ASC37 --
The play, as suggested by whereismikefl-ga, is almost certainly "Your
Own Thing," which opened Jan. 14, 1968 at the Orpheum Theater.
The Clive Barnes' review in the New York Times on Monday, Jan. 15,
makes reference to the visual projection effects. The play also had
slide projections of John Wayne as a bad angel and Humphrey Bogart as
a good angel. "Your Own Thing" was based on Shakespeare's 'Twelfth
Night,' with Viola shipwrecked in Illyria, a place that Barnes notes
"has John Lindsay for Mayor and looks like New York."
Barnes reviewed the musical well, calling it "blissfully irreverent."
The original book was by Donald Driver; the play, music and lyrics
were written by Hal Hester and Danny Apolinair. Driver staged the
production. The case on opening night:
Danny . . . . . . . Danny Apolinair
John. . . . . . . . John Kuhner
Michael . . . . . . Michael Valenti
Orson . . . . . . Marian Mercer
Viola . . . . . . . Leland Palmer*
Sebastian . . . . . Rusty Thacker
Nurse . . . . . . . Imogene Bliss
Stage Manager . . . Igor Gaven
* December, 1968 articles indicate that Bonnie Franklin is now playing Viola.
There are more than two dozen references to "Your Own Thing" in the
Times during 1968. Some of the others worth referencing are:
"Kerr Has a Happier Time at 'Your Own Thing,'" review by Walter Kerr, Jan. 28, 1968
The following article interviews both Lester and Driver -- and even
indicates that RCA paid $20,000 for the rights to the musical:
"Is This Where It's At?" Elenore Lester, Feb. 25, 1968
"Jazz Up Your Shakespeare" on April 7, 1968 indicates that $500,000
were paid for the movie rights to the play. An article shortly
thereafter also notes that producers are organizing a touring company
for the musical.
Some additional references for you:
"Great Rock Musicals"
Call number: 782.140268 G786
http://www.columbuslibrary.org/cmlplay/playsearch.cfm?input=pb&searchterm=Great%20Rock%20Musicals
There?s an audio CD with the original cast and soundtrack available
for sale on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00002SWN0/ref=ase_sellandbuy-20/104-7433058-5027106?v=glance&s=music#product-details
Google search strategy:
Because the phrase ?Your Own Thing? is so common in the English
language, it?s suggested that any of your search strings use the
theater or the playwright?s name to narrow down the scope of results:
?Your Own Thing? + Orpheum
?Your Own Thing? + ?Hal Lester?
The New York Times references came from Proquest Historical
Newspapers. Though it's a fee-based service, many libraries have
online access to it for no charge. Unlike Google, three terms
together are treated like a phrase (Google?s search engine requires
quotes around them to have the string of words treated as a phrase).
Still it?s recommended that your search of the New York Times database
use the following. This will save you from getting every letter to
the editor and quote from Mets players who talk about ?doing your own
thing?:
Your Own Thing AND Orpheum
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
