Minsky's
Encyclopedia
Minsky's is a musical
by Bob Martin
(book), Charles Strouse
(music), and Susan Birkenhead
(lyrics), and is loosely based on the 1968 movie The Night They Raided Minsky's
.
Set during the Great Depression
era in Manhattan
, the story centers around a jaded burlesque
producer (Billy Minsky), a politician trying to shut him down (Randolph Sumner), and an innocent young girl who gets caught between them (Sumner's daughter, Mary).
, it starred Christopher Fitzgerald
as Billy Minsky, Katharine Leonard as Mary Sumner, George Wendt
as Randolph Sumner, and Rachel Dratch
played the comedic role of Beula. Costume design is by Gregg Barnes
, with lighting design by Ken Billington
.
Producers Kevin McCollum and Bob Boyett had said that they planned to bring the musical to Broadway
during the 2009-10 season. The producers will "refine" the show before Broadway. However, as of June 2011 it had not transferred to Broadway. It was reported by WhatsOnStage.com in June 2009 that the musical would open in the West End
"in late 2010 or early 2011."
Billy Minsky is struggling to keep his burlesque theater, the Winter Garden, alive through the depression. With ticket sales down, he needs some new way to sell his show. Meanwhile, on a trip to his psychoanalyst, he meets a beautiful girl, Mary, and falls in love with her. He soon finds out that this girl is the daughter of the politician, Randolph Sumner, who is trying to shut his theater down for lewd material. Billy then tries to win over both Mary and Randolph by posing as a political activist (assuming a different name) while making his dim-witted employee Boris pose as operator of the theater, Billy Minsky. The real Minsky, meanwhile, is torn between his new found love for the politician's daughter and the loyalty he feels to the cast and crew of his theater. He claims that he has convinced Minsky (really his employee Boris) to clean up the show, and invites Sumner to come and see it. His real motive is to get a compromising photograph of Sumner under false pretenses to derail his political career. He is successful in this enterprise, but in so doing reveals his real identity and thereby alienates Sumner's daughter, Mary.
Act Two
Billy has thwarted his opponent, Sumner, but has also lost all hope of winning his daughter Mary. He has saved his theater, and all of its employees, but at the expense of his own happiness. He is given an unexpected second chance, however, when Mary returns to the theater under cover, seeking revenge. Billy sees through her disguise right away, but decides to play along with it in the hopes that they might be reconciled. Although Mary originally returns (with her father in drag) to destroy Billy and his theater, she finds herself more and more sympathetic to the people who make their living there, and in the end she finds it difficult to choose between her father's wishes and the livelihood of the Winter Garden Theater cast and crew.
Act II
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...
by Bob Martin
Bob Martin
Bob Martin may refer to:People:* Bob Martin , Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly* Bob Martin American basketball player* Bob Martin...
(book), Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse is an American composer and lyricist.-Life and career:Strouse was born and raised in New York City, the son of Ira and Ethel Strouse...
(music), and Susan Birkenhead
Susan Birkenhead
Susan Birkenhead is an American lyricist.Birkenhead made her Broadway debut as one of a team of songwriters contributing to Working , for which she received her first Tony Award nomination. Her second was earned for Jelly's Last Jam , which won her the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics and a...
(lyrics), and is loosely based on the 1968 movie The Night They Raided Minsky's
The Night They Raided Minsky's
The Night They Raided Minsky's is a 1968 musical comedy film directed by William Friedkin and produced by Norman Lear. It is a fictional account of the invention of the striptease at Minsky's Burlesque in 1925...
.
Set during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
era in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, the story centers around a jaded burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
producer (Billy Minsky), a politician trying to shut him down (Randolph Sumner), and an innocent young girl who gets caught between them (Sumner's daughter, Mary).
Production history
Minsky's opened at the Ahmanson Theater on January 21, 2009 (previews), officially February 6, 2009, through March 1, 2009. Directed and choreographed by Casey NicholawCasey Nicholaw
Casey Nicholaw is an American theatre director, choreographer and performer. He has been nominated for Tony Awards for directing and choreographing The Drowsy Chaperone , for choreographing Monty Python's Spamalot , and choreographing The Book of Mormon , as well as winning for his co-direction...
, it starred Christopher Fitzgerald
Christopher Fitzgerald (actor)
Christopher Cantwell Fitzgerald is an American actor, singer, mime, clown, juggler, and acrobat. He is best known for his role as Boq in the musical Wicked and his role of Igor in Young Frankenstein, for which he earned Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award...
as Billy Minsky, Katharine Leonard as Mary Sumner, George Wendt
George Wendt
George Robert Wendt III is an American actor, best known for the roles of Norm Peterson and Tug Clarke on the television shows Cheers and Modern Men.-Early life:...
as Randolph Sumner, and Rachel Dratch
Rachel Dratch
Rachel Susan Dratch is an American comic actress best known for her roles as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
played the comedic role of Beula. Costume design is by Gregg Barnes
Gregg Barnes
Gregg Barnes is an American costume designer for stage and film. Barnes won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his work on the 2006 production of The Drowsy Chaperone.-Career:Barnes grew up in the San...
, with lighting design by Ken Billington
Ken Billington
Ken Billington is an American lighting designer. He began his career in New York City working as an assistant to Tharon Musser....
.
Producers Kevin McCollum and Bob Boyett had said that they planned to bring the musical to 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...
during the 2009-10 season. The producers will "refine" the show before Broadway. However, as of June 2011 it had not transferred to Broadway. It was reported by WhatsOnStage.com in June 2009 that the musical would open in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
"in late 2010 or early 2011."
Synopsis
Act OneBilly Minsky is struggling to keep his burlesque theater, the Winter Garden, alive through the depression. With ticket sales down, he needs some new way to sell his show. Meanwhile, on a trip to his psychoanalyst, he meets a beautiful girl, Mary, and falls in love with her. He soon finds out that this girl is the daughter of the politician, Randolph Sumner, who is trying to shut his theater down for lewd material. Billy then tries to win over both Mary and Randolph by posing as a political activist (assuming a different name) while making his dim-witted employee Boris pose as operator of the theater, Billy Minsky. The real Minsky, meanwhile, is torn between his new found love for the politician's daughter and the loyalty he feels to the cast and crew of his theater. He claims that he has convinced Minsky (really his employee Boris) to clean up the show, and invites Sumner to come and see it. His real motive is to get a compromising photograph of Sumner under false pretenses to derail his political career. He is successful in this enterprise, but in so doing reveals his real identity and thereby alienates Sumner's daughter, Mary.
Act Two
Billy has thwarted his opponent, Sumner, but has also lost all hope of winning his daughter Mary. He has saved his theater, and all of its employees, but at the expense of his own happiness. He is given an unexpected second chance, however, when Mary returns to the theater under cover, seeking revenge. Billy sees through her disguise right away, but decides to play along with it in the hopes that they might be reconciled. Although Mary originally returns (with her father in drag) to destroy Billy and his theater, she finds herself more and more sympathetic to the people who make their living there, and in the end she finds it difficult to choose between her father's wishes and the livelihood of the Winter Garden Theater cast and crew.
Musical numbers
Act I- Workin' Hot
- Cleopatra
- Happy
- Someone
- Keep It Clean
- Bananas
- You Gotta Get Up When You're Down
- Eyes Like That
- God Bless The U.S.A
- Every Number Needs A Button
Act II
- Tap Happy
- Bananas (Reprise)
- I've Got Better Things To Do
- I Could Get Used to This/ Bring Us Out of Our Shell
- Home
- I Want A Life
- Workin' Hot (Reprise)
- Cleopatra (Reprise)
- Bananas (Reprise)
- Nothing Lasts Forever
- Home (Reprise)