After the Night and the Music
Encyclopedia
Elaine May
Elaine May is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols...
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Borrowing its title from the Howard Dietz
Howard Dietz
Howard Dietz was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist.-Biography:Dietz was born in New York City and studied journalism at Columbia University...
song "You and the Night and the Music,", it actually is a one-acter preceded by a curtain raiser, a quartet of interlaced monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
s, and an intermission
Intermission
An intermission or interval is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening....
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The aptly titled Curtain Raiser is set in the bar of a dance hall where a grim woman and overweight former dance instructor connect, much to the surprise of both, when she attempts to rebuff his advances by telling him she can only lead and he teaches her how to lead better than she ever has before.
Giving Up Smoking introduces us to Joanne, a lonely, middle-aged woman waiting to hear from Mel, that evening's date; Joanne's best friend Sherman, a lonely, middle-aged gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
man waiting to hear from potential new boyfriend Gavin; guitar-strumming Mel, whose policy is to dump a woman before she becomes emotionally demanding; and Sherman's cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
-ridden but brightly optimistic mother Kathleen. The four discuss hopes and dreams and reminisce about happier days in monologues each delivers from a separate area of the stage.
In Swing Time, Mitzi and her husband Darryl are preparing for the imminent arrival of old friends Gail and Ron. What kind of evening lies ahead is revealed when high-strung Mitzi bemoans the fact her bra and panties don't match. The two couples are slowly easing themselves into the intended purpose of the evening when the phone rings and Mitzi refers to "the private line." Her friends' indignation at not being given the number and Mitzi's increasingly complicated reasons why they weren't disrupt everything in May's typically comic fashion.
After 39 previews, the Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
production, directed by Daniel Sullivan and choreographed by Randy Skinner, opened on June 1, 2005 at the Biltmore Theatre
Biltmore Theatre
The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 261 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan.-History:...
where, hampered by mostly lukewarm reviews, it ran for only 38 performances. The cast included Jeannie Berlin
Jeannie Berlin
Jeannie Berlin is an American film, television and stage actress.Berlin was born Jeannie Brette May in Los Angeles, California to Marvin May and actress/comedian/screenwriter/playwright Elaine May. May directed Berlin in the 1972 film The Heartbreak Kid, which garnered Berlin Golden Globe and...
, Jere Burns
Jere Burns
Jerald Eugene "Jere" Burns II is an American actor who has appeared in theatre productions and on television and is best known for his role as ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series, Dear John.-Early life:...
, Brian Kerwin
Brian Kerwin
Brian Kerwin is an American actor.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kerwin won the Theatre World Award in 1988 for the off-Broadway play Emily. His Broadway theatre credits include the 1997 revival of The Little Foxes and the Elaine May comedy After the Night and the Music in 2005...
, J. Smith-Cameron
J. Smith-Cameron
J. Smith-Cameron is an American actress.Smith-Cameron was born Jean Isabel Smith in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of architect Richard Sharpe Smith. She was raised in Greenville, South Carolina, and attended Florida State University where she was enrolled in the School of Theatre...
, Joanna Glushak, Eddie Korbich
Eddie Korbich
Eddie Korbich is an actor, singer, dancer. He was born in Washington, D.C. but grew up in Shamokin, Pennsylvania.-1980s:He graduated from the Boston Conservatory with a B.F.A...
, and Deirdre Madigan.