Title of show
is a one-act musical, with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and a book by Hunter Bell. The show chronicles its own creation as an entry in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and follows the struggles of the author and composer/lyricist and their two actress friends during the initial brief creative period, along with subsequent events leading up to the show's production.
was chosen for production by the Musical Theatre Festival and premiered there, in September 2004, in New York City. It later ran off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in 2006, earning a second limited run the same year, then played at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre in 2008 for 13 previews and 102 regular performances. Writer/stars Bowen and Bell, as well as director Michael Berresse all won Obie Awards for their work on the off-Broadway production, and Bell was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.
The musical spawned a recurring video blog about the show's journey to Broadway called The Show.
History and productions
' was conceived by friends Bowen and Bell during the spring of 2004 after Bell received an announcement for the inaugural New York Musical Theatre Festival. With the deadline just three weeks away, Bell began drafting the script with Bowen writing the lyrics and music. Due to the severe time constraints, and because the Festival required only the submission of a script plus four songs, Bowen wrote most lyrics without any accompanying melody, planning to finish the songs later. Nevertheless, many of these lyrics have remained intact through several incarnations and revisions to the show.Bowen and Bell, determined to write an original musical rather than adapt an existing play or movie, discovered almost immediately that their conversations about what to write were more interesting than what they were actually writing. As the idea to document the creation of the show itself became clearer, Bell and Bowen expanded the script based on their writing experiences with friends Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff. ' has since become a post-modern work-in-progress, with updates and changes to each new production reflecting the circumstances the cast and the show have experienced. Larry Pressgrove was the musical director and orchestrator in all productions through 2008.
Early performances
The first three performances of ', at the Manhattan Theatre Source in the summer of 2004, were produced by Laura Camien. The cast included Bowen, Bell, Blackwell, and Stacia Fernandez, playing the role of "Stacia". Bowen and Bell convinced several Broadway stars to participate in a recurring plot device by leaving recorded phone messages rejecting offers to star in the show. Messages featured in the Theatre Source and Festival performances included Idina Menzel, Marin Mazzie, Sutton Foster and Emily Skinner.The production premiered at the 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival on September 22, 2004, at the Belt Theatre, and ran for six performances as scheduled. Heidi Blickenstaff replaced Fernandez, who had accepted the understudy role to Beth Leavel in the Broadway production of The Drowsy Chaperone. While her character's name remained "Stacia" for the Festival performances, thereafter it became "Heidi", and the role was modified to reflect Blickenstaff's experiences while helping to expand and evolve the show.
A year of expansion and revision followed. Kevin McCollum agreed to produce ' for professional presentation after seeing it performed at the Festival. Five new songs were added: "Monkeys and Playbills", "What Kind of Girl is She?", "Festival Medley/September Song", "Secondary Characters" and "Nine People's Favorite Thing". "The Wall", originally sung by Jeff and Stacia at the Festival, was rewritten as a solo for Heidi with new lyrics, and a new name, "A Way Back to Then." Changes to the book included the addition of the conflict between Susan and Heidi and the combined music and scenes "Awkward Photo Shoot" and "Change It, Don't Change It." Both reflected the tension among the cast members that had begun to set in since the Festival's performance and their uncertainty about an off-Broadway run.
After several performances at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT, six off-off Broadway performances were staged at Ars Nova in New York City in September 2005. Phone messages in the Ars Nova production were left by Marin Mazzie and Emily Skinner again, with new messages from Amy Spanger and Victoria Clark. The success of these performances led to an offer by the Vineyard Theatre of a limited off-Broadway run.
Off-Broadway
' was performed at the Vineyard Theatre from February 26, 2006 to April 24, 2006 as part of the theatre's regular season line-up, followed by an extension of the production from July 14, 2006 through October 1, 2006. Christine Ebersole lent her voice to one of the phone messages. The production won three Obie Award Special Citations for its writer/stars and director.A performance was scheduled to play in San Francisco in 2008 but was canceled because of time constraints in moving the show to Broadway by July 2008. The show's transfer to Broadway is chronicled in "the ' show" video blogs on YouTube and on the show's official web site.
Broadway
The musical began previews on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on July 5, 2008 and officially opened on July 17. It closed October 12, 2008 after 13 previews and 102 performances. It was produced by McCollum, Roy Miller, The Vineyard Theatre, Laura Camien and Kris Stewart, the founder of the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Lighting design by Ken Billington.The entire off-Broadway cast continued in the same roles, and Berresse continued as director. Added to the list of phone messages in the Broadway production was the voice of Patti LuPone. Scenic design was by Neil Patel, costumes by Chase Tyler and lighting by Ken Billington and Jason Kantrowitz.
The show won a 2009 Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Ensemble Cast.
UK
The UK premiere opened in London at the Landor Theatre in August, 2013 starring Scott Garnham as Hunter, Simon Bailey as Jeff, Sarah Galbraith as Susan and Sophia Ragavelas as Heidi.Germany
The German-language premiere was presented at the Admiralspalast, Berlin in April 2017. The production starred Dennis Weißert, Alexander Soehnle, Annika Henz, Franziska Kuropka and Damian Omansen. The creative team included Damian Omansen, Silvia Varelli, Daniel Unger, Jonathan Richter and Martin Siemann. The show was directed by Robin Kulisch who also provided the official German translation.The production also played Hamburg and Munich. For the Hamburg run, Benjamin Sommerfeld joined the cast as Hunter. In Munich, Robin Reitsma joined the cast as Jeff.
Regional productions
Several regional productions have been staged, starting in January 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Los Angeles premiere production ran from July 16, 2010 to September 11, 2010, at the Celebration Theatre with Jennifer R. Blake, Carey Peters, Jeffrey Landman, Micah McCain, and Gregory Nabours, for which Jennifer R. Blake won Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Musical for the role of Susan from StagesceneLA's Best of LA Theatre Awards 2009-2010 A production ran from November 16, 2010 to December 12, 2010 at the George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey, with Seth Rudetsky, Tyler Maynard, Lauren Kennedy and Susan Mosher. A production by Forte Musical Theatre Guild in Calgary ran from May 24 to June 4, 2011, directed by: Glenda StirlingOther notable professional productions
The Interlochen Arts Academy presented the musical in October 2012. With the help of two of the show's creators, Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell, an expanded ensemble was added to the production. This production was toured to New York for a weekend run at the Helen Mills Theater. A Danish production opened January 31, 2013, in Fredericia, 200 km west of Copenhagen. It was directed by Victoria Bussert and stars Lars Mølsted as Henrik, Thomas Jensen as Jeff, Bjørg Gamst as Heidi, Maria Skuladottir as Susan and Thomas Møller as Lars. Danish translation by Thomas Bay and Mads Nielsen. The show was first seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2013, starring Carley Stenson as Susan, Robbie Towns as Jeff, Ricky Johnston as Hunter, and Jamie Lee Pike as Heidi. Other foreign productions include Hong Kong.London Coliseum pro-shot
In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a pro-shot of the musical was released on the streaming service BroadwayHD. This production starred Tyrone Huntley as Hunter, Marc Elliott as Jeff, Lucie Jones as Heidi, Jenna Russell as Susan, and Ben Ferguson as Larry. The production was directed by Josh Seymour and received positive reviews, gaining a 4 1/2 star average on Letterboxd.Off West-End run
In July 2024, played the for a limited run of 4 performances. It starred George Crawford as Hunter, Abbie Budden as Heidi, Mary Moore as Susan and Thomas Oxley as Jeff. It was then announced that the production would transfer to Southwark Playhouse, adding Jacob Fowler as Hunter to the cast. Taylor Jay produced these iterations for Taylor Jay Productions.Original cast
The cast for the New York Musical Theatre Festival, off-Broadway, Broadway, and national tour productions has remained the same:- Jeff Bowen – Jeff
- Heidi Blickenstaff – Heidi
- Susan Blackwell – Susan
- Hunter Bell – Hunter
The show also features recorded vocal cameo appearances by several well-known Broadway actors, playing themselves: Kerry Butler, Marin Mazzie, Victoria Clark, Christine Ebersole, Sutton Foster, Patti LuPone, and Emily Skinner.
Standbys for both the original off-Broadway and Broadway productions were Courtney Balan and Benjamin Howes.