Gutenberg! The Musical!
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Gutenberg! The Musical! is a musical written by Scott Brown and Anthony King. Brown and King developed the show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City, where it ran for over a year. [1] The show was part of the 2005 and 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival [2] and ran at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London in January 2006. [3]
Gutenberg! The Musical! opened off-Broadway on December 3, 2006 at 59E59 and then transferred to The Actors' Playhouse on January 16, 2007. The off-Broadway production was directed by Alex Timbers with music directed by T.O. Sterrett. It starred Christopher Fitzgerald and Jeremy Shamos.
[edit] Plot
The play is performed as a backer's audition by two characters named Bud and Doug, the fictional authors of a musical about Johannes Gutenberg, which they pitch to producers who might put their show up on Broadway. Because they don't have a cast or an orchestra, Bud and Doug wear hats with the nearly 30 characters' names on them and play all of the roles themselves. In the play-within-a-play, Johann Gutenberg is a wine presser who invents the printing press. An evil monk tries to stop him, and a beautiful girl named Helvetica loves him.
The show includes the songs:
ACT I
- Prologue/Schlimmer
- I Can't Read
- Haunted German Wood
- The Press Song
- I Can't Read (Reprise)
- Biscuits
- What's The Word?
- Stop The Press
- Tomorrow Is Tonight
ACT II
- Second Prologue
- Words, Words, Words
- Monk With Me
- Might As Well (Go To Hell)
- Festival!
- Finale
[edit] History
The show was originally produced as a 45-minute one-act, workshopped at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival, starring the authors, Scott Brown and Anthony King. These early versions of the show were Directed by Charlie Todd and Music Directed & Accompanied by Barry Wyner.
The full two-act version of the show premiered at The Jermyn Street Theatre in London in January 2006. That production was Music Directed & Accompanied by Michael Roulston and also starred the authors, Scott Brown and Anthony King.
In September 2006, Chris Fitzgerald and Jeremy Shamos were cast in the roles of Bud & Doug for the 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival. That production was directed by Dave Mowers and Music Directed & Accompanied by Matt Castle and won awards for "Best Book" and "Best Performance."
