The Fix (musical)
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Original London Cast Recording
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| Music | Dana P. Rowe |
| Lyrics | John Dempsey |
| Book | John Dempsey |
| Productions | 1997 West End 1998 Arlington, Virginia 2010 New York University |
The Fix is a musical with book and lyrics by John Dempsey and music by Dana P. Rowe. It concerns the career of a fictional U.S. politician who gets mixed up with the Mafia.
It premiered at London's Donmar Warehouse in 1997.
Contents
Production history
The Fix was originally developed in association with Cameron Mackintosh under the working title Cal: A Musical Tale of Relative Insanity. It premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, running from 29 April, 1997 through 14 June, 1997, directed by Sam Mendes and starring John Barrowman, Kathryn Evans and Philip Quast.[1] Quast won the 1998 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in The Fix. The musical was also nominated for Oliviers for Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (for Barrowman), and Best Lighting Designer (for Howard Harrison).[2] Colin Welford conducted the production.[3]
It received its U.S. premiere at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, running from March 17, 1998 through April 26, 1998, where it was directed by Eric D. Schaeffer.[4]
The Fix had its Tri-State premiere at Princeton University's Theatre-Intime in 2003. Rachael Timinsky, Princeton '04, directed the production.[5]
The Fix was re imagined in a 1960's kennedy-esque guise in June/July 2012 at The Union Theatre in London directed and staged by Michael Strassen with Liz May Brice as Violet, Louis Maskell (Best Newcomer nomination) as Cal and Olivier Award winner Miles Western as Graham. It was nominated for seven Off West End Awards including Best Musical Production (pending) and received rave reviews.[6]
Plot
Days before a United States presidential election, shoo-in candidate Reed Chandler suffers a fatal coronary between the thighs of his mistress. Before the body has turned cold, the dead man's widow, Violet, and brother, Grahame (a speechwriter and spin doctor crippled from birth by polio and jealous of his brother's public success) - not keen to see their patience and preparation go to waste - are conspiring to replace him with his own son, an unambitious drifter, Calvin. Cal is enlisted in the army and married off to a perky debutante before developing a hard drug problem and being photographed during sex with his mistress, a nightclub singer named Tina McCoy. To cover up Cal's indiscretion, Grahame is forced to call upon the services of the city's criminal underworld, headed by Anthony Gliardi, who we are told is a "friend of the family". The years pass; Cal is elected governor and his wife bears a son. The list of favours owed to Gliardi grows longer, Cal's addiction deepens and Grahame's legs finally give way and he is condemned to life in a wheelchair. After a drying out period, Cal rediscovers his sense of self. He confronts the press, coming clean about his misgivings and the Chandler's relationship with Gliardi. Cal becomes the media darling once again, however on the eve of the United States Senate nominations, Gliardi uses Tina to lure Cal away from his family, then shoots them both. The play comes full circle as at Cal's funeral, Violet and Grahame move in on Cal's young son. And suddenly the future doesn't look so dim after all.
Musical numbers
At Donmar Warehouse, 1997
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Musical numbers
At Signature Theater, 1998
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Original London cast
In order of appearance:
- Cal Chandler (Violet's son) – John Barrowman
- Reed Chandler (a senator) – David Firth
- Donna (his mistress) – Christina Fry
- Peter (Chandler family chief of security) – David Bardsley
- Richard (Chandler family's personal physician) – Richard D. Sharp
- Grahame Chandler (Reed's older brother) – Philip Quast
- Violet Chandler (Reed's wife) – Kathryn Evans
- Danielle (maid to the Chandler family) – Hannah Tollman
- Bobby "Cracker" Barrel (a redneck) – Bogdan Kominowski
- Deborah Pullman (soon to be Cal Chandler's wife) – Gael Johnson
- Sheila (Grahame's assistant) – Christina Fry
- Leslie Pynchon (a speech coach) – Carrie Ellis
- Tina McCoy (a dancer) – Krysten Cummings
- Anthony Gliardi (a mob boss) – Nicholas Pound
- Frankie Diamanti (his assistant) – Mark Frendo
- Cardinal O'Hare – Christopher Holt
- Young Bobby "Cracker" Barrel – John Partridge
- Calvin Chandler Jr (Cal's son) – Thomas Hawes/Thomas Moll/Archie Preston
- Newscaster – Rebecca Front
Original Signature Theatre cast
- Cal Chandler (Violet's son) – Stephen Bienskie
- Reed Chandler (a senator) – Jim Walton
- Grahame Chandler (Reed's older brother) – Sal Mistretta
- Violet Chandler (Reed's wife) – Linda Balgord
- Tina McCoy (a dancer) – Natalie Toro
The ensemble featured Anthony Galde, Steven Cupo, Donna Migliaccio, Lawrence Redmond, Mark Aldrich, Michael J. Bobbit, Suzanne Briar, Daniel Felton, Raquel Hecker, Amy McWilliams, Mary Jane Raleigh, David Tapper, Rod Thomas and Joel Carron.
References
- ↑ "The Fix production information", empirenet.com, accessed December 7, 2008
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Cast Albums, 21 July 2008 [1]
- ↑ Gutman, Les."DC Report, Part 1, Review of Signature Theatre The Fix", curtainup.com, April 1998
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://thefixlondon.co.uk/index.html
External links
- The Fix at the Music Theatre International website
- Listing at NODANW
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