''Via Galactica'' is a

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and con ...

with a book by

Christopher Gore Christopher Gore (September 21, 1758 – March 1, 1827) was a prominent Massachusetts lawyer, Federalist politician, and U.S. diplomat. Born into a family divided by the American Revolution, Gore sided with the victorious Patriots, establi ...

and Judith Ross, lyrics by Gore, and music by

Galt MacDermot Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song "African Waltz" in 1960. His most-successful musicals were '' Ha ...

. It marked the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut of actor Mark Baker. Originally entitled ''Up!'', it offers a futuristic story of social outcasts living on an

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

in the year 2972. Among them is Gabriel Finn, a space sanitation man who collects trash in a clamshell-shaped garbage ship called the

Helen of Troy Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...

. The storyline was so incomprehensible that at the last moment producers decided to insert a plot synopsis in the ''

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'', but audiences were still baffled by what they were witnessing unfold on stage.

Pyrotechnic Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating such things as fireworks, safety matches, oxygen candles, explosive bolts and other fasteners, parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarrying, and demolition. ...

displays and other

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wo ...

did little to enhance the project. After fifteen previews, the Broadway production, directed by Peter Hall, produced by

George W. George George W. George (born George Warren Goldberg; February 8, 1920 – November 7, 2007) was an American theater, Broadway and film producer. His credits included the film '' My Dinner With Andre'' (1981) and several hit Broadway productions. E ...

and

choreographed Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

George Faison George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

, opened on November 28, 1972, the first production at the brand-new Uris Theatre where, unable to withstand a universal assault by the critics, it ran for only seven performances. The cast included Raul Julia,

Irene Cara Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress of Black, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. Cara rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and f ...

Keene Curtis Keene Holbrook Curtis (February 15, 1923 – October 13, 2002) was an American character actor. Early life Curtis was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Polley Francella (née Holbrook), a teacher, and Ira Charles Curtis, a railway and civil s ...

Chuck Cissel Charles Cissel (born October 3, 1948) is an American singer, dancer, director, choreographer and producer. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Universi ...

, Ralph Carter, Melanie Chartoff, and

Virginia Vestoff Virginia Vestoff (December 9, 1939 – May 2, 1982) was an American actress of film, television and Broadway. Early life Vestoff was born into a family of vaudeville performers in New York City. Both her Russian immigrant father and mother, wh ...

. ''Via Galactica'', one of the first Broadway shows to lose more than $1 million, was MacDermot's second flop of the season. His '' Dude'' had closed after 16 performances five weeks earlier.

Songs

Act One

* "Via Galactica" (Storyteller) * "We Are One" (Blue People) * "Helen of Troy" (Gabriel Finn) * "Oysters" (Hels and April) * "The Other Side of the Sky" (Hels) * "Children of the Sun" (Omaha) * "Different" (April and Company) * "Take Your Hat Off" (Omaha and Company) * "Ilmar's Tomb" (Omaha) * "Shall We Friend?" (Gabriel Finn) * "The Lady Isn't Looking" (Omaha) * "Hush" (Gabriel Finn) * "Cross on Over" (Dr. Isaacs, Omaha and Company) * "The Gospel of Gabriel Finn" (Gabriel Finn)

Act Two

* "Terre Haute High" (April) * "Life Wins" (Omaha) * "The Worm Germ" (Provo) * "Isaacs' Equation" (Dr. Isaacs) * "Dance the Dark Away!" (Storyteller and Company) * "Four Hundred Girls Ago" (Gabriel Finn) * "All My Good Mornings" (Omaha) * "Isaacs' Equation (Reprise)" (Dr. Isaacs) * "Children of the Sun (Reprise)" (Omaha and Gabriel Finn) * "New Jerusalem" (Company)

References

*''Broadway Musicals: A Hundred Year History'' by David H. Lewis, published by McFarland & Company (2002), pages 104-105 () *''Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops'' by

Ken Mandelbaum Ken Mandelbaum is a Jewish American columnist, critic, and author whose primary field of expertise is musical theatre. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mandelbaum was introduced to Broadway musical theatre by his parents and grandparents a ...

, published by St. Martin's Press (1998), pages 23–24 ()

External links

* * * Jennifer George
"My Family's Flop"
''

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'', January 2, 2011. * BroadwayEdition.org host Paul Leary's Exclusive interview about Via Galactica with Rick Gore: http://www.paulleary.org/web/Home/Entries/2011/1/7_Exclusive_interview_about_Via_Galactica.html {{Galt MacDermot 1972 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Galt MacDermot Original musicals Science fiction musicals