Death Takes a Holiday (musical)
Encyclopedia
Death Takes a Holiday is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston
and a book by Peter Stone
and Thomas Meehan
. The story is adapted from the 1924 Italian play La Morte in Vacanza by Alberto Casella (adapted in English for Broadway in 1929 by Walter Ferris). That play was made into a famous 1934 film of the same name
starring Fredric March
, which was remade in 1998 as Meet Joe Black
, starring Brad Pitt
. The story is about lonely Death, who takes the form of a handsome young prince to understand human emotion. He falls in love with an engaged young woman and learns about love and sacrifice.
The show opened off-Broadway on June 10, 2011 for a limited run through September 4, 2011 at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold & Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre in a production by Roundabout Theatre Company
. The production received mixed reviews. The original production was directed by Doug Hughes
, and starred Linda Balgord
, Matt Cavenaugh
, Mara Davi
, Kevin Earley
, Simon Jones
, Rebecca Luker
, Jill Paice
, Michael Siberry
, Alexandra Socha
, Don Stephenson
and Max von Essen
. It also had Jim Walton
as an understudy.
The production garnered unexpected publicity when its original leading man, British actor Julian Ovenden
, left the show due to vocal trouble and was replaced by his understudy, Kevin Earley
. Ovenden's performance had been well-reviewed, but Earley also garnered acclaim in the role. The original cast recording was released in October 2011, by PS Classics
, with Earley in the role of Death.
Duke Vittorio Lamberti and his family are driving home to their hilltop villa outside of Venice in 1921 after the engagement party of their daughter, Grazia, to Corrado Montelli. A mysterious shadowy figure blocks the road and the car screeches to a halt. Grazia is thrown from the car but, miraculously, is unhurt. Even her clothes are unruffled. Somehow, she knows that the world has changed for her. Later that night, Death, inspired by Grazia's beauty, visits Grazia in her garden. He then goes to her father and explains that he has taken the body of a Russian prince, Nikolai Sirki, who has just committed suicide, in order to take human form for the weekend so that he may learn about human emotions and why death is so feared. He threatens dire consequences if the duke reveals his identity. Death, in the guise of Prince Nikolai, appears at the door of the villa, and Vittorio introduces him to his wife, Stephanie, her mother the Contessa Evangelina, and Evangelina's old flame, Dr. Albione. Unknown to the duke or Death, one of the servants, Fidele has overheard their discussion, and he is terrified that Death is staying in the house.
The next day, the prince is excited at the prospect of life, and the prospect of understanding what it means to be human. He strolls down to the lake, where he meets Grazia. They stare at each other intently and are about to kiss when Duke Vittorio appears. He is afraid for his daughter, knowing the prince is really Death, and uses her engagement to chide her for being alone with another man. Grazia breaks her engagement to Corrado. Later, the prince discovers Alice, the widow of Grazia's brother Roberto (killed in action during the war) in the music room. She is taken with him, and invites him to sing and dance with her. They are about to kiss when she looks into his eyes and is so frightened that she runs from the scene. That evening Roberto's best friend, Major Eric Fenton, arrives with his sister Daisy. The prince is introduced as an old friend of Roberto's, and Eric is immediately suspicious. When he looks into the prince's eyes he sees something hauntingly familiar. At dinner, Grazia tells the story of two long-ago lovers in a local grotto who leapt from a cliff hand in hand so that they could be together for all eternity. Afterwards, she takes the prince to that grotto, where they kiss passionately.
Act II
It is a Sunday afternoon, with an approaching storm. The duke's family has grown ill at ease with Prince Nikolai, who wanders around, looking for Grazia's room. Instead he enters Roberto's room, where his mother, Stephanie, holds mourning. It is a sacred place, she informs him. Later, in the garden, Daisy commiserates with Corrado, with whom she has secretly been in love. In the grape arbor, Vittorio pleads with Death not to take his remaining child, but his pleas fall on seemingly deaf ears. Later, Death meets with Grazia in the grotto again. She asks what they will do, now that they have spent an entire night together. He tells her that they must part and never see each other again, even though he finds the prospect unendurable.
Major Fenton has taken his private plane to Monte Carlo and returns with the news that the real Prince Nikolai is dead, and this one is an impostor. Alice and Daisy tell Grazia of this news, but she refuses to believe them. Meanwhile, the duke has learned that Death now plans to take Grazia with him when he leaves at midnight. He bursts into the prince's room and challenges him. Death replies that he loves Grazia and cannot imagine going on without her. The duke tells him that true love requires that he put Grazia's life and needs before his own. If he loves her, he will let her experience the joys and sorrows of life. Reluctantly, Death agrees, but just before the stroke of midnight Grazia appears before him, dressed in a white gown. After midnight, he takes her hand and she instantly dies. Together, hand in hand, they walk into the distant light.
Act II
Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston is an American composer, lyricist, educator and musicologist.He is known for writing the music and lyrics to Broadway musicals, including Nine in 1982, and Titanic in 1997, both of which won Tony Awards for best musical and best score. He also won a Drama Desk Award for Nine...
and a book by Peter Stone
Peter Stone
Peter Hess Stone was an American writer for theater, television and movies.-Life and career:Stone was born in Los Angeles. His mother, Hilda , was a film writer, and his father, John Stone was the writer and producer of many silent films, including Shirley Temple and Charlie Chan movies...
and Thomas Meehan
Thomas Meehan (writer)
Thomas Meehan is an American writer, best known for Annie, The Producers and Hairspray.-Life and career:Meehan grew up in Suffern, New York, and graduated from Hamilton College...
. The story is adapted from the 1924 Italian play La Morte in Vacanza by Alberto Casella (adapted in English for Broadway in 1929 by Walter Ferris). That play was made into a famous 1934 film of the same name
Death Takes a Holiday
Death Takes a Holiday is a 1934 romantic drama starring Fredric March, Evelyn Venable and Guy Standing, based on the Italian play La Morte in Vacanze by Alberto Casella.-Synopsis:...
starring Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
, which was remade in 1998 as Meet Joe Black
Meet Joe Black
Meet Joe Black is a 1998 American fantasy romance film produced by Universal Studios, directed by Martin Brest and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Claire Forlani, loosely based on the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday...
, starring Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
. The story is about lonely Death, who takes the form of a handsome young prince to understand human emotion. He falls in love with an engaged young woman and learns about love and sacrifice.
The show opened off-Broadway on June 10, 2011 for a limited run through September 4, 2011 at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold & Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre in a production by Roundabout Theatre Company
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...
. The production received mixed reviews. The original production was directed by Doug Hughes
Doug Hughes
Douglas Hughes is an American theatre and film director. He is the son of acting couple Barnard Hughes and Helen Stenborg.-References:-External links:...
, and starred Linda Balgord
Linda Balgord
Linda Balgord is an American Broadway actress and singer, most notable for playing Norma Desmond in the 1996 US tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical Sunset Boulevard, being the last actress to portray Grizabella in the original Broadway run of Cats and originating the role of Queen Elizabeth I...
, Matt Cavenaugh
Matt Cavenaugh
Matt Cavenaugh is an American stage, film, and television actor. He graduated from Ithaca College with a BFA in 2001. Cavenaugh's film debut was in Little Monsters as a child actor, and has more recently played starring roles on Broadway and Off Broadway...
, Mara Davi
Mara Davi
Mara Davi is an actress, singer and dancer who made her Broadway debut as Maggie Winslow in the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line. Davi joined the now-closed The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway on July 30, 2007 succeeding Sutton Foster in the lead role of Janet van de Graaff...
, Kevin Earley
Kevin Earley
Kevin Earley is an American stage, film, and television actor.Kevin Earley was trained at the Webster Conservatory in St. Louis, Missouri where he earned his B.F.A...
, Simon Jones
Simon Jones (actor)
Simon Jones is an English actor, most famous for his appearances in the television and radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which he played the lead role of Arthur Dent from 1978 to 2005...
, Rebecca Luker
Rebecca Luker
Rebecca Luker is an American musical theatre actress and soprano who has appeared in several prominent Broadway productions.-Life and career:...
, Jill Paice
Jill Paice
Jill Paice is an American Broadway and theatre actress. Paice attended Beavercreek High School in Beavercreek, Ohio, graduating in 1998. She then attended Baldwin-Wallace College, graduating with a bachelor of music in 2002...
, Michael Siberry
Michael Siberry
Michael Siberry is an Australian stage and screen actor. He most recently starred as King Arthur in the National Tour of Monty Python's Spamalot. In September 2008, he assumed the role of King Arthur on Broadway....
, Alexandra Socha
Alexandra Socha
Alexandra Socha is an American actress who took over the leading role of Wendla in the rock musical Spring Awakening in May 2008. She next appeared in the first Broadway revival of the Neil Simon play Brighton Beach Memoirs, as Nora.-Life and career:...
, Don Stephenson
Don Stephenson
Don Stephenson in Chattanooga, Tennessee is an American actor, and director. He is a graduate of Hixson High School in Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee. He has numerous credits on both television and in Broadway plays. He starred as Leo Bloom in the Tony Award winning Broadway...
and Max von Essen
Max von Essen
Max von Essen is an American musical theatre actor and vocalist.A son of Rita and Thomas Von Essen, who was the New York City Fire Commissioner during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, he is the youngest of four children.Von Essen is a 1992 graduate of South Side High School,...
. It also had Jim Walton
Jim Walton (actor)
Jim Walton is an American actor, most notable for his leading performance in the original production of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along as Franklin Shephard.-Career:...
as an understudy.
The production garnered unexpected publicity when its original leading man, British actor Julian Ovenden
Julian Ovenden
Julian Ovenden is an English stage, television and film actor and singer. He is one of three children of Canon John Ovenden, chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II....
, left the show due to vocal trouble and was replaced by his understudy, Kevin Earley
Kevin Earley
Kevin Earley is an American stage, film, and television actor.Kevin Earley was trained at the Webster Conservatory in St. Louis, Missouri where he earned his B.F.A...
. Ovenden's performance had been well-reviewed, but Earley also garnered acclaim in the role. The original cast recording was released in October 2011, by PS Classics
PS Classics
PS Classics is a record label that specializes in musical theatre and standard vocals. Founded in 2000 by Grammy-nominated freelance producer Tommy Krasker and singer/actor Philip Chaffin, their releases have been critically acclaimed for their meticulous sonic detail and high-quality packaging and...
, with Earley in the role of Death.
Plot synopsis
Act IDuke Vittorio Lamberti and his family are driving home to their hilltop villa outside of Venice in 1921 after the engagement party of their daughter, Grazia, to Corrado Montelli. A mysterious shadowy figure blocks the road and the car screeches to a halt. Grazia is thrown from the car but, miraculously, is unhurt. Even her clothes are unruffled. Somehow, she knows that the world has changed for her. Later that night, Death, inspired by Grazia's beauty, visits Grazia in her garden. He then goes to her father and explains that he has taken the body of a Russian prince, Nikolai Sirki, who has just committed suicide, in order to take human form for the weekend so that he may learn about human emotions and why death is so feared. He threatens dire consequences if the duke reveals his identity. Death, in the guise of Prince Nikolai, appears at the door of the villa, and Vittorio introduces him to his wife, Stephanie, her mother the Contessa Evangelina, and Evangelina's old flame, Dr. Albione. Unknown to the duke or Death, one of the servants, Fidele has overheard their discussion, and he is terrified that Death is staying in the house.
The next day, the prince is excited at the prospect of life, and the prospect of understanding what it means to be human. He strolls down to the lake, where he meets Grazia. They stare at each other intently and are about to kiss when Duke Vittorio appears. He is afraid for his daughter, knowing the prince is really Death, and uses her engagement to chide her for being alone with another man. Grazia breaks her engagement to Corrado. Later, the prince discovers Alice, the widow of Grazia's brother Roberto (killed in action during the war) in the music room. She is taken with him, and invites him to sing and dance with her. They are about to kiss when she looks into his eyes and is so frightened that she runs from the scene. That evening Roberto's best friend, Major Eric Fenton, arrives with his sister Daisy. The prince is introduced as an old friend of Roberto's, and Eric is immediately suspicious. When he looks into the prince's eyes he sees something hauntingly familiar. At dinner, Grazia tells the story of two long-ago lovers in a local grotto who leapt from a cliff hand in hand so that they could be together for all eternity. Afterwards, she takes the prince to that grotto, where they kiss passionately.
Act II
It is a Sunday afternoon, with an approaching storm. The duke's family has grown ill at ease with Prince Nikolai, who wanders around, looking for Grazia's room. Instead he enters Roberto's room, where his mother, Stephanie, holds mourning. It is a sacred place, she informs him. Later, in the garden, Daisy commiserates with Corrado, with whom she has secretly been in love. In the grape arbor, Vittorio pleads with Death not to take his remaining child, but his pleas fall on seemingly deaf ears. Later, Death meets with Grazia in the grotto again. She asks what they will do, now that they have spent an entire night together. He tells her that they must part and never see each other again, even though he finds the prospect unendurable.
Major Fenton has taken his private plane to Monte Carlo and returns with the news that the real Prince Nikolai is dead, and this one is an impostor. Alice and Daisy tell Grazia of this news, but she refuses to believe them. Meanwhile, the duke has learned that Death now plans to take Grazia with him when he leaves at midnight. He bursts into the prince's room and challenges him. Death replies that he loves Grazia and cannot imagine going on without her. The duke tells him that true love requires that he put Grazia's life and needs before his own. If he loves her, he will let her experience the joys and sorrows of life. Reluctantly, Death agrees, but just before the stroke of midnight Grazia appears before him, dressed in a white gown. After midnight, he takes her hand and she instantly dies. Together, hand in hand, they walk into the distant light.
Musical numbers
Act I- “In The Middle Of Your LIfe”
- “Nothing Has Happened”
- “How Will I Know”
- “Centuries”
- “Why Do All Men?”
- “Death Is In The House”
- “Alive!”
- “Life's A Joy”
- “Who Is This Man?”
- “Life's A Joy (Reprise)”
- “Shimmy Like They Do In Paree”
- “Roberto's Eyes”
- “Alone Here With You”
Act II
- “Something Happened”
- “Losing Roberto”
- “What Do You Do”
- “More And More”
- “Finally To Know”
- “I Thought That I Could Live”
- “December Time”
- “Pavane”
- “Finale: Grazia And Sirki”