Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
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''Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater'' is a 1979
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
that marked the first collaboration of composer
Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores and songs for ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989), ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), ''A ...
and writer
Howard Ashman Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
. Based on
Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
's 1965 novel of the same name, the musical tells the story of Eliot Rosewater, a millionaire who develops a social conscience and creates a foundation to improve the lives of the citizens of an impoverished Indiana town.


Productions

The musical had a showcase in May 1979 at the WPA Theater in New York City. Directed by Ashman,
Frederick Coffin Frederick D. Coffin (January 16, 1943 – July 31, 2003) was an American film actor, singer, songwriter, and musician. Early life Coffin was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943 to actress Winifred Deforest Coffin and writer Dean Coffin, and was ...
played Eliot Rosewater and
Jonathan Hadary Jonathan Hadary (born October 11, 1948) is an American actor. Early life and education Born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Bethesda, Maryland, Hadary arrived at Tufts University already an accomplished actor. He was cast in many shows at ...
played Mushari. Menken played the keyboards.Gussow, Mel
"Stage: ‘God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater’"
''The New York Times'', May 21, 1979
The musical transferred to the
Entermedia Theatre Village East by Angelika (originally the Louis N. Jaffe Art Theatre, also Village East, and formerly known by several other names) is a movie theater at 189 Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue, on the corner with 12th Street, in the East ...
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
, where it opened on October 14, 1979 and closed on November 24, after 49 performances. Directed by Ashman, the production featured Frederick Coffin (Eliot Rosewater),
Janie Sell Jane Ann "Janie" Sell (born October 1, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American actress. Career Sell won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for ''Over Here!'', which also starred the then-surviving Andrews Sisters Maxene and ...
(Sylvia Rosewater), and Jonathan Hadary (Norman Mushari). The musical was produced at the
Arena Stage Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...
in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
in May to June 1981, again directed by Ashman and starring Coffin. The cast also featured
Robert Westenberg Robert Westenberg (born October 26, 1953) is an American stage actor, acting teacher and professor. He appeared on Broadway in ''Sunday in the Park with George'', ''Les Misérables'', ''Into the Woods'', and ''The Secret Garden'', as well as sev ...
, Steve Liebman, Theresa Rabov, and Leslie Cass. In March 2003, ''Rosewater'' was performed in concert as part of the CooperArts series at the
Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
; the concert featured
Jim Walton James Carr Walton (born June 7, 1948) is an American businessman, currently the heir to the fortune of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. As of October 2022, Walton was the seventeenth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$61 b ...
(Eliot Rosewater),
Carolee Carmello Carolee Ann Carmello (born September 1, 1962) is an American actress best known for her performances in Broadway musicals and for playing the role of Maple LaMarsh on the television series ''Remember WENN'' (1996–1998). She is a three-time T ...
(Sylvia Rosewater), and
David Pittu David Jonathan Pittu ( ro, Pitu; born April 4, 1967) is an American actor, writer and director. Early life Pittu was born and grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut where, as a high school senior, he was a finalist in the NFAA's Arts Recognition Tale ...
(Norman Mushari).Jones, Kenneth
"Menken & Ashman's 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater' Gets NYC Concert March 7"
Playbill, March 6, 2003
The New England premiere of the show was performed from April 14–24, 2016 by Cape Cod Community College, in West Barnstable Massachusetts. The cast was made up of primarily students and most had heard of the book (Kurt Vonnegut was a resident of the area) however not many knew that it had been made into a musical. An Encores! Off-Center staged concert ran at
New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and, until 2011, the New York City Opera. and th ...
from July 27–30, 2016. The production starred
Skylar Astin Skylar Astin Lipstein (born September 23, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He became known for portraying Jesse Swanson in the musical films ''Pitch Perfect'' (2012) and ''Pitch Perfect 2'' (2015). He originated the role of Georg in the Broa ...
(Norman Mushari),
Santino Fontana Santino Fontana (born March 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He has received a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, Lortel Award, Obie Award, and Clarence Derwent Award in a mix of straight plays and musica ...
(Eliot Rosewater), Brynn O'Malley (Sylvia), and
James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
(Kilgore Trout). The production also featured
Rebecca Naomi Jones Rebecca Naomi Jones (born March 31, 1981) is an American actress and singer best known for her performances in the Broadway rock musicals ''Passing Strange'', '' American Idiot'', and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' as well as being the first wo ...
and was directed by Michael Mayer.Clement, Olivia
"James Earl Jones Joins 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater'"
Playbill, June 27, 2016
Sommer, Elyse

curtainup.com, July 28, 2016
Stewart, Zachary

theatermania.com, July 28, 2016
This cast recorded the first studio recording of this musical in 2017.


Cast and characters


Musical numbers

Source: CurtainUp ;Act I *Overture — Orchestra *The Rosewater Foundation — Rosewater Foundation Office Workers, Eliot, Company *The Rosewater Foundation (Reprise) — Eliot *Dear Ophelia — Eliot *Thank God for the Volunteer Fire Brigade — Firefighters, Eliot, Company *Mushari's Waltz (Magical Moment) — Mushari *Thirty Miles From the Banks of the Ohio/Look Who's Here — Eliot, Rosewater Township Citizens *Cheese Nips — Sylvia, Company *The Rosewater Foundation (Reprise II) — Eliot, Township Citizens *Since You Came to This Town — Rosewater Township Citizens, Company ;Act II *A Poem by William Blake — A Voice Not Unlike God's, Company *The Rhode Island Tango — Fred, Caroline, Mushari *Eliot/Sylvia — Eliot, Sylvia *Plain Clean Average Americans — Mushari, Eliot, Caroline, Fred, Company *A Firestorm Consuming Indianapolis — Eliot *Dear Ophelia (Reprise) — Sylvia *I, Eliot Rosewater — Eliot, Company


References


External links


''God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater''
at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
Bless You, Mr. Rosewater''
at the Music Theatre International website *
The Making of ''God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater''
, a 2016 ''
Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...
'' oral history {{Authority control 1979 musicals Off-Broadway musicals Musicals based on novels Kurt Vonnegut Musicals by Alan Menken Musicals by Howard Ashman Plays set in Indiana