Small Scale Musicals

[britluvvie]

I am looking for a musical to direct which can be performed in a very limited space. It can have :

No chorus;
Maximum of 8 in the cast;
a simple, preferably single, set.

and, of course, a great storyline and an award-winning score !! Not much I'm asking is it ?

Any ideas out there in musical land ? Please ??

[Owwzee]

I love musicals. =] Upon reading this many came into my mind. "Closer Than Ever", Songs of A New World", "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change", and "The Last Five Years". Actually this is all I can think of as I am really busy. But yes, these are really small scale, amazing musicals. I am a fan of JRB obviously. All of these with the exception on the JRB shows are really funny.

[Annie]

Not sure what age group you are looking at, but a couple of great ones, for women anyway, are Nunsense (5, although I've heard of casting 3 extra nuns and having them sing back-up for Sister Robert Anne on "Growing Up Catholic" and being given the song "Drive-In.") and Ruthless! the Musical (can be six women with doubling, or eight without and you can also cast kids for the roles of Tina and Louise).

[Annie]

I almost forgot, there are also a few revues you might want to look into: Side By Side By Sondheim and World Goes Round (the music of Kander and Ebb). When I saw Side By Side the director had cast four men and four women splitting up the songs and dialogue. I think it was written for one man, two women and a narrator, but the eight person split was nice. They also only used two pianos as the accompaniment.

When I did Nunsense we had just a piano. However, I also stage managed a production in which we used a smaller orchestra and I think it really brought a lot more to certain songs, especially the song "Holier than Thou."

[DG22894]

Rent might work. You have Roger, Mark, Agel, Morrin, Collins, Johane, Benny. Then u could have some corus memebrs it does not really call for a lot.

[susan?]

Godspell (MTI) would work for you really well I think.

I've never seen it staged, but I love the story synopsis of Baby (MTI)

Also, it's more than 8 (I think) but Bat Boy (DPS)

[Annie]

Baby is a great show, but there are characters outside of the main six so you would have to have people for the smaller roles. It does have an ensemble. You could always cut some of the ensemble stuff, but "Fatherhood Blues" is one of the best numbers of the show, so if you should happen to do this show and there's a way to keep it in you should.

[Nara]

The Fantasticks. It fits everything.
Cast List:
El Gallo - Baritone
Luisa - Soprano
Matt - Baritone
Bellomy - Baritone
Hucklebee - Baritone/Tenor
Henry - Non-singing
Mortimer - Non-singing
The Mute - Non-speaking & Non-singing (acts as "The Wall," sets the scenes, hands out props, etc.)

-The music is amazing, the story is touching, the characters are easy to relate to, it is the longest-running show ever, it's funny, happy, sad, everything.
-It is a minimalist show, so there is virtually no set, only a few props, and for the most part simple costumes.
-The show can be set in any time period, or in an ambiguous, timeless style.
-The original orchestration was for only piano and harp, and the harp parts can be played on piano.
-The ideal setting is small (150 seats or fewer), and needs no mics.
-Lights are probably the most complicated thing about the show, as they set the scenes, tone, and mood because of the minimalist set.
-The two fathers (Hucklebee and Bellomy) can be changed to two mothers with a few minor changes to the script, and the mute can be either male or female.