Brownstone is a musical written by Josh Rubins (book and lyrics), Andrew Cadiff (book) and Peter Larson (music). It centers around a group of five people living in a brownstone

Brownstone

Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...

 apartment in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

The characters are Claudia, a young lady getting over a breakup; Howard, a writer struggling with his current novel; his wife Mary, who desperately wants children; Joan, a big-time lawyer whose boyfriend lives in Maine; and Stuart, a bright-eyed youngster just excited to finally be in New York. The musical is sung-through

Sung-through

Sung-through refers to a musical or opera with no spoken dialogue, except perhaps for some occasional lines included in some part of a song, but never as stand-alone dialogue...

 with little dialogue.

Production history

The show was workshopped in 1979 at Playwrights Horizons

Playwrights Horizons

Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....

 in New York City. It then was produced at the Hudson Guild Theater in New York City in June 1984. Directed by Cadiff, the cast featured Maureen McGovern

Maureen McGovern

Maureen Therese McGovern is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her premier renditions of the Oscar winning songs "The Morning After" from the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure, and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno in 1974.-Early life:McGovern was...

, Kimberly Farr, Loni Ackerman

Loni Ackerman

Loni Ackerman is an American Broadway musical theatre performer and cabaret singer.Born in New York City, she made her Broadway debut in George M! in 1968, then replaced Bernadette Peters in the hit off-Broadway production of Dames at Sea.In 1971, Ackerman was cast in the revival of No, No Nanette...

, Ralph Bruneau, and Lenny Wolpe

Lenny Wolpe

Lenny Wolpe is an American musical theatre actor who has appeared in Broadway musicals including Wicked and The Drowsy Chaperone.-Biography:...

It opened Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

 at the Roundabout Theatre Company

Roundabout Theatre Company

The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...

's Union Square Theatre on October 8, 1986 and closed on December 6, 1986 after 69 performances. The director was Cadiff with musical staging by Don Bondi. The original cast included Liz Callaway

Liz Callaway

Liz Callaway is an American actress and singer, famous for providing the singing voices of many female characters in films, such as Anya in Anastasia, Odette in The Swan Princess, and Kiara in The Lion King II:Simba's Pride....

 (Claudia), Rex Smith

Rex Smith

Rex Smith is an American actor and singer. Smith debuted in the Broadway play Grease in 1978. He is noted for his role as Jesse Mach in the 1985 television series Street Hawk, as well as being a singer and stage actor. During the late 1970s, Smith was popular as a teen idol...

 (Stuart), Ben Harney

Ben Harney (actor)

Ben Harney is an African American actor and dancer who was active in his career between 1972 and 1985. Harney won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his role as the Berry Gordy-esque character, Curtis Taylor, Jr. in the Broadway musical...

 (Howard), Ernestine Jackson

Ernestine Jackson

Ernestine Jackson is an African American actress and singer.Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Jackson made her Broadway debut in 1967 as Irene Molloy in the all-black cast of Hello, Dolly! starring Pearl Bailey....

 (Mary), and Kimberly Farr (Joan).

The musical ran at the Berkshire Theatre Festival

Berkshire Theatre Festival

The Berkshire Theatre Festival is one of the oldest professional performing arts venues in the Berkshires, celebrating its 80th anniversary season in 2008.-History:...

, Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...

 in August 2002.

Recordings

An original cast album was recorded in 2003. The album cast includes Rebecca Luker

Rebecca Luker

Rebecca Luker is an American musical theatre actress and soprano who has appeared in several prominent Broadway productions.-Life and career:...

 (Mary), Liz Callaway (Claudia) and Brian D'Arcy James

Brian d'Arcy James

Brian d'Arcy James is an American actor and musician.-Personal life:James was born in Saginaw, Michigan, the son of Mary , a seller of children's books, and a lawyer father, Thomas F. James. Brian's maternal grandfather was Harry F. Kelly, former Governor of the state of Michigan...

 (Howard), as well as Debbie Gravitte (Joan) and Kevin Reed (Stuart).
“Since You Stayed Here, ” a ballad from Act II of the musical, has been recorded by, among others, Bette Midler, Michael Crawford, and Dionne Warwick. P. Filichia, “Grand Larson-y,” Theatermania.com, July 4, 2003

Critcal response

Frank Rich

Frank Rich

Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...

, in his New York Times review, called the musical "fundamentally misconceived."