Gutenberg! The Musical!
Encyclopedia
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. The show was part of the 2005 and 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival
and ran at the Jermyn Street Theatre
in London
in January 2006.
Gutenberg! The Musical! opened off-Broadway
on December 3, 2006 at 59E59 and then transferred to The Actors' Playhouse on January 16, 2007. The production closed on May 6, 2007. The production was directed by Alex Timbers
with music directed by T.O. Sterrett and starred Chris Fitzgerald
and Jeremy Shamos.
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 and 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 and 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 and Doug for the 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival
. That production was directed by Dave Mowers and Music Directed and Accompanied by Matt Castle and won awards for "Best Book" and "Best Performance."
The November 2006 Off-Broadway production was directed by Alex Timbers
and played at 59E59 in midtown before moving to a six-month run at the Actor's Playhouse. That production was nominated for Best Musical at the Lortel and Outer Critic's Circle Awards, as well as Best Book and Best Director of a Musical at the Drama Desk Awards. David Turner and Darren Goldstein replaced the original cast.
In November of 2007, the first regional production worldwide was produced by Plan-B Theatre Company
in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was directed by Jerry Rapier, Choreographed by Colleen Lewis, Musically Directed by Jeffrey Price, Stage Managed by Jennifer Freed and featured Kirt Bateman as Doug and Jay Perry as Bud. The production was named 'Best Theatre Production' by Salt Lake City Weekly, 'Best Play' by Q Salt Lake and 'Best Comedy' by the Deseret News. After myriad requests, this production was revived June 3-19, 2011 as Plan-B Theatre Company's contribution to the Musicals On Main Series at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah. The production remains intact other than Sean Sekino is now the Musical Director.
In September 2008, Gutenberg! The Musical! made its West Coast premiere at Strawberry Theatre Workshop
in Seattle. Starring Troy Fischnaller (Doug) and MJ Sieber (Bud), with piano accompaniment by Don Darryl Rivera, and directed by Greg Carter
. "Fischnaller's Doug is giddily foul-mouthed with self-congratulation, and Sieber has a twinkle in his eye even as he works himself into a sweaty state of breathless zeal. Both performers toil feverishly to keep director Greg Carter's pace for the show—a five-shot-espresso-with-a-Red-Bull-chaser momentum from start to finish. The brakes are completely disabled on this speeding clown car of inside theater jokes."
In February 2009 the show made its international debut at the Seymour Centre in Sydney, Australia.
In August 2009, the first ever Gutenberg fan site, Gutenberg's Travels, was created, documenting the trips made by Lori Mooney and Jennifer Coolbaugh to see the show's regional productions around the country.
. Because the minimally-talented and starry-eyed authors don't have a cast or an orchestra, Bud and Doug play all of the roles themselves, wearing hats with the characters' names on them and frequently switching said hats to indicate different characters. Minimal props, such as a cardboard box, pencils, and a chair, are used as well.
Since Bud and Doug's research into the life of Gutenberg (aka a quick Google search) revealed that information on his life is "scant", they take a historical fiction
approach, by which they mean that they just made stuff up.
In the play-within-a-play, Johann Gutenberg is a wine presser in the medieval German town of Schlimer, a happy and cheery place except for the fact that the town is horribly dirty and depressing and no one except Gutenberg can read. Intent on saving the townspeople from their own ignorance, Gutenberg turns his wine press into a printing press (he accomplishes this in one night). His beautiful (but dim) assistant Helvetica
is in love with him, but Gutenberg is unaware of her feelings. Meanwhile, the show's villain, Monk, an evil monk who worships Satan, attempts to keep ignorance alive so he can control the townspeople through inaccurate readings of the bible and seeks to destroy the printing press. The inept show-within-a-show parodies various musical theater conventions, such as the cheery opening number, a high-octane rock song for the act one finale, kicklines, emotional ballads and an irrelevant "charm song" about biscuits sung by two supporting characters.
Despite their ineptitude, Bud and Doug's high-energy and optimistic performance of their show may be enough to launch their dreams of stardom.
ACT II
Anthony King
Anthony King is an American writer, director, and comedian based in New York City. He is the Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City...
. Brown and King developed the show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre or UCB Theatre is an improvisational theatre and associated UCB Training Center with locations in Chelsea, New York, the EEast Village, New York and Hollywood, California.....
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...
, where it ran for over a year. The show was part of the 2005 and 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival
New York Musical Theatre Festival
The New York Musical Theatre Festival is an annual three-week fall Festival which presents more than thirty new musicals at venues in New York City's midtown theater district...
and ran at the Jermyn Street Theatre
Jermyn Street Theatre
Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated in Jermyn Street, London.Formerly a restaurant, under the leadership of Howard Jameson, it was transformed into a 70-seat studio theatre right in the heart of London's West End...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in January 2006.
Gutenberg! The Musical! 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...
on December 3, 2006 at 59E59 and then transferred to The Actors' Playhouse on January 16, 2007. The production closed on May 6, 2007. The production was directed by Alex Timbers
Alex Timbers
Alex Timbers is a Tony-nominated writer and director and the recipient of Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards, as well as two OBIE Awards....
with music directed by T.O. Sterrett and starred Chris Fitzgerald
Christopher Fitzgerald (actor)
Christopher Cantwell Fitzgerald is an American actor, singer, mime, clown, juggler, and acrobat. He is best known for his role as Boq in the musical Wicked and his role of Igor in Young Frankenstein, for which he earned Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award...
and Jeremy Shamos.
History
The show was originally produced as a 45-minute one-act, workshopped at the Upright Citizens Brigade TheatreUpright Citizens Brigade Theatre
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre or UCB Theatre is an improvisational theatre and associated UCB Training Center with locations in Chelsea, New York, the EEast Village, New York and Hollywood, California.....
in New York and the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival
New York Musical Theatre Festival
The New York Musical Theatre Festival is an annual three-week fall Festival which presents more than thirty new musicals at venues in New York City's midtown theater district...
, starring the authors, Scott Brown and Anthony King
Anthony King
Anthony King is an American writer, director, and comedian based in New York City. He is the Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City...
. These early versions of the show were directed by Charlie Todd and Music Directed and Accompanied by Barry Wyner.
The full two-act version of the show premiered at The Jermyn Street Theatre in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in January 2006. That production was Music Directed and Accompanied by Michael Roulston and also starred the authors, Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...
and Anthony King
Anthony King
Anthony King is an American writer, director, and comedian based in New York City. He is the Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City...
.
In September 2006, Chris Fitzgerald and Jeremy Shamos were cast in the roles of Bud and Doug for the 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival
New York Musical Theatre Festival
The New York Musical Theatre Festival is an annual three-week fall Festival which presents more than thirty new musicals at venues in New York City's midtown theater district...
. That production was directed by Dave Mowers and Music Directed and Accompanied by Matt Castle and won awards for "Best Book" and "Best Performance."
The November 2006 Off-Broadway production was directed by Alex Timbers
Alex Timbers
Alex Timbers is a Tony-nominated writer and director and the recipient of Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards, as well as two OBIE Awards....
and played at 59E59 in midtown before moving to a six-month run at the Actor's Playhouse. That production was nominated for Best Musical at the Lortel and Outer Critic's Circle Awards, as well as Best Book and Best Director of a Musical at the Drama Desk Awards. David Turner and Darren Goldstein replaced the original cast.
In November of 2007, the first regional production worldwide was produced by Plan-B Theatre Company
Plan-B Theatre Company
Plan-B Theatre Company was founded on a shoestring in 1991 and incorporated in 1995 in Salt Lake City, Utah and is now one of three fully professional theatre companies in the city...
in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was directed by Jerry Rapier, Choreographed by Colleen Lewis, Musically Directed by Jeffrey Price, Stage Managed by Jennifer Freed and featured Kirt Bateman as Doug and Jay Perry as Bud. The production was named 'Best Theatre Production' by Salt Lake City Weekly, 'Best Play' by Q Salt Lake and 'Best Comedy' by the Deseret News. After myriad requests, this production was revived June 3-19, 2011 as Plan-B Theatre Company's contribution to the Musicals On Main Series at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah. The production remains intact other than Sean Sekino is now the Musical Director.
In September 2008, Gutenberg! The Musical! made its West Coast premiere at Strawberry Theatre Workshop
Strawberry Theatre Workshop
Strawberry Theatre Workshop is an award-winning Seattle theatre company founded in 2003 by Greg Carter, associated with a movement in that city to improve wages for professional theatre artists...
in Seattle. Starring Troy Fischnaller (Doug) and MJ Sieber (Bud), with piano accompaniment by Don Darryl Rivera, and directed by Greg Carter
Greg Carter
Greg Carter is the founding Artistic Director of Strawberry Theatre Workshop , a non-profit theatre company in Seattle, Washington. He works as a freelance director, designer, and stage manager and teaches at Cornish College of the Arts...
. "Fischnaller's Doug is giddily foul-mouthed with self-congratulation, and Sieber has a twinkle in his eye even as he works himself into a sweaty state of breathless zeal. Both performers toil feverishly to keep director Greg Carter's pace for the show—a five-shot-espresso-with-a-Red-Bull-chaser momentum from start to finish. The brakes are completely disabled on this speeding clown car of inside theater jokes."
In February 2009 the show made its international debut at the Seymour Centre in Sydney, Australia.
In August 2009, the first ever Gutenberg fan site, Gutenberg's Travels, was created, documenting the trips made by Lori Mooney and Jennifer Coolbaugh to see the show's regional productions around the country.
Plot
The play is performed as a backer's audition by Bud Davenport and Doug Simon, the authors of a musical about Johannes Gutenberg, which they are pitching to producers who might put their show up on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. Because the minimally-talented and starry-eyed authors don't have a cast or an orchestra, Bud and Doug play all of the roles themselves, wearing hats with the characters' names on them and frequently switching said hats to indicate different characters. Minimal props, such as a cardboard box, pencils, and a chair, are used as well.
Since Bud and Doug's research into the life of Gutenberg (aka a quick Google search) revealed that information on his life is "scant", they take a historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
approach, by which they mean that they just made stuff up.
In the play-within-a-play, Johann Gutenberg is a wine presser in the medieval German town of Schlimer, a happy and cheery place except for the fact that the town is horribly dirty and depressing and no one except Gutenberg can read. Intent on saving the townspeople from their own ignorance, Gutenberg turns his wine press into a printing press (he accomplishes this in one night). His beautiful (but dim) assistant Helvetica
Helvetica
Helvetica is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann.-Visual distinctive characteristics:Characteristics of this typeface are:lower case:square dot over the letter i....
is in love with him, but Gutenberg is unaware of her feelings. Meanwhile, the show's villain, Monk, an evil monk who worships Satan, attempts to keep ignorance alive so he can control the townspeople through inaccurate readings of the bible and seeks to destroy the printing press. The inept show-within-a-show parodies various musical theater conventions, such as the cheery opening number, a high-octane rock song for the act one finale, kicklines, emotional ballads and an irrelevant "charm song" about biscuits sung by two supporting characters.
Despite their ineptitude, Bud and Doug's high-energy and optimistic performance of their show may be enough to launch their dreams of stardom.
Musical numbers
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
Awards and nominations
- 2007 Outer Critics Circle AwardOuter Critics Circle AwardThe Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical (nomination) - 2007 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical (nomination)
- 2007 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Book of a Musical, Anthony King and Scott Brown (nomination) - 2007 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Director of a Musical, Alex Timbers (nomination)