruti, a tenor Straight roles: Hattie, guest-housekeeper Countess Lotte Rudi Prince Charles Metterling Franzel, a young officer Carl, Maria's 12 year old son. In addition there are numerous smaller roles as well as a large chorus. THE SCENES SS headquarters in Vienna, a beer garden, Maria's drawing-room, the Theater an der Wein, a schloss garden, the Gala, Locher's restaurant NB: Staging for this adapted version has been greatly simplified and the sets left very much to the individual director and the resources available
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