The Fix is a musical

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...

 with book and lyrics by John Dempsey

John Dempsey (lyricist)

John Dempsey is a theatrical lyricist and playwright who has worked in Britain and the United States. Much of his work in musical theater has been written with composer Dana P. Rowe. With Rowe, he wrote the book and lyrics for Zombie Prom , The Fix , and the stage adaptation of John Updike's The...

 and music by Dana P. Rowe

Dana P. Rowe

Dana P. Rowe is an American musical theater composer whose works have been performed in New York and London. Much of his work has been written with lyricist John Dempsey. With Dempsey, he wrote the music for Zombie Prom , The Fix , and the stage adaptation of John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick...

. It concerns the career of a fictional U.S. politician who gets mixed up with the Mafia

Mafia

The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...

.

It premiered at London's Donmar Warehouse

Donmar Warehouse

Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...

 in 1997.

Production history

The Fix was originally developed in association with Cameron Mackintosh

Cameron Mackintosh

Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...

 under the working title Cal: A Musical Tale of Relative Insanity. It premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, running from 29 April, 1997 through 14 June, 1997, directed by Sam Mendes

Sam Mendes

Samuel Alexander "Sam" Mendes, CBE is an English stage and film director. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning work on his debut film American Beauty and his dark re-inventions of the stage musicals Cabaret , Oliver! , Company and Gypsy . He's currently working on the 23rd James Bond...

 and starring John Barrowman

John Barrowman

John Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...

 and Philip Quast

Philip Quast

Philip Quast is an Australian actor perhaps best known for his role as Inspector Javert in the stage musical version of Les Misérables, or for appearances in numerous Australian soap operas including Sons and Daughters, The Young Doctors and Police Rescue.-Personal life:Quast was born in 1957 in...

. Quast won the 1998 Olivier Award

Laurence Olivier Awards

The Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...

 for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in The Fix. The musical was also nominated for Oliviers for Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (for Barrowman), and Best Lighting Designer (for Howard Harrison). Colin Welford

Colin Welford

Colin Welford is a composer for stage and screen, conductor, orchestrator and music teacher currently based in the United States...

 conducted the production.

It received its U.S. premiere at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, running from March 17, 1998 through April 26, 1998, where it was directed by Eric D. Schaeffer

Eric D. Schaeffer

Eric D. Schaeffer is a theater director and producer based in Arlington, Virginia.He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Signature Theatre., and is well known nationally for his re-invention of large American musicals for small black box venues...

.

The Fix had its Tri-State premiere at Princeton University's Theatre-Intime in 2003. Rachael Timinsky, Princeton '04, directed the production.

Synopsis

U.S. senator and Presidential candidate, Reed Chandler, dies while in bed with his mistress. At Reed's funeral, his widow Violet encourages her brother-in-law, Grahame Chandler, to mentor her son, Cal, through the ranks of political office, to follow in the footsteps of his father. Violet and Grahame shepherd Cal through successful campaigns for the City Council and Governorship, but Cal gets mixed up with local mob boss Anthony Gliardi and begins an affair with a club singer, Tina. Alcohol and drugs take their strain on Cal. Eventually, the mob turns on Cal, and he and Tina are brutally gunned down.

Musical numbers

At Donmar Warehouse, 1997
Act I

• "Advocate/Architect" – Ensemble
• "The Funeral" – Company
• "One, Two, Three" – Cal, Ensemble
• "Embrace Tomorrow" – Violet, Grahame, Bobby
• "Army Chant/Control" – Reed, Cal
• "America's Son" – Cal, Violet, Grahame, Leslie, Supporters, Newscaster
• "I See The Future" – Cal
• "Lonely is a Two-Way Street" – Tina
• "Simple Words" – Cal, Grahame, Reporters
• "Alleluia/Flash, Pop, Sizzle!" – Tina
• "Sense out of Insanity" – Grahame
• "Dangerous Games" – Gliardi, Frankie, Ensemble

Act II

• "Two Guys at Harvard" – Grahame, Reed, Violet, Ensemble
• "First Came Mercy" – Grahame, Ensemble
• "Bend the Spoon/One, Two, Three (reprise)" – Tina, Cal
• "Cleaning House" – Violet, Peter
• "Upper Hand" – Cal, Grahame
• "Spin" – Violet
• "The Ballad of Bobby "Cracker" Barrel" – Bobby, Ensemble
• "Child's Play" – Cal
• "Simple Words (reprise)" – Cal, Ensemble
• "Lion Hunts the Tiger" – Ensemble
• "Mistress of Deception" – Tina, Ensemble
• "Finale" – Company

Musical numbers

At Signature Theater, 1998
Act I

• "Let the Games Begin" – Reed, Ensemble
• "The Funeral" – Company
• "One, Two, Three" – Cal, Ensemble
• "Embrace Tomorrow" – Violet, Grahame, Bobby
• "Control" – Reed, Cal
• "America's Son" – Cal, Violet, Grahame, Leslie, Supporters, Newscaster
• "I See The Future" – Cal
• "Lonely is a Two-Way Street" – Tina
• "Simple Words" – Cal, Grahame, Reporters
• "Alleluia" – Tina
• "Flash Pop Sizzle/Who Said?" – Maids, Grahame
• "Don't Blame the Prince" – Cal
• "Dangerous Games" – Gliardi, Frankie, Ensemble

Act II

• "Two Guys at Harvard" – Grahame, Reed, Violet, Ensemble
• "Mercy Me" – Grahame, Ensemble
• "Alleluia/One, Two, Three (reprise)" – Tina, Cal
• "Cleaning House" – Violet, Peter
• "Upper Hand" – Cal, Grahame
• "Spin" – Violet
• "The Ballad of Bobby "Cracker" Barrel" – Bobby, Ensemble
• "Child's Play" – Cal
• "Mistress of Deception" – Tina, Ensemble
• "Finale" – Company

Original London cast

In order of appearance:

• Cal Chandler (Violet's son) – John Barrowman
  John Barrowman
  John Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...
  
  
• Reed Chandler (a senator) – David Firth
  David Firth
  David Firth is an English animator, video artist, amateur filmmaker, and musician. As a cartoonist Firth's work is largely distributed via the Internet...
  
  
• Donna (his mistress) – Christina Fry
• Peter (Chandler family chief of security) – David Bardsley
  David Bardsley
  David John Bardsley is an English former professional footballer.-Club career:Bardsley started with Blackpool in 1982 and subsequently moved to Watford in 1983 for £150,000 where he was noted for his pace, and played every game in Watford's run to the 1984 FA Cup Final, where they eventually lost...
  
  
• Richard (Chandler family's personal physician) – Richard D. Sharp
• Grahame Chandler (Reed's older brother) – Philip Quast
  Philip Quast
  Philip Quast is an Australian actor perhaps best known for his role as Inspector Javert in the stage musical version of Les Misérables, or for appearances in numerous Australian soap operas including Sons and Daughters, The Young Doctors and Police Rescue.-Personal life:Quast was born in 1957 in...
  
  
• Violet Chandler (Reed's wife) – Kathryn Evans
• Danielle (maid to the Chandler family) – Hannah Tollman
• Bobby "Cracker" Barrel (a redneck) – Bogdan Kominowski
• Deborah Pullman (soon to be Cal Chandler's wife) – Gael Johnson
• Sheila (Grahame's assistant) – Christina Fry
• Leslie Pynchon (a speech coach) – Carrie Ellis
• Tina McCoy (a dancer) – Krysten Cummings
• Anthony Gliardi (a mob boss) – Nicholas Pound
• Frankie Diamanti (his assistant) – Mark Frendo
• Cardinal O'Hare – Christopher Holt
• Young Bobby "Cracker" Barrel – John Partridge
  John Partridge (performer)
  John Partridge is an English actor, singer, dancer, panelist and television presenter, who is probably best known for the role of Christian Clarke in the long-running BBC television soap opera EastEnders, having joined the cast in January 2008...
  
  
• Calvin Chandler Jr (Cal's son) – Thomas Hawes/Thomas Moll/Archie Preston
• Newscaster – Rebecca Front
  Rebecca Front
  Rebecca Front is a BAFTA Award–winning English comedian and actress best known for her performances in The Thick of It in the late 2000s, and series of critically acclaimed satirical comedies in the early 1990s: On The Hour, The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You...with Alan Partridge...
  
  

External links

• Listing at MTI Shows
• Listing at NODANW