[title of show] Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 1

[title of show]
once again united.
MUSICALS/PLAYS
Kiss Me, Kate was a comeback and a personal triumph for Cole Porter, who had suffered
a dimming of his star in the musical world, as well as a catastrophic injury suffered while
horseback riding. The show proved to be his biggest hit and the only one of his shows to
run for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway. It won the first Tony Award presented
for Best Musical in 1949.
The Musical of Musicals (The Musical)
About as self-referential as it gets, The Musical of Musicals
(The Musical) takes a basic plot - the classic melodrama
with an evil landlord demanding rent ("I can't pay the rent!,"
"You must pay the rent!") – and presents five renditions as if
written by icons of the musical theatre. The first act, Corn,
plays on the stereotypical Rodgers and Hammerstein devices of a simple Kansas girl being
threatened with marriage to the landlord if the rent is not paid, while the leading man
weighs the prospect of marrying her himself or hanging onto his freedom as an unmarried
carnival barker. The Second Act is a take-off on the Sondheim musicals, A Little Complex,
with the landlord as a psychotic artist threatening to murder his tenants for having thrown
his artwork in the trash. Act Three plays on the style of Jerry Herman musicals (Hello,
Dolly!, Mame) with Dear Abby, centered on Aunt Abby, an unconventional Manhattan
socialite who doles out advice to all around her. The Fourth Act, Junita plays on the style of
Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals with the title character determined to become a superstar,
despite her lack of talent, which will rid her of the burden of paying rent. Finally, the last
act is a parody of Kander and Ebb musicals like Cabaret and Chicago titled Speakeasy.
In it, one character advises another to turn to prostitution to earn her rent, as the creepy
landlord/emcee presides over the action of the story. The Musical of Musicals (The
Musical) ends with a big production number, "Done," a satire of A Chorus Line's "One."
Spamalot
Spamalot is an adaptation of the 1975 film Monty Python and
the Holy Grail. In it, the legend of Camelot is turned on its head
as King Arthur travels his kingdom (accompanied by his faithful
servant Patsy) looking for knights to fill his Round Table. Nearly
all of the gags from the original film are in the musical (The Trojan
Rabbit, The Knights Who Say "Ni," The Killer Bunny) while adding
in modern references to Las Vegas and gay marriage. When the
knights are tasked with finding The Holy Grail, they readily accept
the quest. Along the way, however, they learn that they will never
accomplish their goal until they produce a Broadway musical. They
are stumped by this task until King Arthur's guardian angel (sort of),
The Lady of the Lake, tells them that they have been in a Broadway
musical all along.
DID YOU KNOW..?
That one serving of original
Spam contains 180 calories?
I bet you didn’t.
The 2005 Broadway production won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and received
fourteen Tony Award nominations. During its initial run of over 1,500 performances it was seen
by more than two million people.
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 23