The Bardy Bunch

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The Bardy Bunch: The War of the Families Partridge and Brady
Premiere2011: FringeNYC
Productions2014 Off Broadway
2016 Chicago
AwardsOverall Excellence Award for Outstanding Ensemble

The Bardy Bunch: The War of the Families Partridge and Brady is a musical parody written by Stephen Garvey. The show is a mash-up of a dozen Shakespeare plays and set in the 1970s amid a war between the popular sitcom families Partridge and Brady. The musical features 15 hit songs made famous on The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch including "I Think I Love You," "It's a Sunshine Day," and "I Woke Up In Love This Morning." [1]

Contents

Productions

The Bardy Bunch premiered in 2011 at the New York International Fringe Festival, where it won an Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Ensemble. It went on to play a sold-out Off-Broadway run at the Theatre at St. Clement’s in the spring of 2014. [2]

Both productions included the creative team of director Jay Stern, choreographer Lorna Ventura, music director Logan Medland, scenic designer Craig Napoliello and technical director Matt Schiffman. Tony Award-winning lighting designer Howell Binkley joined the Off Broadway production.

in September 2016, the show opened at the Mercury Theatre in Chicago, again directed by Jay Stern, and featuring the creative team of Lorna Ventura and Logan Medland. Mike Timoney and Disappearing Dog, LLC produced. [3]

Plot

It is the summer of 1974 and the sitcom-perfect Sunshine Days are about to come to an end for the Bradys and the Partridges. The two singing families meet for the first time after being double-booked at the same gig, and a feud immediately erupts. So, too, do the passions of Keith Partridge and Marcia Brady, who fall in love at first sight.

That night, Keith woos Marcia outside her window and together they hatch a plan to bring peace to the warring families, by convincing Greg Brady and Laurie Partridge that they are secretly in love with each other. Laurie disguises herself as a man to befriend Greg and test his loyalty.

Other, more nefarious, plots abound: Carol Brady, a la Lady Macbeth, convinces Mike to murder his boss, Mr. Phillips, and take his job. Meanwhile, a conniving Chris Partridge schemes to take over as bassist in the family band by driving his brother Danny to madness and persuading him to believe that their manager, Reuben Kincaid, killed their father to win the hand of their mother, Shirley. Confusing? Perhaps. But this is how Shakespeare rolled.

Many deaths ensue – some plotted, some accidental, some involving frozen steak—and many ghosts abound. Blood is shed, corny jokes are told, and groovy songs are sung. By the final act, virtually all our favorite characters have canceled each other out—just as their shows were slain in the summer of 1974. But, modern classics that they are, “The Brady Bunch” and “The Partridge Family” live on, in rerun heaven, and in the hearts of fans all over the world.

Musical numbers

Cast

Character FringeNYC (2011) Off Broadway (2014) Chicago (2016)
Mike BradyNick RuggeriSean McDermottStef Tovar
Carol BradySusan J. JacksLori HammelCory Goodrich
Greg BradyA.J. ShivelyZach TrimmerSawyer Smith
Marcia BradyCali Elizabeth MooreOlivia Renteria
Peter BradyJonathan GrunertMatthew Dorsey MooreDan Gold
Jan BradyAnnie Watkins
Bobby BradySteven SingerChaz JacksonJake Nicholson
Cindy BradyTalisa FriedmanCallie Johnson
Alice NelsonJoan LunoeTina Gluschenko
Sam the Butcher/Mr. PhillipsMike TimoneyBret Tuomi
Shirley PartridgeMichelle MazzaKristy CatesBrianna Borger
Reuben KincaidCraig WichmanThomas PoarchJeff Max
Keith PartridgeErik KeiserSkyler Adams
Laurie PartridgeCarina ZabrodskyChristiana ColeErin McGrath
Danny PartridgeAdam WaldChuck BradleyJared Rein
Chris PartridgeOlli HaaskiviAlex GoleyTimothy Eidman
Chris PartridgeAaron PhillipsMitch McCarrellJake Stempel
Tracy PartidgeElizabeth WhartonDanielle SacksMary-Margaret Roberts

[4] [5] [6]

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References

  1. ↑ Gans, Andrew (March 20, 2014). "Sean McDermott, Lori Hammel, Kristy Cates Star in The Bardy Bunch, Beginning March 20 Off-Broadway". Playbill.
  2. ↑ Gioia, Michael (August 23, 2016). "Original Star of Off-Broadway's Bardy Bunch Will Reprise Role in Chicago". Playbill.
  3. ↑ "The Bardy Bunch Parody Musical Finds Its Chicago Cast | TheaterMania". www.theatermania.com.
  4. ↑ "Mercury's 'Bardy Bunch' hilariously pits iconic Brady and Partridge families in epic Shakespearean grudge match for the (middle) ages". www.chicagolandmusicaltheatre.com. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  5. ↑ Davenport, Misha. "BWW Review: All's Well With THE BARDY BUNCH" . Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  6. ↑ Tribune, Chicago. "Danny Partridge as Hamlet? I think I love you not". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2016-09-30.
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