Salvation (musical)
Encyclopedia
Salvation was a 1969 Off-Broadway
rock musical
with music, lyrics, and book by Peter Link
& C.C. Courtney. It opened on September 24, 1969 at the Jan Hus Playhouse and ending on April 19, 1970 after 239 performances.
, and the whole show just sort of came to me on that 20-minute walk. I usually did the concept and the book and the lyrics, and Peter did the music. So I hit him with the idea and he was hot to do that. In fact, he probably was more anxious to do it than I was...He's very productive. So I said let's do it, and I started working on the lyrics and giving them to him as fast as I could. So it became, in effect, well, the plot is pretty much my life story." Both were actors looking for the next thing. Courtney was appearing on the NBC
daytime drama The Doctors. At the same time, Link was on the CBS
daytime drama As the World Turns
as the pot-smoking troubled Tom Hughes. After, Link would join Hair
and replace Gerome Ragni
as Berger.
The show was written in two weeks, and it first premiered in a showcase production at The Village Gate
, and it was financed by Courtney and Link. It opened on March 11, 1969 and was given a positive review by New York Times columnist Lawrence Van Gelder
. It was picked up by producer David Black, who had produced George M!
, and got them booked at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater by the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
, but sadly the booking was cancelled. It was supposedly canceled by the director, Robert Montgomery
. Courtney said of the incident, "I heard lots or rumors about what happened, mainly that Robert Montgomery didn't like this kind of filthy, disgusting stuff--that's why we didn't get to open at Lincoln Center.
Black got the musical moved to the Jan Hus Playhouse for its Off-Broadway run, starting on September 24, 1969 and ending on April 19, 1970 after 239 performances. It earned a profit of $55,000. Black convinced Link and Courtney to close the New York production for the summer, bring it to Los Angeles
, and try to reopen it in the fall in a Broadway theatre. Due to bad casting, Salvation did not get a chance on Broadway. Two efforts to help the show came too late. The first was the cast album by Capitol Records
produced by Nick Venet
, which had begun to do well. The second was singer Ronnie Dyson
(Hair
), who recorded a single of "(If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?", which sold over a million copies and peaked at #8 in 1970.
and the ritual of Roman Catholicism. He is unenthusiastic about hearing others confess their sins, and literally and as well as figuratively, reveal themselves to him. He begins to search for something else, becoming a Timothy Leary
-like guru.
(Trumpet), John Buck Wilkin (Acoustic Guitar), Ronald Finck (Saxophone), Wayne Kirby (Bass), and Kirk Nurock (Piano).
The original cast consisted of Yolande Bavan
(Ranee), Peter Link (Farley), C.C. Courtney (Monday), Joe Morton
(Mark), Boni Enton (Boo), Annie Rachel (Dierdre), Marta Heflin (Betty Lou), and Chapman Roberts (Leroy). Notable actors to join the cast were Barry Bostwick
(replaced Courtney), and Bette Midler
.
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...
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...
with music, lyrics, and book by Peter Link
Peter Link
Peter Link is an American composer, lyricist, music producer, stage director, and presently CEO/Creative Director of Watchfire Music, an on-line Inspirational record company and music store....
& C.C. Courtney. It opened on September 24, 1969 at the Jan Hus Playhouse and ending on April 19, 1970 after 239 performances.
Production
The idea came from Courtney and his frustration with organized religion. Both Link and he wrote the show, and appeared in it as well. Courtney said of the show, "I was walking through Central ParkCentral Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, and the whole show just sort of came to me on that 20-minute walk. I usually did the concept and the book and the lyrics, and Peter did the music. So I hit him with the idea and he was hot to do that. In fact, he probably was more anxious to do it than I was...He's very productive. So I said let's do it, and I started working on the lyrics and giving them to him as fast as I could. So it became, in effect, well, the plot is pretty much my life story." Both were actors looking for the next thing. Courtney was appearing on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
daytime drama The Doctors. At the same time, Link was on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
daytime drama As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
as the pot-smoking troubled Tom Hughes. After, Link would join Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
and replace Gerome Ragni
Gerome Ragni
Gerome Bernard Ragni was an American actor, singer and songwriter, best known as the co-author of the groundbreaking 1960s Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.-Early life:...
as Berger.
The show was written in two weeks, and it first premiered in a showcase production at The Village Gate
The Village Gate
The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, New York.Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 158 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago School structure by architect Ernest Flagg was known at the time as...
, and it was financed by Courtney and Link. It opened on March 11, 1969 and was given a positive review by New York Times columnist Lawrence Van Gelder
Lawrence Van Gelder
Lawrence Van Gelder is an American journalist and instructor in journalism who has worked at several different New York City-based newspapers in his long career. Until 2010 he was senior editor of the Arts and Leisure weekly section of The New York Times...
. It was picked up by producer David Black, who had produced George M!
George M!
George M! is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine Pascal. Music and lyrics were, of course, by George M...
, and got them booked at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater by the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
, but sadly the booking was cancelled. It was supposedly canceled by the director, Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery (actor)
Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
. Courtney said of the incident, "I heard lots or rumors about what happened, mainly that Robert Montgomery didn't like this kind of filthy, disgusting stuff--that's why we didn't get to open at Lincoln Center.
Black got the musical moved to the Jan Hus Playhouse for its Off-Broadway run, starting on September 24, 1969 and ending on April 19, 1970 after 239 performances. It earned a profit of $55,000. Black convinced Link and Courtney to close the New York production for the summer, bring it to 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...
, and try to reopen it in the fall in a Broadway theatre. Due to bad casting, Salvation did not get a chance on Broadway. Two efforts to help the show came too late. The first was the cast album by Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
produced by Nick Venet
Nick Venet
Nick Venet was an American record producer who began his career at age 19 with World Pacific Jazz...
, which had begun to do well. The second was singer Ronnie Dyson
Ronnie Dyson
Ronnie Dyson was an American singer and actor.-Career:Born in Washington, D.C., Dyson grew up in Brooklyn, New York where he sang in church choirs. At just 18 years of age, he won lead part in the Broadway production of Hair debuting in New York in 1968...
(Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
), who recorded a single of "(If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?", which sold over a million copies and peaked at #8 in 1970.
Synopsis
The story follows a young man, who is a hardshell-Baptist kind of guy. He searches, and tries to figure out how relevant is religion to men and women society as a whole? He becomes enthralled by the pageantryPageantry
Pageantry is a colorful display, as in a pageant. It may refer to:*Beauty pageant*Drag pageantry*Medieval pageant...
and the ritual of Roman Catholicism. He is unenthusiastic about hearing others confess their sins, and literally and as well as figuratively, reveal themselves to him. He begins to search for something else, becoming a Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
-like guru.
Musical Numbers
- Overture
- Salvation
- In Between
- 1001
- Honest Confession Is Good For The Soul
- Ballin
- Let The Moment Slip By
- Gina
- If You Let Me Make Love To You Then Why Can't I Touch You
- There Ain't No Flies On Jesus
- Deadalus
- For Ever
- Footloose Youth And Fancy Free
- Schwartz
- Let's Get Lost In Now
- Back To Genesis
- Tomorrow Is The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life
Cast and Crew
The show was directed by Paul Aaron, musically directed by Kirk Nurock, and dance movement by Kathryn Posin. The musicians, known as "Nobody Else", consisted of Eric Cohen (Drums), Dickie Franks (Electric Guitar), Charles SullivanCharles Sullivan (musician)
Charles Sullivan is an American jazz trumpeter. He has made recordings as sideman with Woody Shaw, Dollar Brand, Ricky Ford, and King Curtis, among others...
(Trumpet), John Buck Wilkin (Acoustic Guitar), Ronald Finck (Saxophone), Wayne Kirby (Bass), and Kirk Nurock (Piano).
The original cast consisted of Yolande Bavan
Yolande Bavan
Yolande Bavan is a singer and actress. Born in Ceylon , she toured Australia and Asia as a performer with Graeme Bell's band early in her career. She is best known for replacing Annie Ross in the legendary vocal group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross after Ross was forced to leave the group due to poor...
(Ranee), Peter Link (Farley), C.C. Courtney (Monday), Joe Morton
Joe Morton
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Morton, Jr. is an American stage, television, and film actor.-Early life:Morton was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York. He is the son of Evelyn, a secretary, and Joseph Thomas Morton, Sr., a U.S. army intelligence officer. Because of his father's...
(Mark), Boni Enton (Boo), Annie Rachel (Dierdre), Marta Heflin (Betty Lou), and Chapman Roberts (Leroy). Notable actors to join the cast were Barry Bostwick
Barry Bostwick
Barry Knapp Bostwick is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, replacing Peter Scolari as Mr. Tyler in the sitcom What I Like About You, and playing mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City...
(replaced Courtney), and Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
.
Awards
- Drama Desk Most Promising Award
- VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
balloting for Best Composer and Best Lyricist