Synopses of Musicals
and Plays - A to D

A musical adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan" tells the story of a mysterious woman who is turning the heads of several men, including the happily married Lord Windermere. Lady Windermere. wants revenge, but the discovery of her fan in Lord Darlington's apartments may prove her downfall. A brilliant social comedy of Victorian manners and morals.

Donald Pippin, Assistant Conductor and Choral Director at the Music Circus in 1955 writes: "I recall that Noel Coward did attend our performance of "After the Ball." I had met Noel in London and he was so very warm and friendly to me. It raised a lot of eyebrows. Coward's show was quite a difficult event for the music department. We worked from the original London manuscripts. They were a mess. I had forgotten that we ran for a week. I saw the production in NY years later. Believe me, Lambertville was better. We had energy and so excited to do the musical. Our love of the event made it enjoyable."

Hammerstein had brought the idea of "Allegro" to Rodgers and it was the first of only two original musicals by R&H not adapted from another source. Hammerstein had conceived it as an Everyman story, an allegory traveling from birth to death.

He chose to make his Everyman a doctor, Dr. Joe Taylor. In addition to its presiding message, "Allegro" tackles very real concerns about the medical profession: dilemmas that doctors face when a patient's needs conflict with a hospital's agenda, the role of big business in medicine, and a doctor's responsibility to his own community. Rodgers, whose brother and father both practiced medicine, shared his partner's interest in these issues.

Source: www3.rnh.com/

The story is about a girl, Annie Oakley, who gets her big break into show business with her rifle marksmanship. She joins Colonel Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show to be with Frank Butler, the man she fell in love with and the star of the Wild West Show. After some time, a falling out takes place, causing Frank to leave Annie and the Wild West Show to join the rival show. Later on, though, both shows are in need of money. They mutually agree to merge the shows, and Annie and Frank decide to get married. Based on the True Story of Annie Oakley.

The action takes place on the SS. AMERICAN, sailing from New York to England. On board are the beautiful American heiress Hope Harcourt, her English fiancé Sir Evelyn Oakleigh and Hope's mother. Stowing away on board is Billy Crocker, a young admirer of Hope's who can't believe she would really marry the silly Sir Evelyn and determines to try and stop her.

Public Enemy Number Thirteen, with his moll Bonnie, is also along for the ride and he passes on to Billy the passport and ticket of a gangster friend of his who didn't catch the boat. This leads to unwelcome complications for Billy as he and the Public Enemy have to keep changing disguises to avoid arrest.

Keeping the steam at boiling point in the ship's engine room and working the stabilizers overtime is sexy, incandescent Reno Sweeney, ex-evangelist and currently night club singer. With her help all the shipboard disasters are averted and all the romances sorted out - including her own.

This show, widely regarded as the very best of Cole Porter, shows off all the consummate skills of a master, right at the very pinnacle of his powers.

Mame Dennis is the flamboyant, devil-may-care aunt of young, impressionable Patrick Dennis. Left in Mame's care when his millionaire father drops dead, young Patrick is quickly indoctrinated into his aunt's philosophy that "Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving." Social-climbing executor Dwight Babcock does his best to raise Patrick as a stuffy American aristocrat, but Mame battles Babcock to allow the boy to be as free-spirited as she is.

Welcome to a world before voice-mails! Nowadays, if you aren't home your voice-mail picks up your calls, but before this high technology 'Susanswerphone' was there to blur the line between helpfulness and eavesdropping. The show opens with eight girls moaning about their lack of telephone calls. They consider hiring a service to answer their phone when they are out of the house. Sue runs her own service known as 'Susanswerphone,' employing her cousin Ella to take the calls and deliver messages. Although things start out okay, she begins to get involved in the lives of the people who she takes messages for, and falls in love with one of the men whom she has never met. Her feelings for Jeff Moss become apparent and she is determined to help him out with his next play that he is currently struggling to write. Her charm and telephone manner begin to involve herself quickly in his life.

Meanwhile Sue falls in love with Sandor, the owner of Titanic Records. He sets up an outlet in her office space, which he uses to mask his criminal dealings. The police think that 'Susanswerphone' is merely a front for Sandor's book-making ring of deception. Ella decides to meet Jeff and creates an alter ego for herself, going to his home and convincing him to rework his latest play. They go out for dinner and sparks begin to fly as they learn how to Cha-Cha. In Central Park, he tells her that he loves her, but after taking her to a party she is made to feel below his social station and is lost for conversation. She runs away and Jeff still hasn't worked out who he really is.

Sandor is suffering with racing debts and has to borrow money. He plans a trip abroad with Sue as the Police begin to close in. Ella encounters three other men who her meddling has helped. She decides to run away but Jeff finally realizes who she is as the show ends happily for all.

Source: musicalheaven.com/

Ben Franklin arrives in Paris with his two grandsons seeking support for the Colonies' war against England. He quickly wins the friendship and popularity of the French court, but winning the King's recognition and support is another matter. Ben learns that an old friend, Madame La Comtesse Diane de Vobrillac, is close to the King. He appeals to her romantic nature, but now as a confidante to King Louis XVI, Diane is more practical. She demands more proof that America is not a losing proposition-it must win a battle. Franklin's hopes seem dashed when the British capture Philadelphia. Diane won't see or talk with Franklin, but he manages to trick her up into a hot-air balloon. Alone in the gondola, he gets her to agree to winning a battle of a different sort-to get another major power to split the cost of financing America's war effort. Believing it impossible, she agrees. The Spanish ambassador hears of Franklin's mission to involve Spain as the second ally and avoids him at all costs. The persistent Franklin arranges an encounter at the Abbey de Morellet amid a flowing grape harvest. After several toasts, the ambassador becomes friendly and agrees to fund arms and supplies. With this help the tide of the war begins to change. The Colonists defeat the British at Saratoga. This is all Ben needs to sway the King.

But the British have countered by winning over Ben's son William, the governor of New Jersey. The traitorous act pulls the rug from under Ben's plan. To regain the upper hand he offers to marry Diane, but is rejected. As a final effort Ben prepares to go to England where he knows he will be hanged—an act of martyrdom he feels sure the French could not overlook. However, Diane learns of the plan and intercedes with the King. Soon thereafter the King summons Benjamin Franklin, not the Philadelphian, but the Ambassador of the United States of America.

Source: guidetomusicaltheatre.com/

Everything that wealthy London society had to offer a properly brought-up girl lay at the feet of little Sarah Millick in 1875; but she fell so desperately in love with her handsome young singing master that she threw it all away in order to be with him.

In Vienna, five poverty-stricken years later, her adored Carl is killed in a duel. But his music lives on as the self-reliant Sarah earns fame throughout Europe with her singing.

Finally returning to England, she marries the elderly Marquis of Shayne who has waited so patiently for her. Years later, at a madly bright party in the late 1920s, she tells her story, winning the grudging admiration of the smart young set. The Marchioness, they decide, must have been a gay old bird.

Source: www.nodanw.com/

The setting is the small southern town of Cicero Falls at the time of the American Civil War. Evelina is the only unmarried daughter of the principal manufacturer of hoop skirts for crinolines. Unfortunately she has fallen under the influence of her Aunt Dolly Bloomer, passionate suffragette and the originator of bloomers. Her father, Horatio Applegate has decided the best way to straighten out Evelina is to pick out a nice suitor from a good southern family, Jefferson Lightfoot Calhoun a member of the Kentucky sales team. Evelina is interested in Jeff but is suspicious of any hoop-skirt salesman. To test his resolve she gets him to free his personal slave, Pompey. Jeff agrees and helps Pompey to escape to freedom in the North through a secret underground railway.

This actually gets Jeff into trouble but the trouble is compounded when Evelina. modeling a new super skirt at a garden party organized by her father, lifts her skirt to show that she is clad in bloomers. This she does in support of her Aunt and her causes. Jeff's brother, a committed slave owner, causes trouble and Evelina, Dolly and the slaves are all thrown into jail.

On release the group organizes a performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Whilst this is taking place news comes that there has been firing of rifles on Fort Sumpter. The American Civil War has begun! This puts on hold the romance between Jeff and Evelina. Jeff enlists in the Confederate Army. Meanwhile, Evelina's brothers-in-law have enlisted in the Zuoave regiment of the Union Army - the regiment that wears trousers that look like bloomers!

The Applegate factory, under the joint direction of Horace and Dolly is turned over to the manufacture of bloomers. After Jeff hears Lincoln speak he changes allegiance. He returns to Evelina as the curtain falls.

Source: www.nodanw.com/

Old Vienna—and the shy, young composer, Franz Schubert, writes a beautiful love song to his beloved Mitzi. But he gets his best friend Baron Schober to sing it to her, and she falls in love with him instead of poor Franz, who has to find consolation in their happiness—and in his music. Delightful sub-plots concern Mitzi's two attractive sisters and their boyfriends, a temperamental prima-donna and a jealous Count. Famed and loved all over the world for more than half a century, this is a charming show with excellent comedy—and immortal music.

The action takes place in Ephesus in ancient Asia Minor, and it concerns the efforts of two boys from Syracuse, Anthipholus and his servant Dromio, to find their long-lost twins who, for reasons of plot confusion, are also named Anthipholus and Dromio. Complications arise when the wife of the Ephesians, Adriana, and her servant, Luce, mistake the two strangers for their husbands, though the couples eventually get sorted out after Adriana's sister Luciana and the Syracuse Antipholus admit their love.

"Once in the Highlands, the Highlands of Scotland, two weary hunters lost their way." It is this desolate situation which Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas, two young New Yorkers, are contemplating when the curtain rises on a misty glen in Scotland. As the two exhausted men reflect on what they have forsaken in the States for their present predicament, a lift in the Highland veil reveals to them the awakening village of Brigadoon; a village which comes into being for only one day in each century.

The strained and strange greetings of the villagers bedecked in 18th century costumes, who have gathered in the market square to sell their wares and to discuss the final wedding preparations of Jeannie MacLaren and the boyish Charlie Dalrymple, are softened for Tommy by his encounter with Jeannie's lovely sister, Fiona, and enlivened for Jeff by his reluctant entanglement with the maid, Meg Brockie.

The blissful occasion is momentarily tinged with gloom when the fate of Brigadoon is threatened by Harry Beaton, Jeannie's rejected suitor. And Tommy, now burdened with the knowledge of Brigadoon's secret and enraptured by the gentle charms of the beautiful Fiona, is confronted with the choice of remaining forever at the side of the Scottish lass or returning to the unsatisfying world familiar to him. At the close of the day he is still unable to commit himself without doubt or regret to Fiona and to Brigadoon, and leaves with Jeff for America.

Restless and unhappy in New York, Tommy finally yields to the haunting memory of Fiona and, guided by the faith and strength of his love, finds his way back to Brigadoon.

The misty mood of this Highland setting is strikingly complemented by bright 18th century costuming, contrasting the idyllic Brigadoon villagers with the malcontent young hunters. The fanciful flavor is augmented by superb choreography by Agnes de Mille which gracefully mingles the regional with the modern. An outstanding band orchestration by Philip J. Lang, as well as the standard orchestral accompaniment, offer a memorable resonance to the production.

Like Tommy, the audience delights in the whimsical loveliness of the Highlands, and it is with similar reluctance that they exit Brigadoon.

The wacky goings-on in a brightly colored theatrical boarding house in Coney Island in 1907 owned by Lottie Gibson a mature but lively lady, down-to-earth, with no pretences except in her choice of clothes; many colors, many ruffles, feather boa, and sparkling fake jewels who entertains. Shirley Booth created the role in the 1954 Broadway production.

"Bye, Bye Birdie" tells the story of a rock and roll singer who is about to be inducted into the army. The singer, Conrad Birdie, an Elvis Presley type, has a pompadour and thick sideburns; he wears gaudy gold costumes and speaks in a rugged voice. Albert Peterson, his agent, is a very pleasant mild mannered young man. Albert's faithful secretary Rose Alvarez keeps him and Birdie moving forward in the world. Rosie concocts one final national publicity plan before Conrad's induction.

Conrad will bid a typical American teen-age girl goodbye with an all-American kiss. Kim MacAfee in Sweet Apple, Ohio wins the honor. All of the phones in her town are already busy during The Telephone Hour as Kim has just been pinned to Hugo, a local boy. She is a pretty girl of fifteen and sings with spring-like ardor How Lovely to Be a Woman, as she pulls on the plaid woolen socks and the baggy mustard colored sweater considered stylish and popular among young ladies.

The arrival of Birdie in Sweet Apple causes people of all ages to swoon. Birdie says that his success is due to the fact that he is Honestly Sincere when he sings, and the quiet little town goes into a spin. The MacAfee household is completely upset by the visiting celebrity. It is decided that Birdie will give his One Last Kiss on the Ed Sullivan show. Kim's father who laments the whole uproar, tries to break into the act and behaves like a ham on the TV show. Hymn for a Sunday Evening is a salute to the greater glory of Ed Sullivan.

Birdie becomes disgusted with his life and goes out on the town with the teenagers. He feels tense with Albert and is tired of being supervised. The parents of Sweet Apple cannot understand the new generation and express this in Kids. Rosie, still waiting for that band of gold from Albert after eight years, invades a Shriners' meeting. An extremely hilarious ballet ensues. She then decides to become the Latin American spitfire that she is painted as, by Albert's lead-footed catastrophe-ridden mother. She is determined to become Spanish Rose. Kim is reunited with Hugo, and Rose with Albert in the lovely number Rosie. Other hit numbers include A Lot of Livin' to Do and Put on a Happy Face.

"Bye, Bye Birdie" is a satire done with the fondest affection. It gives an insight into the everyday life that is very much part of us all. It is the tops in imagination and frivolity; a show that will be enjoyed by the cast as much as the audience.

In this musical, Little Joe, an inveterate gambler, promises his wife Petunia he'll reform and confess his sins at church, but he slips out the side door to play craps at the Paradise club; he's shot and brought home with a mortal wound. Petunia offers powerful prayers, and Joe gets a six-month reprieve. Heaven's forces, led by the General, and those below, led by Lucifer Jr., try to pull Joe their way. Lucifer Jr. has a not-so-secret weapon, the sultry Georgia Brown, and his idea men cook up a great scheme to win Joe's soul. The General has Joe's good intentions and Petunia's inventiveness. Will she and Joe reach their cabin in the sky?

Source: imdb.com/jhailey@*******.com

Sally Adams, Washington's "hostess with the mostes'," is named Ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Lichtenburg - a tiny kingdom steeped in royal custom and rapidly changing coalition governments. Kenneth Gibson, an eager young diplomat, is assigned to be her aide. True to her almost total disrespect for protocol, Sally arrives late in Lichtenburg. There she encounters foreign minister Cosmo Constantine, not, however, to the degree her romantic nature would like. Worse yet, Cosmo refuses American foreign aid. Sally gets talked into a scheme to get Cosmo elevated to Prime Minister to make way for a new foreign minister eager to accept American money to "save" the country.

When the loan is all but consummated, Cosmo finds out about it and resigns. This ruins all possibilities for another coalition, and the country must hold its first general election in twenty years. Sally openly campaigns for Cosmo, forcing her recall to Washington for becoming involved in another government's internal affairs. Kenneth, too, commits a grave diplomatic error by falling in love with the Princess Maria and arranging secret meetings with her. However, a spirit of democracy is over Lichtenburg. The princess is granted permission to ask Kenneth to marry her. Elected Prime Minister, Cosmo visits Sally in Washington to grant her the royal order of Dame and revive their "acquaintance."

Source: guidetomusicaltheatre.com/

King Arthur is very afraid of the upcoming wedding and did not want it, hiding in a tree. His wise mentor and advisor Merlyn the Magician tells him to start acting like a king and to think wisely. Merlyn exclusive feature is the fact that he lives in time backwards, so he remembers the future, and therefore his advices always reach the goal.

King Arthur suddenly meets his future wife, with whom he has appointed wedding, in the woods. They fall in love at first sight and in the course of conversation they almost kiss, but are interrupted by one of the servants of the King. His wife until this moment did not know that he is the king and now he admits how he has become one—he drew the sword Excalibur out of the stone. Then we see Merlin, who, turns out, loses his power to foresee the future and refers the matter to one of his acquaintances, water nymphs. She lures Merlin to eternal sleep in her cave and now his memory fades, and all fades...

After 10 years, King creates a new institution, the Round Table, which should unite under its wings not only knights who fight constantly, but which are useful for the society and defend the honor. When the Order was created, a lot of knights have been adopted in it all over England, and the glory of it comes to France. From France to Camelot goes ambitious young Lancelot, who became friends with the king, but will be an enemy for a variety of knights of the Table.

Arthur's wife arranges a tournament between the best knights. Arthur easily defeats all the knights and Lancelot is named a member of the Table, while the wife of Arthur falls in love with Lancelot. He loves her unconsciously, but is torn between loyalty to Arthur and temptation. This continues for several years, but the woman remains faithful to her husband, even though he guessed about her affair with Lance.

Illegitimate son of Arthur arrives at Camelot, to destroy the Kingdom and drop the King, in revenge for the fact that he was thrown away when born. During the departure of Arthur hunting, Lancelot and Arthur's wife cannot stand and kiss, but the son sees it, who, along with other knights, who do not like Lancelot, grabs him and her, but Lancelot manages to break free and escape. Arthur's wife is sentenced to death in the burning fire for the governmental treason, but in the last minute, Lancelot arrives with reinforcements and rescues her, taking her with him to France.

They war each other, during which killed a bigger part of Round Table. Meeting with Lancelot and Guenevere before the big final battle, Arthur learns that their relationship fell apart because of the feelings of betrayal of Arthur. He forgives them, and they both depart separately, and the war ends.

Source: allmusicals.com/

The story is set in the year 1893 and tells the tale of La Mome Pistache who is upset about the investigation of her Bal Du Paradis, where the major attraction is the Can-Can. She tries to seduce the highly moral investigating judge Aristide Forestier. The two eventually fall in love and when her case comes to trial, Aristide takes over the defence and wins the acquittal.

Source: www.musicalheaven.com/

Parachute maker Carmen Jones makes a play for a "fly boy" Air Force man, Joe, who is in love with sweet Cindy Lou and about to marry her on a day pass when Carmen gets into a fight with another woman.

Joe's pass is canceled in order for him to drive her to the next town to be handed over to the non-military police. Instead, Carmen charms him and escapes, and he is put in the stockade for not delivering her to the authorities.

While Carmen waits for Joe to be released from military prison, she hangs around Billy Pastor's jive cafe where she encounters boxer Husky Miller, who is instantly besotted with Carmen, calling her "heatwave."

Carmen is initially uninterested. But her friends Frankie and Mert know that their invitation from Husky's manager to see him fight in Chicago depends on Carmen's being there, too.

Joe, having been released from the stockade, turns up at the cafe the same evening. At first, his prospects seem to be looking up, as his connections have put Joe back on track for aviator school. Carmen lays down a guilt trip, however, protesting that a long-distance relationship, with Joe 400 miles (640 km) away at school, just isn't what she had in mind. He immediately gets into a fight with his sergeant, who is making a move on Carmen, as well as laying down some heavy shade on Joe. Starting the fight alone would have been enough to put Joe back in military prison for years, but the fight goes badly, and the sergeant ends up apparently dead. Carmen makes Joe hide the body, since desertion sounds better than a lengthy sentence.

The train ticket to Chicago originally given to Carmen offers them a way of avoiding the MPs. After a few days hiding out in a seedy hotel with no money and no future with Joe, Carmen pays a visit to her two friends, now covered in diamonds and furs, at Husky's training camp. She is only looking for a loan, but they try to draw her to give up Joe and "go with the money" by staying with Husky.

Later, at Husky's apartment, Frankie reads Carmen's "cards", and reveals the Nine of Spades - the card of Death. In the belief that her days are numbered, Carmen gives in to Husky's advances, abandoning Joe for the luxurious life Husky can offer her.

Cindy Lou comes to look for Joe, but he is still in love with Carmen and spurns Cindy Lou. The night of Husky's title fight, Joe turns up to try to convince Carmen to come back to him, but when she rejects him, he kills her, thus making the card's prophecy a reality.

Source: wikipedia.org/

"Carnival" opens on a few trees and the hint of an expansive meadow. The stage is otherwise empty, without even a curtain. A small figure in shabby clothes enters and starts to play a wheezy concertina. Slowly the instruments of the orchestra join in. The stage begins to light up as roustabouts carry in poles and canvas. A carnival is assembled before our eyes. A wide-eyed, pale faced girl appears. She carries a lopsided suitcase and wears a poor fitting suit and black stockings. Lili, this lonely orphan, is enchanted with the desire to join the lively and glamorous carnival.

Lili is unsuccessful at several jobs with the troupe. The troupe, touring the small cities of France about a generation ago, is raffish and run down. We can see that at one time they were very successful. Touches of this former splendor come forth in the jubilant production number Grand Imperial Cirque de Paris. The jugglers, animal acts, aerialists, clowns and dancers perform before Lili's eyes. She is dazzled by their spirited and colorful excitement. One scene segues into the next without need of curtain or scenery change, except for a few pieces which are pushed off and on by the roustabouts. Scenes are created by banners dropping from the sky and by imaginative highlighting of sections of the stage.

Lili becomes the pawn in a fierce rivalry for her affection between Marco the Magnificent, the troupe's magician and Paul Berthalet, a puppeteer with an injured leg. She is fascinated with Marco's fabulous magic. Paul becomes very jealous of Marco, who seems to be winning Lili with his suave and gallant ways. Marco's dance Sword, Rose and Cape highlights his personality. His partner in his magic act is billed as The Incomparable Rosalie. She is a comic who threatens to leave him, to marry a doctor who turns out to be a veterinarian. They argue continuously and do a hilarious number Always Always You in which Marco pierces (with swords) a basket in which Rosalie is enclosed.

Paul communicates through his charming puppets. They include the sentimental walrus who is afraid of "antiwalrus" remarks; the sophisticated fox who observes, "You've never fox-trotted until you've done it with a fox"; a lively redheaded boy and a society lady who the years have somehow passed by. Still searching for her place in the carnival, Lili finally joins the puppet act.

The spirit of the show is brought to the audience with rousing circus parades, hawkers throwing souvenirs into audience members' laps, and performers marching down the aisles. At last the conflict between Marco, the lover who is beguiling, and Paul the lover who is true, is resolved. In a brilliant dramatic moment Lili rejects Marco and exits with Paul.

The hauntingly wonderful musical theme Love Makes the World Go Round runs through the story. The mood of the carnival people is captured perfectly in a simple, touching, light-handed way. Comedy is blended perfectly with pathos. The effect is "America's Magical Musical" with enchanting appeal for matinee audiences and Saturday night sophisticates.

Source: www.musicalheaven.com/

Freed from labor, mill girls joyously meet their boy friends at an amusement park (Prologue: The Carousel Waltz). Among them are the effervescent Carrie and the moody Julie, who infuriates Mrs. Mullin, the carousel owner, by arousing the interest of her barker (and lover, we infer), Billy. In the ensuing quarrel, Billy is fired. Carrie thinks Julie is attracted to Billy (You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan) and fittingly chooses this as the moment to reveal that she, too, has a beau (Mister Snow). Billy returns, chases Carrie off, and romances Julie (If I Loved You).

Two months later, Julie and Billy are married and living with Julie's cousin Nettie. Preparing for that evening's clambake, the girls and boys indulge in a bit of gender scuffling, then, with Nettie presiding, celebrate the erotic liberation of spring (Give it to 'em good, Carrie... / June Is Bustin' Out All Over). Julie confides to Carrie her marital problems: Billy is out of work and angry. He has even hit Julie. Carrie's news is happier - Mister Snow and she are engaged. The eavesdropping girls are thrilled, not least when Snow himself shows up (Mister Snow (Reprise)). Snow and Carrie look forward to married life: a big family and a thriving business in canned sardines (When the Children Are Asleep).

Whalers on shore leave pile into a waterfront dive (Blow High, Blow Low) and get into a brawl. One whaler, the infinitely sleazy Jigger, tries to interest Billy in a robbery, which they can pull off during the clambake. Billy is leery - but the Julie tells him she is pregnant. Overjoyed at the thought of fatherhood as he walks along the beach (Soliloquy), Billy decides to turn thief with Jigger after all. Nettie, Billy and Julie, Carrie and Mister Snow, Jigger and the rest of the gang sail off to the clambake.

That evening, resting up after the cookout (A Real Nice Clambake), everyone prepares for the annual treasure hunt. Jigger, pretending to show Carrie self-defense maneuvers, gets her into a compromising position just as Mister Snow appears. Now the gender scuffling turns serious, as Snow walks out on Carrie, Billy heads off with Jigger for their robbery despite Julie's protests, and the women lament their lack of power (Geraniums in the Winder / Stonecutters Cut It On Stone / What's the Use of Wond'rin').

Back on the mainland, Billy and Jigger await the arrival of their intended victim by playing twenty-one. Jigger, dealing, cheats Billy out of virtually all his share of the coming boodle. But the robbery is foiled, Jigger escapes, and Billy, seeing his whole life as a failure, kills himself crying, "Julie!" The clambaker's arrive, Julie only just in time to trade a few words with Billy before he dies. "I love you," she tells him, for the first time in her life, after he has died. Nettie comforts her (You'll Never Walk Alone).

It's not over yet. A Heavenly Friend shows up to take Billy "Up There," where, in a scene suggestive of some advanced Protestant sect's open-air meeting house, an austere Star keeper allows Billy to go back and resolve problems he left "Down Here" - for instance, his daughter, Louise, who is now fifteen and as wild and resentful as Billy was. The Star keeper gives Billy a star to take to her as a present. A ballet reveals Louise to us: as a tomboy cut-up, then as a young woman tasting love with a boy she meets in the ruins of her father's carousel (Ballet: Pas de Deux). She is, in effect, recreating her mother's experience, breaking out of a drab life in a dangerous yet wonderful relationship. But the boy wanders off, leaving Louise heartbroken and destructively defiant. Back on earth with the Heavenly Friend, Billy tries to give Louise the star, she suspiciously resists, and he slaps her face - once again, in his inarticulate rage, failing to express his true feelings to those he loves (If I Loved You (Reprise)).

"Common sense may tell you that the endin' will be sad" - but, at Louise's high-school graduation, Billy heartens his daughter and tells Julie, "I loved you." As the congregation clusters in socio-religious community, Billy, in the distance, climbs a great stairway to heaven (You'll Never Walk Alone (Reprise).

Source: www.musicalheaven.com/

Victor Florescu is a talented, Brussels-based composer of serious music under the tutelage of respected Professor Bertier at the Music Conservatory. He is hoping to have his yet uncompleted operetta, "The Cat and the Fiddle," produced by famed impresario, Jules Daudet. Victor's focus in life changes when he meets Shirley Sheridan, a New Yorker just arrived in Brussels, who moves into the pensione next to his own. He falls in love at first sight with her. She is also a composer - of the type of music more often heard in Tin Pan Alley - and is hoping to study with Professor Bertier. But it is Victor who helps her with her music. She also catches the attention of Daudet, who publishes her music although he is more interested in her as a woman. Regardless, she becomes rich and famous, and is required to move to Paris. In the short term, Victor, who moves to Paris with her, is more than willing to forgo his own musical aspirations to help her. But Victor is forced to choose between completing his operetta and being with Shirley, which may be all the more difficult a decision with Daudet waiting in the wings to be the one and only man in Shirley's life.

Source: ibdb.com/
Source: imdb.com/

When Lieutenant Bummerli, a Swiss mercenary in the Serbian army, takes refuge from his Bulgarian enemies in the house of a Bulgarian general—to be precise, in the daughter's bedroom—he sets hearts a-flutter, almost compromises three ladies and then ruins the daughter's wedding to a Bulgarian soldier-hero by being recognized as the fugitive! This is just as well because he and Nadina, the daughter, were destined for each other anyway.

Source: www.nodanw.com/

Tassilo, the new bailiff on Countess Maritza's estate, is an impoverished young Baron who has taken the job incognito to pay for his sister's education. Temperament and pride delay the inevitable happy pairing-off of Maritza with Tassilo, and his sister Lisa with another nobleman from Maritza's set of friends. Manja, the fortune-telling gipsy, typifies the strong Magyar flavour of the attractive score which features such well-known songs as "Play Gipsy".

Source: guidetomusicaltheatre.com/

Middle-aged real estate agent Joe Boyd is a long-suffering fan of the pathetic Washington Senators baseball team. His wife, Meg, laments this ("Six Months Out Of Every Year"). After she has gone to bed, he sits up late, grumbling that if the Senators just had a "long ball hitter" they could beat "those damn Yankees". Suddenly, the smooth-talking Mr. Applegate appears. He offers Joe the chance to become "Joe Hardy", the young slugger the Senators need. He accepts, even though he must leave Meg ("Goodbye Old Girl"). However, his business sense makes him insist on an escape clause. The Senators' last game is on September 25, and if he plays in it, he is to stay as Joe Hardy forever. If not, he has until 9:00 the night before to walk away from the deal and return to his normal life.

At the ballpark, the hapless Senators vow to play their best despite their failings ("Heart"). Then Joe Hardy is suddenly discovered and joins the team. Gloria, a reporter, praises him ("Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo"). His hitting prowess enables the team to move up in the standings.

Though Joe is increasingly successful, he truly misses Meg and moves into her house as a boarder in his persona as Joe Hardy. They begin to bond, especially over her "lost" husband ("A Man Doesn't Know"). Fearful of losing his deal, Applegate calls Lola, "the best home-wrecker on [his] staff", to seduce Joe and ensure his loss of the bet. She promises to deliver ("A Little Brains, A Little Talent"), and Applegate introduces her as a sultry South American dancer named "Señorita Lolita Banana." She sings a seductive song ("Whatever Lola Wants"), but Joe's devotion to Meg proves too strong, even for her. Applegate punishes her by firing her, where she performs with other past workers for Applegate ("Who's Got the Pain").

Applegate decides to switch tactics to ensure Joe's failure. He releases false information about Joe's true identity being "Shifty McCoy", an escaped criminal and con artist. When Gloria discovers this information, she presses charges, and he is forced into court.

The Senators prepare for the final game against the Yankees for the pennant and worry about Joe, but they vow to think of nothing but winning ("The Game"). Meanwhile, angry fans are seeking him out, so he decides to leave home. As he does so, he tells Meg indirectly that he is her old husband ("Near to You"). Meanwhile, Applegate is exhausted by the work he has put into winning one bet and thinks about the "simpler" times in his long history ("Those Were the Good Old Days").

Joe's day in court is on September 24, the last day of his deal. As he technically does not exist, he can't produce any kind of identification. The owner of the Senators, their coach, and even Lola (disguised as "Señora McCoy") testify; unfortunately, their opinions are invalid. Gloria suggests that Applegate take the stand, but he is unable to take the oath due to its provision against lying. "Don't you have another version of that thing?" he asks. Joe realizes that Applegate is simply stalling to keep him from meeting his 9:00 deadline. Applegate claims that Joe "just needs time to think" and sends him to where Lola is, where history's most famous lovers wait. Lola meets him there and realizes that he truly loves Meg. She helps him by sending him into the final game and delays Applegate by coercing him into a duet ("Two Lost Souls").

When Applegate finally arrives at the game, it is 8:55, and Joe is at bat. As time runs out, Meg, her friends, and even Lola begin cheering for him. Applegate uses his powers to give Joe two strikes. The clock strikes nine, and Applegate claims victory, but at the last second, Joe cries, "Let me go!" The deal is broken, and he is transformed back into his old self. Amazingly, he is still able to hit a home run and win the Senators the pennant.

Back at home, Joe rushes into Meg's arms. Applegate appears on the scene, claiming that Joe owes him his prize. He begs Meg to hold him and not let go, and she begins to sing ("Finale (A Man Doesn't Know)"). Applegate promises to make him young again and even ensure a World Series victory. But his powers are useless against their true love, which Lola points out. He shouts that such a thing can't exist, but he is wrong. He and Lola vanish back to where they came from, defeated, with Joe and Meg united.

Source: themusicallyrics.com/

General Birabeau has been sent to Morocco to root out and destroy the Riff bandits. Especially must he bring to book their daredevil leader, known as the Red Shadow. He can look for little help from his milksop son, Pierre, who spends all his time mooning over Captain Fontaine's fiancée, the lovely Margot. But Margot secretly yearns to be swept into the arms of some bold, dashing sheik, perhaps even the Red Shadow himself? To her surprise, when her Eastern hero does in fact abduct her he treats her with every Western consideration. And when this Moroccan Robin Hood comes face to face with Birabeau, he surprisingly refuses to fight the old man. Azuri, the sinuous and secretive native dancing girl, might be persuaded to answer some of these riddles if only she can be made sufficiently drunk. Meanwhile, Benny and Susan still provide some of the best opportunities for inspired clowning ever offered to a comedy team.

In the wide-open town of Bottleneck, Gambler Kent has Judge Slade in his pocket to help him take over the town. And his ace in the hole is the duplicitous Frenchy, who provides the needed distraction to help Kent fleece landowners of their property. After murdering the sheriff, Kent appoints town drunk Washington Dimsdale to take his place. 'Wash' promptly goes on the wagon and sends for Thomas Jefferson Destry, Jr., the son of the ferocious and legendary peace officer Tom Destry. Tom Destry Jr. turns out to be a disappointingly easygoing type who's opposed to the use of firearms and relies instead on hilarious exemplary tales with rather grim morals. However, he proves quite adept at this work, whether it be intimidating would-be lawbreakers with extravagant sharp-shooting exhibitions or making the troublesome, Frenchy , fall in love with him.

A washroom attendant, Louis Blore, has won a sweepstakes, and subsequently quits his job. He is in love with the nightclub singer May Daly, but she is in love with Alex Barton. Alex is the brother of her friend Alice, who is in love with Harry Norton. Meanwhile, Alex is unhappily married to Ann. Charley, Louis's replacement, suggests that Louis slip Alex a Mickey Finn. While trying to do so, Louis inadvertently drinks the Mickey Finn, falls asleep, and dreams he is King Louis XV of France, and that May is Madame du Barry.

In his dream, Charley becomes the Dauphin (later Louis XVI) and Harry becomes the captain of the guard, with Ann as Du Barry's lady-in-waiting, and Alex as a peasant who wrote a rude song about The King and Du Barry (the title song: Du Barry Was a Lady). Eventually after various entanglements (including the Dauphin's shooting the King in the posterior with a bow and arrow), Louis wakes up and realizes that Alex is the man for May. He uses the last of his winnings to pay for Alex's divorce from Ann, and (with Charley having just quit his job) goes back to being a washroom attendant.

Source: wikipedia.org/