2023 Season
2023 MAINSTAGE SEASON
ANYTHING GOES
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Original Book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton
and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse
New Book by Timothy Crouse & John Weidman
Spectacular dance and soaring music burst onto the stage in Cole Porter’s award-winning musical, Anything Goes, launching 42nd Street Moon’s 2023 Mainstage Season. Farcical hijinks abound in this theatrical romp across the Atlantic, in which a young ocean-liner stowaway, Billy Crocker, sets out to win the affections of Hope Harcourt, with plenty of elaborate disguises, tap-dancing sailors, and good old-fashioned blackmail along the way. A hilarious, heart-warming romantic comedy, featuring such classics as “I Get a Kick Out of You”, “You’re the Top”, and “It’s De-Lovely”, this musical “exists to put a daffy grin on your face” (The Washington Post) offering an evening of “sheer escape” into a world of side-splitting laughter, toe-tapping music, and plenty of heart.
MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
Book by George Furth
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Based on the original play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
“Glorious” and “Heartbreaking”, with songs rich in melody and brilliant, witty lyrics, Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along is an emotional rollercoaster, a fable about friendship told in reverse. With an ingenious, heart-rousing score, and plenty of classical Broadway flair, Merrily follows three middle-aged best friends, Mary, Frank, and Charley, on their wayward search to recapture the hope and idealism of their youth. Featuring such musical gems as “Not a Day Goes By”, “Our Time”, and “Like It Was”, Merrily explores the cost of success, and the sacrifices we make along the way.
Merrily We Roll Along continues Moon’s Sondheim Sweep, our multi-year mission to produce the entire stage repertoire of the late, great composer and lyricist.
THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Book by David Thompson
With a score of exhilarating up-tempos and heart-wrenching ballads, The Scottsboro Boys portrays the haunting history of the infamous 1930’s Scottsboro case, in which a group of nine black teenagers were arrested, charged, and convicted of the rape of two white women, without evidence, proof, or due process. In this breathtaking musical critique of racism in America, the legendary songwriting team of Kander & Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago) craft a remarkable piece of musical theater, with songs and dance inspired by the period, to share a profound story of nine men in Alabama whose bravery in the face of adversity helped spark the American Civil Rights movement and changed the course of history.
SHE LOVES ME
Book by Joe Masteroff
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Based on a play by Miklos Laszio
From the songwriting team who brought you Fiddler on the Roof and Fiorello comes an “evening of sheer enchantment” (The New York Times) in the Award Winning romantic comedy She Loves Me, one of the most endearing musicals ever written. Set in a 1930s perfumery, we meet shop clerks Amalia and Georg who are constantly at odds, but when they both unwittingly respond to the other’s “lonely hearts advertisement”, they set out to discover the identity of their secret admirer. Featuring such delightful songs as “Vanilla Ice Cream”, “Will He Like Me”, and the show-stopping “She Loves Me”, this celebrated musical promises an evening of singular wit, irrepressible charm, and some of the most sensational music to have ever graced a Broadway stage.