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Book by Mel Brooks & Joe Darion
Music by George Klinsinger
Lyrics by Joe Darion
"ARCHY AND MEHITABEL"
IS
HOLIDAY MUSICAL AT ITC
The characters of Archy the
cockroach and Mehitabel the cat were created by columnist Don Marquis
more than 90 years ago. They come to the stage of the Illinois Theatre
Center in the lively, jazzy musical ARCHY AND MEHITABEL. The show is a
blend of sophisticated social commentary and rollicking fun that's
suitable for all ages. It opens at the theatre in Park Forest for a
three-week run starting Friday, December 4.
Don Marquis was born in 1878,
in rural Walnut, Illinois, and began his newspaper career writing for
small-town weeklies. He worked at several New York papers before moving
to The Evening Sun in 1912, where he parlayed a job writing editorials
into a daily column, The Sun Dial. Marquis' column distinguished itself
for its breezy mix of quips, commentary and humorous verse.
In 1916 he created the
character of Archy, a melancholy cockroach with the soul of a poet, who
typed out his stories and poems by jumping on the keys of the typewriter
(in lower case only, since he couldn't hold down the shift key). Archy
wrote about all the denizens of Shinbone Ally, but mostly about
Mehitabel, a lusty, free-spirited alley cat. Collections of the Archy
and Mehitabel newspaper columns were published in book form in the
1920's, and have never been out of print since.
"Archy and Mehitabel - a Back
Alley Opera"
was originally conceived by composer George Kleinsinger ("Tubby the
Tuba") and lyricist Joe Darion ("Man of La Mancha") as a 25-minute
concert piece. It debuted in New York City in 1954. A year later a
recording was released, featuring Eddie Bracken as Archy and Carol
Channing as Mehitabel. The album was so popular that the creators
decided to expand the piece into a Broadway musical. Several songs were
added and TV writer Mel Brooks was recruited to write the dialogue. It
opened in 1957 under the title "Shinbone Alley". A television version
followed in 1960, and an animated film was released in 1971.
The ITC production features
ITC veterans Frank Roberts and Kelly Anne Clark in the title roles.
They are joined by David Boettcher as The Newspaperman, who narrates the
show, Ernest Ray in the dual roles of Big Bill, a tough tomcat, and
Tyrone T. Tattersall, a vain theatre cat. Completing the cast are Jeny
Wasilewski, Jessica Lauren Fisher, and Christine Ronna, playing an
assortment of alley cats and insects. The production is directed by
Etel Billig.
ARCHY AND MEHITABEL runs
Friday, December 4 through Sunday, December 20. Performances are
Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30
PM. Tickets are priced at $21 on Fri. & Sat., $19 all other times. The
Illinois Theatre Center is located in Downtown Park Forest at 371
Artists' Walk (off Indianwood Blvd. next to Village Hall). For tickets,
call (708) 381-3510.
Dec. 4 to
Dec. 20, 2009 |
