Adding Machine (musical)
Encyclopedia
Adding Machine is a musical
adaptation of Elmer Rice
's 1923 play The Adding Machine
, with music by Joshua Schmidt, and book and lyrics by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt. The show opened in 2007 in Illinois before moving Off-Broadway in 2008. The show was nominated for (and later won) numerous Lucille Lortel Awards and Drama Desk awards.
adaptation of Elmer Rice
's 1923 play The Adding Machine
. The original play has been called the "gimlet-eyed Expressionist classic about the soul rot of conventionality;" it relates the story of an "antihero," Mr. Zero, who murders his boss after he has been replaced by an adding machine after 25 years on the job. Loewith conceived a musical adaptation after learning of the Kurt Weill
musical based on a second Rice play Street Scene
. After some years, Loewith was able to attract composer Joshua Schmidt to the project; Schmidt composed the music, and wrote the libretto and book together with Loewith. Schmidt met Loewith because he was the artistic director of company at Next Theater. Schmidt explained why his show had such a small band: "At Next Theater, we had a 15-by-5 space for the orchestra — a shoebox with a very low ceiling. My experience had taught me how to get a lot out of a little. I approached it with this combination in mind from the moment of conception. I didn’t cut it back to make it fit our space. I created a full blown, challenging score for three instruments. It’s not a matter of compensating for instruments that aren’t there."
in a production directed by David Cromer
and starring Joel Hatch, Cyrilla Baer and Amy Warren. It opened Off Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre on February 25, 2008; it was again directed by David Cromer, with many of the original cast members. The New York based critic Adam Feldman reviewed the musical enthusiastically, noting that "Schmidt and Loewith’s adaptation cleaves to the bones of Rice’s play but also fleshes it out in a superbly varied score" and "Adding Machine does what Zero literally cannot imagine: It alchemizes mediocrity into excellence."
The production received six Lucille Lortel Award
nominations in the 2008 season, more than any other show, and won the Lucille Lortel Award
for Outstanding Musical (among others).
The show was produced in Washington, DC in 2009 at The Studio Theatre
with Jason Loewith directing. It then was produced by the SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston in March and April 2010, at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. In Los Angeles, it was produced by the Odyssey Theater Ensemble in early 2011. In Milwaukee, it is also included in the Skylight Opera Theatre
's 2010-2011 season.
Drama Desk Awards (nominations)
Outer Critics Circle Awards
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
adaptation of Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene.-Early years:...
's 1923 play The Adding Machine
The Adding Machine
The Adding Machine is a 1923 play by Elmer Rice; it has been called "... a landmark of American Expressionism, reflecting the growing interest in this highly subjective and nonrealistic form of modern drama." The story focuses on Mr. Zero, an accountant at a large, faceless company. After 25 years...
, with music by Joshua Schmidt, and book and lyrics by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt. The show opened in 2007 in Illinois before moving Off-Broadway in 2008. The show was nominated for (and later won) numerous Lucille Lortel Awards and Drama Desk awards.
Background
Adding Machine is a musicalMusical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
adaptation of Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene.-Early years:...
's 1923 play The Adding Machine
The Adding Machine
The Adding Machine is a 1923 play by Elmer Rice; it has been called "... a landmark of American Expressionism, reflecting the growing interest in this highly subjective and nonrealistic form of modern drama." The story focuses on Mr. Zero, an accountant at a large, faceless company. After 25 years...
. The original play has been called the "gimlet-eyed Expressionist classic about the soul rot of conventionality;" it relates the story of an "antihero," Mr. Zero, who murders his boss after he has been replaced by an adding machine after 25 years on the job. Loewith conceived a musical adaptation after learning of the Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
musical based on a second Rice play Street Scene
Street Scene (play)
Street Scene is a play by Elmer Rice that opened at the Playhouse Theatre in New York City on January 10, 1929 and ran for a total of 601 performances. The action of this ambitious, groundbreaking play takes place entirely on the front stoop of a New York City brownstone and in the adjacent street...
. After some years, Loewith was able to attract composer Joshua Schmidt to the project; Schmidt composed the music, and wrote the libretto and book together with Loewith. Schmidt met Loewith because he was the artistic director of company at Next Theater. Schmidt explained why his show had such a small band: "At Next Theater, we had a 15-by-5 space for the orchestra — a shoebox with a very low ceiling. My experience had taught me how to get a lot out of a little. I approached it with this combination in mind from the moment of conception. I didn’t cut it back to make it fit our space. I created a full blown, challenging score for three instruments. It’s not a matter of compensating for instruments that aren’t there."
Productions
The musical premiered in 2007 at the Next Theater in IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in a production directed by David Cromer
David Cromer
David Cromer is an American theatre director and stage actor. He has received recognition for his work Off-Broadway and in his native Chicago. Cromer has won or been nominated for numerous awards, including winning the Lucille Lortel Award and Obie Award for his direction of Our Town...
and starring Joel Hatch, Cyrilla Baer and Amy Warren. It opened Off Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre on February 25, 2008; it was again directed by David Cromer, with many of the original cast members. The New York based critic Adam Feldman reviewed the musical enthusiastically, noting that "Schmidt and Loewith’s adaptation cleaves to the bones of Rice’s play but also fleshes it out in a superbly varied score" and "Adding Machine does what Zero literally cannot imagine: It alchemizes mediocrity into excellence."
The production received six Lucille Lortel Award
Lucille Lortel Awards
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986...
nominations in the 2008 season, more than any other show, and won the Lucille Lortel Award
Lucille Lortel Awards
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986...
for Outstanding Musical (among others).
The show was produced in Washington, DC in 2009 at The Studio Theatre
Studio Theatre (Washington D.C.)
The Studio Theatre is a non-profit theater production company located at 1501 14th Street NW, Washington DC in the 14th Street corridor of Washington, D.C...
with Jason Loewith directing. It then was produced by the SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston in March and April 2010, at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. In Los Angeles, it was produced by the Odyssey Theater Ensemble in early 2011. In Milwaukee, it is also included in the Skylight Opera Theatre
Skylight opera theatre
The Skylight Opera Theatre is a professional light opera company located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1959, Skylight performs in the 358-seat Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee...
's 2010-2011 season.
Song list
Listing based on the compilation at CastAlbum.com.- Prelude
- Something to Be Proud Of
- Harmony, Not Discord
- Office Reverie
- Moving Up
- In Numbers
- In Numbers (Reprise)
- I'd Rather Watch You
- The Party
- Zero's Confession
- Ham and Eggs
- Didn't We?
- I Was A Fool
- The Gospel According to Shrdlu
- Death March
- A Pleasant Place
- Shrdlu's Blues
- Daisy's Confession
- I'd Rather Watch You (Reprise)
- Freedom!
- Freedom! (Reprise)
- The Music of the Machine
Cast (New York)
- Cyrilla Baer as Mrs Zero
- Joel Hatch as Mr Zero
- Amy Warren as Daisy Devore
- Joe Farrell as Shrdlu
- Jeff Still as Boss/Fixer/Charles
- Adinah Alexander as Mrs Two
- Niffer Clarke as Mrs One
- Roger E. DeWitt as Mr Two
- Daniel Marcus as Mr One
- Swings: Randy Blair and Ariela Morgenstern
Awards and nominations
2008 Lucille Lortel AwardsLucille Lortel Awards
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986...
- Outstanding Musical (winner)
- Outstanding Director, David Cromer (winner)
- Outstanding Lead Actor, Joel Hatch (winner)
- Outstanding Featured Actress, Amy Warren
- Outstanding Costume Design, Kristine Knanishu
- Outstanding Lighting Design, Keith Parham (winner)
Drama Desk Awards (nominations)
- Outstanding Musical
- Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, Amy Warren
- Outstanding Director of a Musical
- Outstanding Music (Schmidt)
- Outstanding Lyrics (Loewith and Schmidt)
- Outstanding Book of a Musical
- Outstanding Set Design of a Musical (Takeshi Kata)
- Outstanding Lighting Design (Keith Parham)
- Outstanding Sound Design (Tony Smolenski IV)
Outer Critics Circle Awards
- Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical (winner)
- Outstanding New Score (winner)
- Outstanding Drector Of A Musical (nominee)
- Outstanding Featured Actress In A Musical (Amy Warren) (nominee)