Lovelace: A Rock Musical is a rock musical

Rock musical

A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept albums become rock musicals...

 about the life of adult film star and women's liberation advocate, Linda Lovelace

Linda Lovelace

Linda Susan Boreman , better known by her stage name Linda Lovelace, was an American pornographic actress who was famous for her performance of deep throat fellatio in the enormously successful 1972 hardcore porn film Deep Throat...

. The book, music, and lyrics are by Anna Waronker

Anna Waronker

Anna Jeanette Waronker is a singer/songwriter, composer, and producer best known as the former frontwoman of That Dog. She is the daughter of producer Lenny Waronker and actress/musician Donna Loren, the sister of session drummer Joey Waronker, and is married to Steven Shane McDonald of Redd...

 (that dog.

That dog.

That Dog is a Los Angeles-based rock band that formed in 1991 and dissolved in 1997, reuniting in 2011. The band consists of Anna Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and vocals, her sister Petra Haden on violin and vocals, and Tony Maxwell on drums...

) and Charlotte Caffey

Charlotte Caffey

Charlotte Irene Caffey is an American rock and roll guitarist and songwriter, best known for her work in the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat."...

 (The Go-Go's

The Go-Go's

The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....

), with original concept and lyrics by Jeffery Leonard Bowman. The show debuted with a six-month run at the Hayworth Theatre (Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

) in 2008. A new production of Lovelace: A Rock Musical made its United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 debut at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/musicals-operas/lovelace-a-rock-musical in August 2010.

Musical numbers

Act I

• Overture
• Spring of '69
• Good Morning
• From This Moment On
• Traynor's Place
• For Better Or Worse
• Dashiki Interlude
• Wedding Song
• You Love Me
• Save It For Your Prayers
• Back to Business
• Hide My Soul
• Mrs. Boreman
• Mama
• Til Death Do Us Part
• I'll Be Good, I'll Be Bad
• Mary Had A Little Lamb
• Who Could Ask For Anything More?
• Gerard's Trilogy
• Let's Fuck
• Glamour & Glitz
• Back To Business

Act II

• Girl Next Door
• Room Service
• In Too Deep
• Overnight Sensation
• Best Love
• Well Well Well
• Best Love (Reprise)
• Lovelace Interlude
• So Far, So Fast
• Traynor's Place (Reprise)
• Who Do You Think You Are?
• From this Moment On (Reprise)
• I've Done Things I Would Never Do

Act III

• Leaving The Limelight
• Good Morning (Reprise)
• Can You Feel My Love?
• Take Back The Night
• Ordeal
• I Stand Before You
• Eulogy
• Out Of Bondage

Edinburgh Cast

• Linda Lovelace
  Linda Lovelace
  Linda Susan Boreman , better known by her stage name Linda Lovelace, was an American pornographic actress who was famous for her performance of deep throat fellatio in the enormously successful 1972 hardcore porn film Deep Throat...
  
   - Katrina Lenk
• Chuck Traynor
  Chuck Traynor
  Charles "Chuck" E. Traynor was an American entrepreneur and pornographer.Traynor was a minor figure in the early US East Coast pornographic film industry and appeared in a number of short "loops" in the early 1970s, usually with his then-wife Linda Lovelace...
  
   - Jimmy Swan
• Harry Reems
  Harry Reems
  Harry Reems is the nom de film of one of the most notorious pornographic actors of the 1970s and star of the 1972 cult classic Deep Throat.-Early life and career:Reems was born Herbert Streicher...
  
   - Josh Greene
• Mrs. Boreman - Jill Burke
• Gerard Damiano
  Gerard Damiano
  Gerard Damiano was an American director of adult films and producer, writer and director of the 1972 cult classic Deep Throat .-Biography:...
  
   - Alan Palmer
• Lindsay Marchiano - Elise Vannerson
• Doctor - Curt Bonnem
• Young Girl - Rachael Cavenaugh
• Waiter, Larry Marchiano - Joe Donohoe
• Feminist - Kasi Jones

Los Angeles Cast

• Linda Lovelace - Katrina Lenk
• Chuck Traynor - Jimmy Swan
• Harry Reems - Josh Greene
• Mrs. Boreman - Whitney Allen
• Gerard Damiano - Alan Palmer
• Lindsay Marchiano - Sonya Bender
• Doctor - Curt Bonnem
• Young Girl - Kelly Devoto
• Waiter, Larry Marchiano - Milan Cronovich
• Feminist - Jill Burke
• Stripper - Rachael Cavenaugh
• Understudy - Joe Donohoe
• Understudy - Kendra Smith
• Understudy - Josh Adamson

Critical reception

Reception for Lovelace: A Rock Musical has been largely positive. The Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

chose the rock musical as a "Critics' Choice," and described it as a "candidate for the most original musical since Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening is a rock musical adaptation of the controversial 1892 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind. It features music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater. Set in late-19th century Germany, it concerns teenagers who are discovering the inner and outer tumult of...

." Times critic David C. Nichols praised Anna Waronker and Charlotte Caffey's "accomplished score", called Ken Sawyer's direction "brilliant," and lauded Katrina Lenk's "vast emotional range" in the role of Linda Lovelace. The LA Weekly

LA Weekly

LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...

called Waronker and Caffey's musical "dark and haunting" and described Lenk's lead performance as "sensational." Back Stage

Back Stage

Back Stage is an entertainment-industry brand aimed at people working in film and the performing arts, with a special focus on casting, job opportunities, and career advice.Back Stage publishes a weekly tabloid-sized trade magazine in the U.S...

(West) praised the performances of Lenk, Jimmy Swan (Chuck Traynor), and Josh Greene (Harry Reems), but called the musical's story "simplistic." Frontiers (magazine) gave the musical a rating of three and a half stars.

Awards

Ovation Awards

Ovation Awards

The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the Los Angeles Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. They have been called the "...highest-profile contest for local theatre..." by the Los...

• Nomination/Best Lead Actress in a Musical (Katrina Lenk)

Back Stage Garland Awards

• Win/Best Performance in a Musical Production (Katrina Lenk)
• Win/Best Musical Score (Anna Waronker & Charlotte Caffey)
• Nomination/Best Music Direction - Anna Waronker & Charlotte Caffey - Nomination
• Nomination/Best Direction (Ken Sawyer)
• Nomination/Best Performance in a (Primarily) Musical Production (Josh Greene)
• Nomination/Best Performance in a (Primarily) Musical Production (Jimmy Swan)

Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award

Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards is an annual awards program presented by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle . Established in 1969, the awards recognize excellence in theatre in the Greater Los Angeles Area....

• Nomination/Best Musical Score (Anna Waronker & Charlotte Caffey)
• Nomination/Best Direction of a Musical (Ken Sawyer)
• Nomination/Best Lead Performance in a Musical (Katrina Lenk)
• Nomination/Best Featured Performance in a Musical (Jimmy Swan)

LA Weekly Theatre Awards

• Win/Best Director of a Musical (Ken Sawyer)
• Win/Best Performance in a Musical (Katrina Lenk)
• Win/Best Ensemble Cast in a Musical (Company)
• Nomination/Musical of the Year

Stage Scene LA Awards

• Win/Outstanding Achievement by a Director (Musical) (Ken Sawyer)
• Win/Outstanding Achievement by a Lead Actor (Musical) (Jimmy Swan)
• Win/Outstanding Achievement by a lead Actress (Musical) (Katrina Lenk)
• Win/Best World Premier Musical (Anna Waronker & Charlotte Caffey)

External links

• Lovelace: A Rock Musical - Official Site http://www.lovelacearockmusical.com