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110 in the Shade
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110 in the Shade
110 in the Shade is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt.
Based on Nash's 1954 play The Rainmaker, it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest, and her relationships with local sheriff File, a cautious divorcé who fears being hurt again, and charismatic con man Bill Starbuck, posing as a rainmaker who promises the locals he can bring relief to the drought-stricken area. Nash's book is faithful to his original play, although all the interior scenes were moved outdoors to allow for the addition of townspeople for ensemble numbers and dances. Many of Jones' lyrics come directly from Nash's play.
Following the success of The Fantasticks, the project was the composing team's first for Broadway. The original score was almost operatic in scope, and when the show's running time in Boston proved to be too long, the creative team began trimming numbers, eventually discarding nearly as many as were heard in the finished product. After two previews, the production, directed by Joseph Anthony and choreographed by Agnes de Mille, opened on October 24, 1963, at the Broadhurst Theatre, where it ran for 330 performances. The cast included Robert Horton as Starbuck, Inga Swenson as Lizzie, and Stephen Douglass as File, with Will Geer, Lesley Ann Warren, and Gretchen Cryer in supporting roles. The sets were by Oliver Smith and costumes by Motley. The show received four Tony Award nominations but won none. RCA Victor released an original Broadway cast recording of this production on November 3, 1963, with one recording in stereo and one in mono. Both recordings were identical, each having 16 tracks. RCA Victor also released the recording on Compact Disc on June 12, 1990, with one track--"Overture" not heard on the previous LP recordings.
The first and only West End production, directed by Charles Blackwell, recreated the original Broadway production closely and opened on February 8, 1967, at the Palace Theatre, where it ran for 101 performances.
A 1992 New York City Opera production, directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Susan Stroman, starred Karen Ziemba as Lizzie. The score was heard to particular advantage here, as the opera company orchestra was appreciably larger than the conventional Broadway pit orchestra. A 2-CD studio recording released by Jay Records on October 21, 1997, conducted by John Owen Edwards, features Ziemba, Walter Charles, Ron Raines, Kristin Chenoweth, and Schmidt and Jones. The recording was based on the 1992 New York City Opera production, and includes five bonus tracks from the New York City Opera production.
In 1999, a concert version was staged at the Fortune Theatre in London by Ian Marshall Fisher for the Discovering Lost Musicals Charitable Trust, with Louise Gold as Lizzie. For this production only a piano accompaniment was used, and the cast was unmiked.
The Roundabout Theater Company presented a new production of the show, which opened on May 9, 2007, at Studio 54, and closed on July 29, 2007, after 94 performances and 27 previews. The production team was headed by director Lonny Price and designer Santo Loquasto. They were joined by lighting designer Christopher Akerlind, sound designer Dan Moses Schreier, and musical arranger David Krane along with musical supervisor/director, Paul Gemignani, who has worked closely with Price on various stage projects in the past. The cast featured Audra McDonald as Lizzie, Steve Kazee as Bill Starbuck, and John Cullum as H.C. Curry. McDonald won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance. Ben Brantley wrote of McDonald: "Is it possible for a performance to be too good? Audra McDonald brings such breadth of skill and depth of feeling to the Roundabout Theater Company revival of '110 in the Shade' that she threatens to burst the seams of this small, homey musical. Ravishing of voice and Olympian of stature, she's an overwhelming presence in an underwhelming show."
The revival also garnered four additional Tony nominations, but failed to win any. In June 2010, McDonald reprised her Tony-nominated role in a two-week fundraising production of the show for the Hale Center Theater in Orem, Utah. A recording of this production was released on June 12, 2007, by PS Classics. It drops the "Overture" but adds two tracks of dialogue.
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110 in the Shade
110 in the Shade is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt.
Based on Nash's 1954 play The Rainmaker, it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest, and her relationships with local sheriff File, a cautious divorcé who fears being hurt again, and charismatic con man Bill Starbuck, posing as a rainmaker who promises the locals he can bring relief to the drought-stricken area. Nash's book is faithful to his original play, although all the interior scenes were moved outdoors to allow for the addition of townspeople for ensemble numbers and dances. Many of Jones' lyrics come directly from Nash's play.
Following the success of The Fantasticks, the project was the composing team's first for Broadway. The original score was almost operatic in scope, and when the show's running time in Boston proved to be too long, the creative team began trimming numbers, eventually discarding nearly as many as were heard in the finished product. After two previews, the production, directed by Joseph Anthony and choreographed by Agnes de Mille, opened on October 24, 1963, at the Broadhurst Theatre, where it ran for 330 performances. The cast included Robert Horton as Starbuck, Inga Swenson as Lizzie, and Stephen Douglass as File, with Will Geer, Lesley Ann Warren, and Gretchen Cryer in supporting roles. The sets were by Oliver Smith and costumes by Motley. The show received four Tony Award nominations but won none. RCA Victor released an original Broadway cast recording of this production on November 3, 1963, with one recording in stereo and one in mono. Both recordings were identical, each having 16 tracks. RCA Victor also released the recording on Compact Disc on June 12, 1990, with one track--"Overture" not heard on the previous LP recordings.
The first and only West End production, directed by Charles Blackwell, recreated the original Broadway production closely and opened on February 8, 1967, at the Palace Theatre, where it ran for 101 performances.
A 1992 New York City Opera production, directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Susan Stroman, starred Karen Ziemba as Lizzie. The score was heard to particular advantage here, as the opera company orchestra was appreciably larger than the conventional Broadway pit orchestra. A 2-CD studio recording released by Jay Records on October 21, 1997, conducted by John Owen Edwards, features Ziemba, Walter Charles, Ron Raines, Kristin Chenoweth, and Schmidt and Jones. The recording was based on the 1992 New York City Opera production, and includes five bonus tracks from the New York City Opera production.
In 1999, a concert version was staged at the Fortune Theatre in London by Ian Marshall Fisher for the Discovering Lost Musicals Charitable Trust, with Louise Gold as Lizzie. For this production only a piano accompaniment was used, and the cast was unmiked.
The Roundabout Theater Company presented a new production of the show, which opened on May 9, 2007, at Studio 54, and closed on July 29, 2007, after 94 performances and 27 previews. The production team was headed by director Lonny Price and designer Santo Loquasto. They were joined by lighting designer Christopher Akerlind, sound designer Dan Moses Schreier, and musical arranger David Krane along with musical supervisor/director, Paul Gemignani, who has worked closely with Price on various stage projects in the past. The cast featured Audra McDonald as Lizzie, Steve Kazee as Bill Starbuck, and John Cullum as H.C. Curry. McDonald won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance. Ben Brantley wrote of McDonald: "Is it possible for a performance to be too good? Audra McDonald brings such breadth of skill and depth of feeling to the Roundabout Theater Company revival of '110 in the Shade' that she threatens to burst the seams of this small, homey musical. Ravishing of voice and Olympian of stature, she's an overwhelming presence in an underwhelming show."
The revival also garnered four additional Tony nominations, but failed to win any. In June 2010, McDonald reprised her Tony-nominated role in a two-week fundraising production of the show for the Hale Center Theater in Orem, Utah. A recording of this production was released on June 12, 2007, by PS Classics. It drops the "Overture" but adds two tracks of dialogue.