All About Us (musical)
Encyclopedia
All About Us is a musical
with a book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander. The musical has been produced in regional theatre
s but not in New York City.
Based on Thornton Wilder
's Pulitzer Prize
-winning classic comedy The Skin of Our Teeth
, the prehistoric Antrobus family and their maid deal with life's trials and tribulations, including the Ice Age, a great flood, and a devastating war as they traverse the centuries in a testament to human will and resilience.
. The Woolly Mammoths attend the Mammoth Convention in Atlantic City. Sabina enters the beauty contest at the convention ("World Peace"). The Fortune Teller Esmeralda predicts the coming doom ("Rain"). As the actors break the actors' fourth-wall by speaking directly to the audience, the frustrated stage manager tries to keep the show together ("Who's the Equity Deputy on this show?"). Finally a world war breaks out and Henry, the leader of the opposition, confronts his father, while in the end, Sabina goes to the movies during a break in the raging catastrophe ("At the Rialto").
, David Garrison
, and Mario Cantone
.
Sherie Rene Scott
replaced Bebe Neuwirth
shortly before the opening in the role of Sabina. That role had been done by Bernadette Peters
at a first reading. Chip Crews, feature writer for the Washington Post observed: "It's a little hard to imagine Neuwirth as Sabina. Remember, for that first reading, the team used Bernadette Peters in the role, and Kander says she was terrific. There may be parts in which both actresses would score, but not many."
Critical reception was lukewarm, and the creative team reworked it in a number of workshop productions, at one point reverting to Wilder's original title, but never felt it was ready for Broadway
. Following Ebb's death in 2004, the project was abandoned.
According to writer Joseph Stein, the production at the Signature Theatre "...just didn't work properly...I made a lot of changes, and the third act of the play practically doesn't exist in the musical. Basically, the line of the play, we have kept. And the three major characters we have kept intact. We made the changes that will improve it for a contemporary audience."
A reading of a revamped version, rechristened All About Us, was held on January 17, 2006 in New York City, with Eartha Kitt
and Karen Ziemba
among the participants. The Westport Country Playhouse
presented a full staging directed by Gabriel Barre and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, with Kitt as Esmeralda, Cady Huffman
as Sabina, and Shuler Hensley
as Mr. Antrobus from April 10–28, 2007.
In his review for the magazine Variety
, critic Frank Rizzo said that "A lot of work still has to be done," noting that "What seems most lacking is the kind of opener that might place the show in a wilder Wilder world, embracing the writer's deconstructionism and epic themes with joyous abandon. There's nothing here to prep the audience for the show's strange musical journey. One longs for a Kander and Ebb number that would pull it all together before setting things loose in the story's crazy, loving way. Similarly absent is a closing number that's more of a wow than a wink."
The theatre critic for "theatremania.com", David Finkle, said in his review, "Kander is reportedly committed to having every show that he and his late songwriting partner completed brought to the stage. He was right to press for the recently opened and entertaining Broadway musical Curtains, but this time, the bigger favor would perhaps have been to keep the trunk lid firmly shut."
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 a book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander. The musical has been produced in regional theatre
Regional theatre in the United States
Regional theaters, or resident theaters, in the United States are professional or semi-professional, theater companies that produce their own seasons. The term regional theatre most often refers to professional theatres outside of New York City...
s but not in New York City.
Based on Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...
's Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning classic comedy The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth is a play by Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, 1942...
, the prehistoric Antrobus family and their maid deal with life's trials and tribulations, including the Ice Age, a great flood, and a devastating war as they traverse the centuries in a testament to human will and resilience.
Synopsis
Mr. Antrobus, head of the First Family of Man, his wife Maggie, their son Henry, daughter Gladys and their attractive maid, Sabina, face the hardships of the prehistoric time, and the impending Ice AgeIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. The Woolly Mammoths attend the Mammoth Convention in Atlantic City. Sabina enters the beauty contest at the convention ("World Peace"). The Fortune Teller Esmeralda predicts the coming doom ("Rain"). As the actors break the actors' fourth-wall by speaking directly to the audience, the frustrated stage manager tries to keep the show together ("Who's the Equity Deputy on this show?"). Finally a world war breaks out and Henry, the leader of the opposition, confronts his father, while in the end, Sabina goes to the movies during a break in the raging catastrophe ("At the Rialto").
Songs (2007)
- "Eat The Ice Cream"
- "Sabina!"
- "A Telegram"
- "We're Home"
- "The Wheel"
- "Warm"
- "A Whole Lot Of Lovin'!"
- "When Poppa Comes Home"
- "Save The Human Race"
- "A Discussion"
- "Rain"
- "Beauty Pageant"
- "World Peace"
- "He Always Comes To Me"
- "You Owe It To Yourself"
- "Nice People"
- "The Promise"
- "Military Man"
- "Lullaby"
- "Another Telegram"
- "The Skin Of Our Teeth"
- "At The Rialto"
Productions and background
Originally entitled Over and Over, the musical had its first professional staging in January–February 1999 at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, with a cast that included Dorothy LoudonDorothy Loudon
Dorothy Loudon was an American comedy actress and singer. She won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in Annie.-Early life and career:Loudon was born in...
, David Garrison
David Garrison
David Gene Garrison is an American actor. His primary venue is live theatre, but he may be more widely known for his numerous television roles, particularly that of Steve Rhoades on Married... with Children...
, and Mario Cantone
Mario Cantone
Mario Cantone is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, with numerous appearances on Comedy Central including Chappelle's Show. He also played Anthony Marentino on Sex and the City...
.
Sherie Rene Scott
Sherie Rene Scott
Sherie Rene Scott is an American actress, singer and writer. She is a co-founder of Grammy winning Sh-K-Boom Records and Ghostlight Records and has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway musicals and plays appears on numerous solo and original cast recordings.-Life and career:Scott was...
replaced Bebe Neuwirth
Bebe Neuwirth
Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife , on both the TV sitcom Cheers , and its spin-off Frasier...
shortly before the opening in the role of Sabina. That role had been done by Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
at a first reading. Chip Crews, feature writer for the Washington Post observed: "It's a little hard to imagine Neuwirth as Sabina. Remember, for that first reading, the team used Bernadette Peters in the role, and Kander says she was terrific. There may be parts in which both actresses would score, but not many."
Critical reception was lukewarm, and the creative team reworked it in a number of workshop productions, at one point reverting to Wilder's original title, but never felt it was ready for 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...
. Following Ebb's death in 2004, the project was abandoned.
According to writer Joseph Stein, the production at the Signature Theatre "...just didn't work properly...I made a lot of changes, and the third act of the play practically doesn't exist in the musical. Basically, the line of the play, we have kept. And the three major characters we have kept intact. We made the changes that will improve it for a contemporary audience."
A reading of a revamped version, rechristened All About Us, was held on January 17, 2006 in New York City, with Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...
and Karen Ziemba
Karen Ziemba
Karen Ziemba is an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her work in musical theatre.-Biography:Ziemba was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, and went on to attend the University of Akron , where she studied dance and joined the Ohio Ballet in her sophomore year.Her Broadway debut was in...
among the participants. The Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse, is a not-for-profit theater in Westport, Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos the Playhouse produces new and classic plays for the public....
presented a full staging directed by Gabriel Barre and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, with Kitt as Esmeralda, Cady Huffman
Cady Huffman
Catherine Elizabeth “Cady” Huffman is a Tony Award-winning American actress.-Early life:Huffman was born in Santa Barbara, California to Lorayne, a pre-school assistant director turned realtor, and Clifford Huffman, an attorney...
as Sabina, and Shuler Hensley
Shuler Hensley
-Early life:Hensley was born in Atlanta, Georgia. The youngest of three children, Hensley grew up in Marietta, Georgia. His father, Sam P. Hensley, Jr., is a former Georgia Tech football star, retired civil engineer and former state senator. His mother, Iris Antley Hensley, was a ballerina and the...
as Mr. Antrobus from April 10–28, 2007.
Critical reaction
In her review in the New York Times, Sylviane Gold praised Kitt, "Is there anything that can't be saved by Eartha Kitt? She's demonstrating that there is indeed a good reason for All About Us", but said of the show "[it] never achieves the critical mass that transforms a collection of discrete numbers into an all-embracing universe."In his review for the magazine Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, critic Frank Rizzo said that "A lot of work still has to be done," noting that "What seems most lacking is the kind of opener that might place the show in a wilder Wilder world, embracing the writer's deconstructionism and epic themes with joyous abandon. There's nothing here to prep the audience for the show's strange musical journey. One longs for a Kander and Ebb number that would pull it all together before setting things loose in the story's crazy, loving way. Similarly absent is a closing number that's more of a wow than a wink."
The theatre critic for "theatremania.com", David Finkle, said in his review, "Kander is reportedly committed to having every show that he and his late songwriting partner completed brought to the stage. He was right to press for the recently opened and entertaining Broadway musical Curtains, but this time, the bigger favor would perhaps have been to keep the trunk lid firmly shut."