''A Class Act'' is a quasi-

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

loosely based on the life of composer-

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income de ...

Edward Kleban, who died at the age of 48 in 1987. Featuring a book by Linda Kline and Lonny Price along with music and lyrics by Kleban himself, the musical uses flashbacks and the device of time running backwards to retrace the high and low points of the composer's personal and professional life. The original production concept was haphazardly thrown together by Kleban's close friend and author of the book by using a trunkful of songs that Kleban had written for a number of unproduced musicals, and writing new scenes or reworking original scenes around them, with Price polishing up the results. In addition to serving as a tribute to one of the award-winning collaborators of ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dan ...

'', ''A Class Act'' provides yet another behind-the-scenes glimpse at how a musical is created and brought to the stage. In contrast to ''A Chorus Line'' however, the piece offers a considerably more severe warning as well about how an artist's personal life—including struggles with

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

and

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

—can interfere with, obstruct, and eventually doom his professional as well as his personal pursuits.

Productions

The musical was initially produced

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 th ...

by the

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...

at Stage II, opening on October 3, 2000 and running through December 10, 2000. Director Lonny Price cast himself as the lead in the Off-Broadway production, and the cast was rounded out by

Randy Graff Randy Lynn Graff (born May 23, 1955) is an American actress and singer. Career Graff was born in Brooklyn, New York City and is a graduate of Wagner College. She is a cousin of actors Todd Graff and Ilene Graff. Graff has been in feature films ...

as Sophie, Jonathan Freeman as Lehman Engel, Carolee Carmello as Lucy, Ray Wills as both Charlie and Marvin Hamlisch, Julia Murney as Felicia, Nancy Anderson as Mona, and David Hibbard as both Bobby and Michael Bennett. ''A Class Act'' transferred to Broadway on March 11, 2001 at the Ambassador Theatre, where it ran for 30 previews and 105 regular performances. Price, Graff, Hibbard, and Anderson were retained from the Off-Broadway company, with Patrick Quinn replacing Freeman,

Donna Bullock Donna Bullock is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing the 195th House district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bullock is the chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus. Formative years Bullock ...

replacing Carmello, Jeff Blumenkrantz replacing Wills, and Sara Ramirez replacing Murney.

Canadian premiere

''A Class Act'' had its Canadian premiere presented by the Toronto Civic Light Opera Company as the company's 30th anniversary production in May 2009. The show starred Joe Cascone (Ed Kleban), Caroline Moro-Dalicandro (Sophie), David Haines (doubling as Bobby and Marvin Hamlisch), Joanne Kennedy (Lucy), Eric Botosan (Lehman Engel), Julie Lennick (Felicia), Stephanie Douglas (Mona) and Larry Gibbs (doubling as Charley and Michael Bennett). Like the original New York productions, the Toronto production was directed by its leading player, Joe Cascone, with choreography by Lesley Ansell and musical direction by Paul Christman. This production dropped the song "Don't Do It Again".

Plot

In 1988, a memorial service to Ed Kleban is being held at the Shubert Theatre. Ed appears at his own memorial. His friends and colleagues remember him and think back over the past. As the time shifts backwards, the friends reminisce about the songwriting workshop held by

Lehman Engel A. Lehman Engel (born September 14, 1910, Jackson, Mississippi - died August 29, 1982, New York City) was an American composer and conductor of Broadway musicals, television and film. Work in theatre, television and films Engel worked in a variet ...

(now known as the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop). As Ed interacts with the people in his life, he deals with ambitions, success, failures, and loves.

Characters

* Ed – Edward Kleban, lyricist and composer * Sophie – Ed's oldest friend and first love, an

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

– head of the songwriting workshop * Michael Bennett – director/ choreographer of ''A Chorus Line'' *

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Academy Awards, Oscar and Tony Awards, Tony awards. This collection of all fou ...

– composer of ''A Chorus Line'' * Lucy – Ed's last significant other, member of the BMI Workshop * Felicia – Ed's boss at Columbia Records, member of the BMI Workshop * Bobby – Ed's best friend, member of the BMI Workshop * Charlie – a friend from the workshop, member of the BMI Workshop * Mona – one of Ed's many love affairs, member of the BMI Workshop

Song list

;Act I *"Light on My Feet" – Ed and Company *"The Fountain in the Garden" – Company *"One More Beautiful Song" – Ed and Sophie *"Fridays at Four" – Company *"Bobby's Song" – Bobby *"Charm Song" – Lehman and Company *"Paris Through The Window" – Ed, Bobby and Charley *"Mona" – Mona *"Under Separate Cover" – Sophie, Lucy and Ed *"Don't Do It Again" – Felicia and Ed *"Gauguin's Shoes" – Ed and Company *"Don't Do It Again (Reprise)" – Lehman *"Follow Your Star" – Sophie and Ed ;Act II *"Better" – Ed and Company *"Scintillating Sophie" – Ed *"The Next Best Thing To Love" – Sophie *"Broadway Boogie Woogie" – Lucy *"Better (Reprise)" – Ed and Company *"I Choose You" – Ed and Lucy *"The Nightmare" – Ed *"Say Something Funny" – Company *"When the Dawn Breaks" – Ed *"Self Portrait" – Ed

Recording

A recording by the Off-Broadway cast was released by RCA Victor Broadway on February 20, 2001.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewer wrote of the Broadway production that it "... seems smaller in almost every respect, and perhaps more curiously it is a better and more satisfying show, one that has found its rightful dimensions. ...The choreography could be more lively and original .... overall the show's alteration in spirit carries the day." The ''CurtainUp.com'' reviewer of the Manhattan Theatre Club production wrote: "It also left me filled with admiration for the eight talented performers who deserve a standing ovation for turning this small musical into a big treat for the eye, the ear and the heart. ...The entire song cycle has the flavor of the traditional musical esthetic. The music is tuneful and bouncy (often danceable). The lyrics full of clever lines."Sommer, Elyse.
"'A Class Act', Manhattan Theatre Club (11/12/00 performance) and Broadway (3/14/01 performance)"
''CurtainUp.com'', November 12, 2000 and March 14, 2001, accessed December 28, 2011

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database listing

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110714111654/http://mondaymag.com/articles/entry/what-he-did-for-love2/ Monday Magazine 2008 Company C Review {{DEFAULTSORT:Class Act, A 2000 musicals Broadway musicals Biographical musicals Musicals inspired by real-life events Cultural depictions of classical musicians Cultural depictions of American men