But Never Jam Today was a 1979 musical with music by Bert Keyes & Bob Larimer, lyrics by Larimer, and a book by both Larimer and Vinnette Carroll

Vinnette Justine Carroll

Vinnette Justine Carroll was an American playwright, and the first African American woman to direct on Broadway, with the 1972 musical Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope.- Biography :...

. The musical is based on the works of Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...

.

Background

A musical by Micki Grant

Micki Grant

Micki Grant is an American singer actress, writer and composer. She performed in Having Our Say , Tambourines to Glory and Jericho-Jim Crow, The Gingham Dog, Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope and has received three Tony Award nominations for her writing...

 entitled Alice was the previous musical work of Alice's adventures, which premiered on May 31, 1978 in Philadelphia in a pre-Broadway tryout.

Production

It opened on July 31, 1979, at the Longacre Theatre

Longacre Theatre

The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 220 West 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.-Theatre History:Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts in 1912, it was named for Longacre Square, the original name for Times Square...

, produced by Arch Nadler, Anita MacShane, and The Urban Arts Theatre at the Longacre Theatre. The show closed on August 5m 1979, after only 8 performances.

The show was directed and devised by Vinnette Carroll

Vinnette Justine Carroll

Vinnette Justine Carroll was an American playwright, and the first African American woman to direct on Broadway, with the 1972 musical Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope.- Biography :...

, choreography by Talley Beatty

Talley Beatty

Talley Beatty was born in Cedar Grove, Louisiana, a section of Shreveport, but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He is considered one of the greatest of African American choreographers, and also bears the titles dancer, educator, and dance company director...

, musical direction and incidental music by Donald O. Johnston, set and costume design by William Schroder, lighting design by Ken Billington

Ken Billington

Ken Billington is an American lighting designer. He began his career in New York City working as an assistant to Tharon Musser....

, choral arrangement and vocal preparation by Cleavant Derricks

Cleavant Derricks (actor)

Cleavant Derricks, Jr. is an American actor and singer-songwriter, who is best known for his role of Rembrandt Brown on Sliders.-Biography:...

, sound design by T. Richard Fitzgerald, orchestrations by Bert Keyes, special orchestration by H. B. Barnum

H. B. Barnum

H. B. Barnum is an American pianist, arranger, record producer, songwriter, and former child actor....

 and Larry Black, dance music by Barnum, production manager Robert L. Borod, stage manager Robert Charles, and press by Alpert/Levine and Mark Goldstaub.

The show starred Marilynn Winbush (Alice), Cleavant Derricks

Cleavant Derricks (actor)

Cleavant Derricks, Jr. is an American actor and singer-songwriter, who is best known for his role of Rembrandt Brown on Sliders.-Biography:...

, (Caterpillar, Cook, Tweedledee, Seven of Spades), Lynne Thigpen

Lynne Thigpen

Cherlynne Theresa “Lynne” Thigpen was an American stage and television actress, most famous as "The Chief" in the various Carmen Sandiego television series.-Early life:...

 (Persona Non Grata), Lynne Clifton-Allen (Black Queen), Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter (White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, Mock Turtle), Reginald VelJohnson

Reginald VelJohnson

Reginald VelJohnson is an American actor of film, stage and television, well known for his role as Carl Winslow on the sitcom Family Matters, where he was the only cast member to appear in every single episode. He also portrayed LAPD Sgt...

(Duchess, Humpty-Dumpty, King of Hearts), Jai Oscar St. John (Mad Hatter, Tweedledum, Two of Spades), Sheila Ellis (March Hare, Five of Spades, Cook), Celestine DeSaussure (Dormouse, Cook), and Charlene Harris (White Queen, Queen of Hearts). The Mushrooms were Brenda Braxton, Clayton Strange, Sharon K. Brooks, Garry Q. Lewis, Celestine DeSaussure, and Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter. The Guards were Clayton Strange and Garry Q. Lewis.

Scene Breakdown

Act I, Scene 1 - Down the rabbit hole

• Scene 2 - Interview with a Caterpillar (square 1)
• Scene 3 - The Black Queen (Square 2)
• Scene 4 - The Kitchen of the Duchess (Square 3)
• Scene 5 - The Cheshire Cat
• Scene 6 - A Mad Party (Square 4)
• Scene 7 - The White Queen (Square 5)
• Scene 8 - Humpty Dumpty
• Scene 9 - Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Square 6)

Act II, Scene 1 - The Queen of Hearts's croquet ground

• Scene 2 - The Queen's Dungeon
• Scene 3 - The Mock Turtle (Square 7)
• Scene 4 - The Queen's dungeon
• Scene 5 - An examination (Square 8)
• Scene 6 - Alice's Reward
• Scene 7 - The daydream ends

Musical numbers

Act 1

• Curiouser and Curiouser – Alice
• Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - Caterpillar, Persona Non Grata, Company
• Long Live The Queen – Black Queen, Alice
• A Real Life Lullabye - Duchess, Cooks
• The More I See People - Cheshire Cat
• My Little Room - Alice
• But Never Jam Today – White Queen, Alice
• Riding For A Fall - Persona Non Grata, Humpty Dumpty, Alice
• All The Same To Me- Tweedledee, Tweedledum
• I've Got My Orders - Alice

Act 2

• God Could Give Me Anything – Two, Five, Seven of Spades
• But Never Jam Today (Reprise) - Company, Persona Non Grata
• I Like To Win - Alice
• And They All Call The Hatter Mad – Persona Non Grata
• Jumping From Rock To Rock - Mock Turtle, Alice, Company
• They – Two, Five, Seven of Spades
• Long Live The Company (Reprise) - Company
• I've Got My Orders (Reprise) - Alice, Company

Bibliography

• "The Best Plays of 1979-1980". Dodd, Mead & Company, 1980, pp. 357–359. ISBN 0-396-07907-5.