Celebration is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones

Tom Jones (writer)

Tom Jones is a lyricist of musical theatre. His best known work is The Fantasticks, which ran off-Broadway from 1960 until 2002, and the hit song from the same, Try to Remember. Other songs from "The Fantasticks" include "Soon It's Gonna Rain", "Much More" and "I Can See It"...

 and music by Harvey Schmidt

Harvey Schmidt

Harvey Lester Schmidt is an American composer for musical theatre. He is best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, The Fantasticks, which ran off-Broadway from 1960 - 2002.-Biography:...

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A musical fable

Fable

A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...

 set on New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...

, it focuses on four characters: Orphan, an idealistic and cheerfully optimistic young man, in possession of the stained-glass eye of God, who reminds Edgar Allen Rich, a wealthy but jaded old man, of his younger self; Angel, a sweet entertainer who longs to be "somebody"; and Potemkin, a Loki

Loki

In Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...

-like character who serves as narrator

Narrator

A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...

, commentator, and advisor. Surrounding them are a chorus known as the Revelers, who take on various roles throughout the action of the play, a group masked by the impersonal industrialism of their society, obediently following the rich man's demands but secretly aiding the boy who sees and respects them as individuals.

At the musical's core is the struggle between youth and old age, innocence and corruption, love and ambition, and poverty and wealth, as Angel tries to decide if she would be better served by her feelings for Orphan or Rich's willingness to fulfill her every dream.

With a set consisting of bare platforms, masks serving as the primary costumes, and a Brechtian

Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...

-like score played by a nine-piece band instead of a full-fledged orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

, the show was a major departure for Jones and Schmidt, whose previous work included the off-Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

 phenomenon

Phenomenon

A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...

 The Fantasticks

The Fantasticks

The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into...

and the more-mainstream Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 musicals 110 in the Shade

110 in the Shade

110 in the Shade is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt.Based on Nash's 1954 play The Rainmaker, it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest, and her relationships with local sheriff File, a cautious...

and I Do! I Do!

I Do! I Do!

I Do! I Do! is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt which is based on the Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter. The two-character story spans fifty years, from 1895 to 1945, as it focuses on the ups and downs experienced by Agnes and Michael Snow throughout their...

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After thirteen previews, Celebration, directed by Jones and choreographed by Vernon Lusby, opened on January 22, 1969 at the Ambassador Theatre

Ambassador Theatre (New York)

The Ambassador Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 219 West 49th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp for the Shuberts, the structure is unusual in that it is situated diagonally on its site to fit the maximum number of...

, where it ran for 109 performances. The cast included Ted Thurston

Ted Thurston

Ted Thurston was an American actor and singer.Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Thurston made his Broadway debut in the short-lived 1951 musical Flahooley. He had better luck with his next show, the Lerner and Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon...

, Michael Glenn-Smith, Susan Watson

Susan Watson

Susan Watson is an American actress and singer best known for her roles in musical theatre.Watson's first professional role was Velma in the original West End production of West Side Story in 1958. She created the role of Luisa in The Fantasticks and then played Kim on Broadway in Bye Bye Birdie,...

, and Keith Charles

Keith Charles (actor)

Keith Charles was an American theatre and television actor who was active from 1956 until he retired in 2003. His work included Broadway and off-Broadway roles, and television work, including recurring roles on eight soap operas...

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Song list

Act I

• "Celebration"
• "Orphan In The Storm"
• "Survive
• "Bored"
• "My Garden"
• "Where Did It Go?"
• "Love Song"
• "To the Garden"

Act II

• "I'm Glad to See You've Got What You Want"
• "It's You Who Makes Me Young"
• "Not My Problem"
• "Fifty Million Years Ago"
• "Beautician Ballet"
• "Saturnalia"
• "Under The Tree"
• "Winter And Summer"
• "Celebration" (Reprise)

External links

• Time Magazine review