City Of Angels
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CITY OF ANGELS is two shows in one. It is the interweaving of two plots, one dealing with the writing of a screenplay in the legendary Hollywood of the '40's; the other, the enactment of that screenplay.
Music By Cy Coleman
Lyrics By David Zippel
Book/Libretto by: Larry Gelbart
Produced by: Nick Vanoff, Roger Berlind, Jujamcyn Theaters, Suntory International Corp. & The Shubert Organization
Choreography by: Walter Painter
Directed by: Michael Blakemore
Opened: December 11, 1989
Theatre: Virginia Theatre (New York)
# of Performances: 878
Licensing Agent: Tams-Witmark
Synopsis
CITY OF ANGELS is the rarest of musical comedies; one that is not only loaded with music and written in the contemporary jazz idiom, but also filled with sidesplitting comedy. Set in the glamorous, seductive Hollywood of the 40's, the world of film studios and flimsy negligees, the show chronicles the misadventures of Stine, a young novelist, attempting a screenplay for movie producer/director, Buddy Fidler.
WHILE Fidler professes be fan work: I've read every book you've ever written, he assures author, gargantuan ego forces Stine to make endless compromises in the he's writing. The script is an adaptation one of Stine' novels which features his Raymond Chandleresque hero, a private investigator named Stone.
Every movie scene that Stine writes is acted out onstage by a group of characters whose costumes are limited to various shades of black and white. The same is true of the sets in which they appear and the props that they use. With music scored in the genre, we are, in fact, treated to a live version of a 1940's private eye film. It is a tale of decadence and homicide with a liberal sprinkling of femmes fatale.
The story begins when Stone's Girl Friday ushers a striking socialite, Alaura Kingsley, into Stone's office. The alluring Alaura ("Only the floor kept her legs from going on forever," Stone informs us) is there to hire Stone to track down the mysterious disappearance of her step- daughter, Mallory Kingsley. Mallory is a beautiful, "bad" young woman, who will later turn up in her birthday suit in Stone's own bed. Stone's deadpan reaction on seeing her there? "For a missing girl, there was not a whole lot missing."
But it's not all fun and games for the private eye. In the course of the "movie," Stone receives a brutal beating from two vicious hoodlums hired to get him off the Kingsley case, and is also framed for a murder that could land him in the gas chamber.
All of this goes on in the black and white "reel" life of CITY OF ANGELS. At the same time, in the "real" life scenes, all played out in glorious technicolor, Stine has his hands full as well. He must fight off the increasingly demanding Buddy Fidler, and is left to do this alone after his wife Gabby returns to New York because she disapproves of Stine's tactics. To make matters worse, Stine is then confronted by his alter ego, Stone, who is totally disgusted by Stine's willingness to sacrifice his principles. Finally stepping over the line that separates fantasy from reality, Stone challenges his creator, Stine. The confrontation results in the rousing duet-You're Nothing Without Me, which closes the first act.
In "reel" life the second act finds Stone more and more ensnared by the treacherous web spun by Alaura. In "real" life Stine has to negotiate his way through the creative landmine laid down by Buddy Fidler, while somehow earning back his wife's respect, the fictional Stone's acceptance as well as his own self respect.
After singing the ironic, soul searching -Funny, Stine appears on the studio sound stage for the first day of the filming of his script. It is here that, with the surprise appearance of Stone at his side to encourage him, and visible, of course, only to Stine, that the author finds the gumption to stand up to Buddy and reclaim his self respect.
Acquitting himself nobly, Stine is reunited with and once more in the good graces of his wife and with his alter ego, Stone. Together, with the entire company joining in, they perform a robust musical reprise of You're Nothing Without Me, a switch in the lyrics turning it into the far more positive I'm Nothing Without You. The result is that best of all Hollywood conventions; a happy ending.
Song List
ACT I
- Prologue ("City Of Angels" Theme)
- Stone On Gurney (Instrumental)
- Stone's Office (Instrumental)
- Alaura's Theme No. 1
- Double Talk - Stone
- Double Talk - Alaura & Stone
- Alaura's Exit (Instrumental)
- Double Talk - Buddy
- Double Talk - Stine
- What You Don't Know About Women
- Stay With Me (pre-recorded)
- You Gotta Look Out For Yourself (pre-recorded)
- You Gotta Look Out For Yourself
- Look Out Stone
- The Buddy System
- After Buddy (Instrumental)
- Flashback To Breath (Instrumental)
- With Every Breath I Take
- After With Ev'ry Breath (Instrumental)
- Sucker's Wobble (Instrumental)
- Donna Á Basier (Instrumental)
- Pay Phone (Instrumental)
- Alaura's Rubdown (Instrumental)
- Multiple Doors (Instrumental)
- The Tennis Song
- Everybody's Gotta Be Somewhere
- Lost And Found
- Lost And Found - Furniture (Instrumental)
- Flash Pictures (Instrumental)
- Stone Surrenders (Instrumental)
- With Ev'ry Breath (Underscore)
- Buddy's Massage (Instrumental)
- Morgue No. 2 (Instrumental)
- All You Have To Do Is Wait
- You're Nothing Without Me
ACT II
- Entr'acte
- Stay With Me No. 2
- Stay With Me No. 3 (pre-recorded)
- Jail Cell No. 1 (Instrumental)
- You Can Always Count on Me
- Nondescript Noodle ("You Can Always Count On Me" Underscore)
- Double Talk - Brunch
- More Nondescript ("All You Have To Do Is Wait" Underscore)
- What You Don't Know About Women (Underscore)
- Jail Cell No. 2
- Lost And Found (Underscore)
- The Tennis Song (Underscore)
- All Tied Up (Instrumental)
- Stone's Amazing Escape (Instrumental)
- Stay With Me - Party (Underscore)
- Stay With Me - Party
- You Gotta Look Out For Yourself (Underscore)
- Del Experiments (Underscore)
- This Is Alaura's Theme
- The Kiss
- Shoot First (Instrumental)
- New York City (Instrumental)
- It Needs Work
- To Margie's Place - Red Room ("L.A. Blues") (Instrumental)
- With Ev'ry Breath I Take
- Oolie's Last Telephone Call (Instrumental)
- Alaura's Heartbeat (Instrumental)
- Three Gun Shots/Two Clients (Instrumental)
- Funny
- Stone's Entrance (Instrumental)
- Fight With The Cops (Instrumental)
- I'm Nothing Without You
- Bows
- Exit Music
Cast List
Original Broadway Cast Included: Gregg Edelman, James Naughton, Rene Auberjonois, Dee Hoty, Kay McClelland & Randy Graff.
Original London Cast Included: Susannah Fellows, Martin Smith, Roger Allam, Maurice Clarke, Haydn Gwynne, Fiona Hendley, Henry Goodman & David Schofield
Awards & Nominations
- 6 Tony Awards for Musical, Book, Score, Scenic Designer, Actor and Featured Actress
- 9 Drama Desk Awards for Musical, Book, Music, Lyrics, Orchestration, Set Design, Lighting Design, Actor and Featured Actress
- 3 Outer Critics Circle Awards for Broadway Musical, Director, and Set, Costume and Lighting Design
- The New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical
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Added: Sun Jun 26 2005
Last Modified: Wed Nov 15 2006