The show is composed of two acts linked only by the common theme of love and one song performed in both acts. The first, The Little Comedy, is based on a short story by Arthur Schnitzler and explores the budding relationship between two people who have adopted personas other than their own. Set in late 19th century Vienna, it focuses on Josefine, a demimondaine weary of the social life provided by her upper class lovers, and wealthy playboy Alfred, who has tired of a seemingly endless round of inconsequential affairs. She assumes the guise of a working class woman, while he pretends to be a struggling poet, and the two meet while enjoying their new identities. Whether or not they can survive a weekend in the country with their usually glamorous trappings replaced by inedible food, bad wine, swarming insects, and total boredom is the question to be answered.
Summer Share, the second act based on Jules Renard's 1898 play Le pain de ménage, is updated to the late 1980s and set in The Hamptons, where two married couples in their thirties are spending the season in a rented cottage. Sam, who is married to Barb, and Monica, who is married to Lenny, find themselves gradually progressing from harmless flirtation to the serious possibility of an illicit affair.
Initially staged off-off-Broadway November 16, 1987 at the Actor's Outlet Theatre (Executive Director: Eleanor Segan, Artistic Director: Ken Lowstetter), Romance/Romance garnered critical notices that encouraged the move to a larger house uptown.[2] After thirteen previews, the Broadway production, directed by Harman and choreographed by Pamela Sousa, opened on May 1, 1988 at the Helen Hayes Theatre, where it ran for 297 performances. The cast included Alison Fraser as Josefine/Monica, Scott Bakula as Alfred/Sam, Deborah Graham as Barb, and Robert Hoshour as Lenny. Sal Viviano was the Standby for Bakula and Hoshour, and succeeded Bakula, when he left the Show. Jana Robbins was the Standby for Fraser and Graham. Barry Williams replaced Viviano later in the run.
romance, romance, musical, with, book, lyrics, barry, harman, music, keith, herrmann, original, recordingmusickeith, herrmannlyricsbarry, harmanbookbarry, harmanbasisjules, renard, play, pain, ménageproductions1987, broadway, 1988, broadway, contents, synopsis. Romance Romance is a musical with a book and lyrics by Barry Harman and music by Keith Herrmann Romance RomanceOriginal RecordingMusicKeith HerrmannLyricsBarry HarmanBookBarry HarmanBasisJules Renard s play Le pain de menageProductions1987 Off off Broadway 1988 Broadway Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Original cast and characters 3 Songs 4 Production history 5 Awards and nominations 5 1 Original Broadway production 6 References 7 External linksSynopsis editThe show is composed of two acts linked only by the common theme of love and one song performed in both acts The first The Little Comedy is based on a short story by Arthur Schnitzler and explores the budding relationship between two people who have adopted personas other than their own Set in late 19th century Vienna it focuses on Josefine a demimondaine weary of the social life provided by her upper class lovers and wealthy playboy Alfred who has tired of a seemingly endless round of inconsequential affairs She assumes the guise of a working class woman while he pretends to be a struggling poet and the two meet while enjoying their new identities Whether or not they can survive a weekend in the country with their usually glamorous trappings replaced by inedible food bad wine swarming insects and total boredom is the question to be answered Summer Share the second act based on Jules Renard s 1898 play Le pain de menage is updated to the late 1980s and set in The Hamptons where two married couples in their thirties are spending the season in a rented cottage Sam who is married to Barb and Monica who is married to Lenny find themselves gradually progressing from harmless flirtation to the serious possibility of an illicit affair Original cast and characters editCharacter Broadway 1988 1 Monica Josefine Weninger Alison Fraser Sam Alfred Von Wilmers Scott Bakula Barb Her Deborah Graham Lenny Him Robert HoshourSongs editAct I The Little Comedy Goodbye Emil It s Not Too Late Great News Oh What a Performance I ll Always Remember the Song Happy Happy Happy Women of Vienna Yes It s Love A Rustic Country Inn The Night It Had to End The Little Comedy Finale Act II Summer Share Think of the Odds It s Not Too Late Reprise Plans A amp B Let s Not Talk About It So Glad I Married Her Small Craft Warnings How Did I End Up Here Words He Doesn t Say My Love for You Moonlight Passing Through a Window Now Romantic Notions Romance Romance An original cast recording was released by MCA Production history editInitially staged off off Broadway November 16 1987 at the Actor s Outlet Theatre Executive Director Eleanor Segan Artistic Director Ken Lowstetter Romance Romance garnered critical notices that encouraged the move to a larger house uptown 2 After thirteen previews the Broadway production directed by Harman and choreographed by Pamela Sousa opened on May 1 1988 at the Helen Hayes Theatre where it ran for 297 performances The cast included Alison Fraser as Josefine Monica Scott Bakula as Alfred Sam Deborah Graham as Barb and Robert Hoshour as Lenny Sal Viviano was the Standby for Bakula and Hoshour and succeeded Bakula when he left the Show Jana Robbins was the Standby for Fraser and Graham Barry Williams replaced Viviano later in the run Awards and nominations editOriginal Broadway production edit Year Award Category Nominee Result 1988 Tony Award Best Musical Nominated Best Book of a Musical Barry Harman Nominated Best Original Score Barry Harman and Keith Herrmann Nominated Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Scott Bakula Nominated Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Alison Fraser Nominated Drama Desk Award Outstanding Lyrics Barry Harman NominatedReferences edit Playbill 1988 Bio Cast List accessed 07 22 2023 Goodman Walter November 17 1987 Stage Romance Romance 2 Plays The New York Times p C15 ProQuest 110737190 Retrieved 2024 02 09 External links edit Romance Romance at the Internet Broadway Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Romance Romance amp oldid 1220983959, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
