The Tony Award winning lyricist of "A Chorus Line" was hell-bent on writing both the words and music for a Broadway show, a goal unrealized in 1987 when he died of cancer at the age of 48. Only posthumously would Ed's songs garner the acclaim they always deserved, in the biographical musical "A CLASS ACT".
Ed got his start in the BMI Musical Theater Workshop where he largely amasses the charismatic songbook that has been arranged in "A CLASS ACT" to dramatize Ed's often hilarious, ultimately heartbreaking journey. An ensemble of 7 inhabit the colourful gallery of friends and loved ones in Ed's life including the legendary acerbic Lehman Engle, the relentlessly peppy Marvin Hamlisch, and Uber-creative Michael Bennett. Fourteen years after his death, one of the theater's unsung champions finally got the recognition he always deserved in this vibrant musical about musicals.
Cast Requirements: PRINCIPALS
4 Women
4 Men
COMMENTS
Doubling is used for all characters except the roles of Ed Kleban, Lehman Engel and Sophie.
CHARACTERS
Ed Kleban - an aspiring songwriter
Lehman Engel - leader of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop
Bobby - a drummer and would-be songwriter
Michael Bennett - charismatic choreographer and director
Charley - an aspiring songwriter
Marvin Hamlisch - the composer at age 29
Dr. Nodine - a phychiatrist at a mental hospital. (non-speaking role)
Jean-Claude Chevray - Sophie's boyfriend, suave and confident
Sophie - Ed's first love
Felicia Lipshitz - an aspiring songwriter
Second Girl in "Light on my Feet"
Tap Dance Students (2)
Dancer Two in "A Chorus Line"
Lucy - an aspiring singer/songwriter
Dancer One in "A Chorus Line"
Mona - an aspiring songwriter, seductive and kittenish
First Girl in "Light on my Feet"
Dancer Three in "A Chorus Line"
Set Requirements: A CLASS ACT takes place in New York City between 1958 and 1988.
SPECIFIC LOCATIONS
The Stage of the Shubert Theatre
Hillside Hospital
The BMI Musical Theatre Workshop
Ed's Apartment
A Recording Studio at Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Outside the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto
Manhattan
Sophie's Laboratory
Central Park
Michael Bennett's Studio
The Public Theatre
St. Vincent's Hospital
Genre / Style: Biographical Musical
Rehearsal / Orchestral Material: CLASS ACT Rehearsal Set (42 Books, 1 Logo CD)
20 Libretto
22 KEYBOARD / PIANO-CONDUCTOR SCORE
CLASS ACT Orchestration (9 Books)
1 Keyboard I
1 KEYBOARD II (Synthesizer)
1 PERCUSSION (see list below)
1 REED I (Flute, Alto Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax)
1 REED II (Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, Tenor Sax)
1 TRUMPET I (Flugelhorn)
1 TRUMPET II (Flugelhorn)
1 TROMBONE
1 BASS (Electric and Acoustic)
Musical Numbers: Light On My Feet, Beside the Fountain in the Garden of the Hospital, One More Beautiful Song, Fridays at Four, Bobby's Song, Charm Song, Paris Through the Window, Mona, Under Separate Cover, Don't Do It Again, Gauguin's Shoes, Follow Your Star, Better, Scintillating Sophie, The Next Best Thing To Lo