Via Galactica | |
---|---|
Music | Galt MacDermot |
Lyrics | Christopher Gore |
Book | Christopher Gore Judith Ross |
Productions | 1972 Broadway |
Via Galactica is a rock musical with a book by Christopher Gore and Judith Ross, lyrics by Gore, and music by Galt MacDermot. It marked the Broadway debut of actor Mark Baker. [1]
Originally entitled Up!, it offers a futuristic story of social outcasts living on an asteroid in outer space in the year 2972. Among them is Gabriel Finn, a space sanitation man who collects trash in a clamshell-shaped garbage ship called the Helen of Troy.
The storyline was so incomprehensible that at the last moment producers decided to insert a plot synopsis in the Playbill , but audiences were still baffled by what they were witnessing unfold on stage. Pyrotechnic displays, trampolines to portray weightlessness, and other special effects did little to enhance the project.
After fifteen previews, the Broadway production, directed by Peter Hall, produced by George W. George and choreographed by George Faison, opened on November 28, 1972, the first production at the brand-new Uris Theatre where, unable to withstand a universal assault by the critics, it ran for only seven performances. The cast included Raul Julia, Irene Cara, Keene Curtis, Chuck Cissel, Ralph Carter, Melanie Chartoff, and Virginia Vestoff.
Via Galactica, one of the first Broadway shows to lose more than $1 million, was MacDermot's second flop of the season. His Dude had closed after 16 performances five weeks earlier.
Justin Guarini is an American singer, songwriter and actor who in 2002 was the runner-up on the first season of American Idol.
Jerome Herbert "Chip" Zien is an American actor. He is best known for creating the lead role of the Baker in the original Broadway production of the musical Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim. He appeared in all of the "Marvin Trilogy" musicals by William Finn: In Trousers, March of the Falsettos, Falsettoland and Falsettos. In 2023, he returned to Broadway in the lead role of the Older Rabbi Cycowski in Harmony.
Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a musical with music and lyrics by Roger Miller, and a book by William Hauptman.
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Next to Normal is a 2008 American rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing her illness has on her family. The musical addresses grief, depression, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and the underbelly of suburban life.
Brian d'Arcy James is an American actor and musician. He is known primarily for his Broadway roles, including Shrek in Shrek the Musical, Nick Bottom in Something Rotten!, King George III in Hamilton, and The Baker in Into the Woods. He has received five Tony Award nominations for his work. On-screen, he is known for his recurring role as Andy Baker on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, Officer Krupke in West Side Story, and reporter Matt Carroll in Spotlight.
Andrew Scott Rannells is an American actor. He is best known for originating the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. He received his second Tony nomination in 2017 for his performance as Whizzer in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos. Other Broadway credits include Hairspray (2005), Jersey Boys (2009), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014), Hamilton (2015), The Boys in the Band (2018), and Gutenberg! The Musical! (2023). For his performance in the Off West End production of Tammy Faye, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award.
Marin Joy Mazzie was an American actress and singer known for her work in musical theatre.
Carrie is a musical with a book by Lawrence D. Cohen, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, and music by Michael Gore. It is based on the 1974 Stephen King's horror novel of the same name, and integrates elements from its 1976 Brian De Palma's film adaptation.
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Dude (The Highway Life) is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. It is an allegory about good and evil, the conflict between mankind's creative and destructive urges, the power of love, and the joy to be found in simple pleasures. Dude is an everyman who loses his innocence and fights to regain it.
Kevin Chamberlin is an American actor. He is known for his theatre roles such as Horton in Seussical and Uncle Fester in The Addams Family. For his theatre work, he was nominated for three Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. He also starred as Bertram Winkle in the Disney Channel Original Series sitcom Jessie from 2011 to 2015. From 2018 to 2019, he starred as The Wizard of Oz in Wicked on Broadway.
The Human Comedy is a 1983 musical with a book and lyrics by William Dumaresq and music by Galt MacDermot.
Maryann Plunkett is an American actress and singer. Plunkett made her Broadway debut playing Sister Agnes in Agnes of God. In 1987, she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance as Sally Smith in Me and My Girl. In 2024, she received her second Tony Award nomination for her leading role in the musical adaptation of The Notebook. In addition, she has made appearances in various films and series’ such as Little Women, Manifest, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and Dr. Death.
High School Musical on Stage! is a musical based on the 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, with music and lyrics by Matthew Gerrard, Robbie Nevil, Ray and Greg Cham, Drew Seeley, Randy Petersen, Kevin Quinn, Andy Dodd, Adam Watts, Bryan Louiselle, David N. Lawrence, Faye Greenberg and Jamie Houston, and a book by David Simpatico. It quickly became a popular choice for high school musical theater productions.
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Mean Girls is a musical with a book by Tina Fey, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and music by Jeff Richmond. It is based on the 2004 Mark Waters film of the same name, which was also written by Fey and was in-turn inspired by Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes. The musical focuses on Cady Heron, a teenage girl who transfers to a public high school after being homeschooled her whole life in Africa. At school, she befriends outsiders Janis Sarkisian and Damian Hubbard who persuade her to infiltrate the "Plastics", a clique consisting of wealthy but insecure Gretchen Wieners, sweet but dimwitted Karen Smith, and "queen bee" Regina George.
Christopher "Chris" Gore (1944–1988) was an American screenwriter, playwright, and lyricist. Gore is best known for writing the screenplay for the 1980 musical film Fame, for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.