Mail A New Musical 1988?

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 2:12am

Did anyone see this, was it good? Who was in it? anything?

[blaxx]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 2:58am

No, but great poster, though.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 3:00am

I saw it, can't remember anything about it... have the Playbill somewhere...
Mail

Music Box Theatre, (4/14/1988 - 5/15/198
Preview: Mar 29, 1988 Total Previews: 19
Opening: Apr 14, 1988
Closing: May 15, 1988 Total Performances: 37


Category: Musical, Original, Broadway
Setting: A Manhattan apartment. 6:00 A.M., one winter morning / 11:15 P.M., four months later.

Awards and nominations
Songs in this Production


by opening date

Opening Night Production Credits

Theatre Owned / Operated by Irving Berlin and The Shubert Organization (Gerald Schoenfeld: Chairman; Bernard B. Jacobs: President)

Produced by Michael Frazier, Susan Dietz, Stephen Wells, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and ANTA (Alfred de Liagre Jr: executive producer; Jean Dalrymple: executive director); Associate Producer: Kenneth Biller

Orginally produced by The Pasadena Playhouse (Susan Dietz and Stephen Rothman, Producing Directors)

Book by Jerry Colker; Lyrics by Jerry Colker; Music by Michael Rupert; Music orchestrated by Michael Gibson; Musical Director: Tom Fay; Dance arrangements by Tom Fay; Vocal arrangements by Tom Fay

Directed by Andrew Cadiff; Choreographed by Grover Dale; Assistant Choreographer: Stephen Jay

Scenic Design by Gerry Hariton and Vicki Baral; Costume Design by William Ivey Long; Lighting Design by Richard Nelson; Projection Design by Gerry Hariton and Vicki Baral; Sound Design by Tom Morse; Multi-Image Production by Nelson & Sixta; Hair Design by Phyllis Della Illien

General Manager: Frank Scardino Associates, Inc.

Production Stage Manager: Craig Jacobs; Technical Supervisor: Peter Fulbright; Stage Manager: Michael F. Wolf and C.C. Cary; Assistant Stage Mgr: Larry Collis

Musical Supervisor: Paul Gemignani; Conducted by Tom Fay; Music Contractor: Paul Gemignani; Assistant Conductor: Henry Aronson; Piano: Henry Aronson; Cello: Wendy Brennan and Evalyn Steinboch; Woodwinds: Vincent DellaRocca and Dale Kleps; Drummer: Norbert Goldberg; Violin/Viola: Jill Jaffe; Guitar: Scott Kuney; Bass: Douglas Romoff

Press Representative: The Joshua Ellis Office; Casting: Eleanor Albano and Susan Chieco; Managerial Associate: Jim Brandeberry; Dance Captain: Stephen Jay; Advertising: Grey Entertainment & Media; Photographer: Ron Scherl

Opening Night Cast

Michael Rupert Alex
Antonia Ellis Sandi
Mara Getz Dana
Robert Mandan Max
Brian Mitchell Franklin
Mary Bond Davis Radio Singer
Mama Utility
Brunhilda
Operator
Lois T. Wertshafter
Pitchperson
Louise Hickey Power Lady
Gypsy
Harmony Steinberg
Pitchperson
Robert Loftin LIFE Exec.
Assistant
Con Ed Man
Boy Scout
Craterface Callahan
Pitchperson
Alan Muraoka LIFE Exec.
Assistant
Con Ed Man
I.R.S. Auditor
Takeuchi Fujimoto
Pitchperson
Michele Pawk Kathy Sue Binger
Power Lady
Democratic Party Delegate
Candi Suwinski
Pitchperson
Rick Stockwell Radio Announcer
LIFE Exec.
Billy Ray Binger
Con Ed Man
Hunter
Mr. Stansbury
Pitchman
Pitchperson

Swings: Stephen Jay, Rachelle Ottley.

Standbys: Jerry Colker (Alex), Larry Collis (Max), Milton Craig Nealy (Franklin), Michele Pawk (Dana, Sandi).

Updated On: 5/23/08 at 03:00 AM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 3:21am

All I know about this is that it earned Brian Stokes Mitchell his Theatre World Award.

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 3:29am

and it was written by the guys behind the excellent 3 Guys naked From the Waist Down.

[tazber]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 6:51am

Act I starts with Michael Rupert coming home after having picked up and left his life on hold for several months.
There is a HUGE stack of mail awaiting him. As he opens each piece the ensemble come out from different places in his apartment and "sing" the mail.
For example, when he opens the Con Ed disconnection notice, the ensemble comes out of the stove (?) in hard hats and Con Ed Uniforms. It's really weird.
At the end of Act I, there is a great solo where Rupert decides to start over again and views his new life as a "Blank Piece Of Paper" (He was a writer, I think, hence the metaphor).

Act II deals mostly with him repairing the relationships that were damaged by his disappearing, specifically his girlfriend.

It was an odd show to be sure. It had some cute bits, but the score was disappointingly unmemorable and I never warmed to the character b/c all his problems were of his own making.


ETA: the version I saw was saved for posterity during the previews, about a week before it opened. I don't know how much changed in that time.

Updated On: 5/23/08 at 06:51 AM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 8:09am

Tazber, thanks for that. It sounds um interesting...maybe!

[once a month]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 8:17am

Michael Rupert wrote (or co-wrote, I can't recall) 3 Guys Naked from the Waist Down. When I attended a final preview, he was there and he was just as personable as he usually is. Great guy!
I was disappointed when MAIL closed prematurely.

[tazber]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 8:28am

I'm also a huge fan on 3 Guys Naked. Such a great little show!

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 9:46am

taz...you seem too young to have seen Mail in the original run...were you two? Great description, tho.

[clever name]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 11:44am

I saw it in L.A a long time ago. Pasadena Playhouse. I loved it and if I recall, it was a bigger hit in L.A than it was on Broadway. Every letter he opens up comes to life and sings a number. Yikes, Im dating myself!! That had to be in the 80's sometime, why are they calling it a new musical?

[tazber]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 12:45pm

I was 5 when it opened doods. Sadly, I didn't get to see it live.

[ZiggyCringe]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 6:34am

I LOVE this show, and I have a great story about it.

It was a freezing January morning in NYC, and tickets went on sale the SAME DAY for "Chess," "Carrie," and "Mail."

There was no Internet then, so we used to go line up for shows. Of the three, I chose "Carrie", and was the only person who lined up for that show.

Then I ran over to the "Chess" box office, where there was a line, and bought tickets.

And then I went to "Mail."

Outside of the Music Box Theatre, there was a press agent. "Mail" had cancelled its first preview, but he was offering a deal. If you brought a pound of junk mail to him, you would get two free tickets.

I ran to the office I was working at, got a huge amount of junk mail, and delivered. I got tickets for three performances.

And I loved the show.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 11:13am

If I remember correctly, Michael Rupert did not write it as a vehicle for himself. The actor who had been cast as the lead got sick, fired or quit and Rupert stepped in relatively last minute. He got good notices for that, but not for the show itself.

I saw his new musical "Streets of America" in a student production here in Pittsburgh last year. He has a gift for melody and it's sad that he didn't do anything with it for so long.

[CongratsMissLogan]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 9:53pm

Hey Guys (& Dolls)...longtime lurker here.

I saw Mail in previews. Michael Rupert was out, so Jerry Colker was on. The concept, as has been stated above, had the Leading man coming back to his New York apartment after a three week absence to a giant pile of mail. An oddly dated concept today.

I remember Brian Stokes Mitchell rising out of the desk blotter for one number as the best friend.
Robert Mandan, from SOAP was a crazy bundle of nerves as the father.

The Show was almost entirely sung, one letter after another.
It was hard to get in involved with anyone because they would just as soon disappear back into the set, fun as the effect might have been.
I remember a lady telling the listening device attendant "You should have of told me how loud it was. I wouldn't have rented these!"

All in all, not a great night at the theater, but for the chance to attend my first flop musical on Broadway!

[scaryclowns223]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 10:24pm

Anyone know how I can get my hands on this music?
(Either recorded or sheet music.)

I would love to hear it, considering the talents of Michael Rupert as a composer.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 5/28/08 at 12:05am

Same here would love to hear the score.