A Streetcar Named Desire opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, after a tryout in New Haven, Connecticut, and cost $60,000 to produce. The play was produced by Irene Mayer Selznick (1907 - 1990), directed by Elia Kazan (1909 - 2003), and starred Jessica Tandy (1909 - 1994) as Blanche DuBois, Marlon Brando (1924 - 2004) as Stanley Kowalski, Kim Hunter (1922 - 2002) as Stella, and Karl Malden (b. 1912) as Mitch. The play ran for a then astounding 855 performances. The play opened in London on the West End in 1949, directed by Laurence Olivier (1907 - 1989), and starring Vivien Leigh (1913 - 1967) as Blanche and Bonar Colleano (1924 - 1958) as Stanley. (Read More)

Ain't Misbehavin'

Ain't Misbehavin', which began as a cabaret revue at the Off-Broadway Manhattan Theater Club, quickly became the hot theater ticket in New York City.
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Always...Patsy Cline

Based on real people, Always...Patsy Cline is the story of a Houston housewife and devoted fan, Louise Seger, and country & western star Patsy Cline. (Read More)

Amahl and the Night Visitors

Gian-Carlo Menotti's main inspiration for Amahl and the Night Visitors is the famous painting, "The Adoration of the Magi", by Flemish Renaissance artist Hieronymus Bosch. (Read More)

Arms and the Man

"I greatly regret that my play, 'Arms and the Man', has wounded the susceptibilities of Bulgarian students in Berlin and Vienna. But I ask them to remember that it is the business of the writer of a comedy to wound the susceptibilities of his audience. The classical definition of his function is 'the chastening of morals by ridicule.' When the Bulgarian students, with my sincerely friendly assistance, have developed a sense of humor there will be no more trouble." (1924)
- G. B. Shaw from Bernard Shaw: Volume 1: (Read More)

Around the World in 80 Days

The Mark Brown adaptation of Around The World in 80 Days premiered at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in September, 2001. Jules Verne himself created an elaborate stage adaptation of Around The World in 80 Days that opened in Paris at the Port Saint-Martin Theater in 1874. (Read More)

As You Like It

Shakespeare's only important source for AS YOU LIKE IT was Thomas Lodge's (c.1557-1625) prose romance novel, "Rosalynde"(1590), which in turn was based on the medieval narrative poem, "The Tale of Gamelyn." (Read More)

Bequiled Again

A musical revue created at Palm Beach's Florida Stage theater, and first performed in 1997. It was composed by the writing team of Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Hart (lyrics). (Read More)

Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [abridged], as created by the Reduced Shakespeare Co., began as a 20-minute entertainment at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in San Bernadino, California in 1981. The Faire is a large Renaissance 'theme park' assembled every fall to look like a 16th century English village, complete with authentic food, games, and entertainment. (Read More)

Crowns

The source for Regina Taylors musical adaptation is the 2000 book, Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats by journalist Craig Marberry and photographer Michael Cunningham. (Read More)

Dracula

The Dietz play follows the Bram Stoker novel very closely, including the dramatization of diary entries, which make up much of the dramatic action of the Stoker book. (Read More)

Drood

The source for Rupert Holmes' Drood: The Musical is Charles Dickens' unfinished 1870 novel, 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood.' Dickens was set to publish 'Drood' in twelve installments (in magazine format), but finished only six installments at the time of his death. Thus, one of the greatest mysteries in literature is 'who killed Edwin Drood?' (Read More)

Forever Plaid

During this time, guys across the country banded together to sing in the basement for fun. If things worked out they might be hired to sing at weddings, conventions, proms and country club socials. (Read More)

Free To Be...You and Me

Actress Marlo Thomas asked several of her friends to help collaborate on the poems, songs, and stories that are included in the book, which was first published in 1974. (Read More)

The Glass Menagerie

The source for the play The Glass Menagerie is one of Thomas Lanier (Tennessee) Williams own early short stories, "Portrait of a Girl in Glass," which was a semi-autobiographical tale of his own upbringing in Saint Louis, Missouri. (Read More)

Great Expectations

The single most obvious source of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations is the author's own life. Like Pip, Dickens was raised in a rural area and eventually relocates to the large bustling metropolis of London where life was very different. (Read More)

The Importance of Being Earnest

Playwright Oscar Wilde's inspiration for The Importance of Being Earnest, are the lords and ladies of London society in the 1880's and 1890's. (Read More)

The Little Foxes

Playwright Lillian Hellman's inspiration for The Little Foxes was her own life. She based the play's characters on members of her mother's family, the Newhouses. (Read More)

Little Shop of Horrors

Though the writers of Little Shop of Horrors were largely unknown when the show first appeared off-Broadway in 1982, they are now extremely popular Academy and Grammy award winning writers. (Read More)

Master Class

The source materials for Master Class are the actual master classes given by Maria Callas at The Juilliard School from October, 1971, to March, 1972. (Read More)

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET

Seaside Music Theater's world premiere production of The Million Dollar Quartet is based on an actual event. On December 4, 1956, at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, four upcoming musical superstars and several studio musicians gathered for an impromptu 'jam' session (slang for jamboree). The once-in-a-lifetime event was secretly recorded by Sun Studio owner Sam Phillips (1923-2003) and not commercially released until years later (Read More)

My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra

MY WAY: A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA is a musical revue. A revue is a topical show consisting of a series of scenes, episodes, and/or songs usually having a central theme but not a dramatic plot, often with spoken verse and prose, sketches, songs, dances, ballet and specialty acts. (Read More)

Nunsense

Nunsense was originally a cabaret revue entitled 'The Nunsense Story', written by Dan Goggin and based on his original line of greeting cards featuring a stern nun spewing tart advice or quips. (Read More)

Romeo & Juliet

Shakespeare's primary source for "Romeo and Juliet" is a popular poem, "The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet", by Arthur Brooke (1562). Among other sources, Brooke's poem is based on Luigi da Porta's tale of Romeo and Giulietta. (Read More)

Strega Nona

In a little town in Calabria, Italy, there lived an old woman who everyone called Strega Nona. Although her name translates to "Grandma Witch," Strega Nona is a lovable person who cures the townspeople of ailments, such as headaches and lovesickness, with her potions, herbs, and care. (Read More)

Swingtime Canteen

SWINGTIME CANTEEN is based on a real event that took place on Christmas Day 1942. On that day Coca-Cola sponsored a 12-hour marathon radio program that broadcast live programming from 43 separate army and navy bases. The program was called "Uncle Sam's Christmas Tree."
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The Taffetas

"The Taffetas" is a musical revue of songs popular in the 1950's and very early 1960's, when 'doo-wop,' a singing style known for it's tight harmonies and nonsensical syllables (see Music Style - Doo-Wop below), was popular. (Read More)

The Taming of the Shrew

The main plot, or the shrew-taming story, has a long history in European literature. Shakespeare's plot is not necessarily adapted from any one play, as are some of his other works, but fused together from many popular sources. (Read More)

You Never Know

You Never Know. Opened on September 21, 1938 at the Winter Garden Theatre. It played for 78 performances, and featured Clifton Webb (who starred in Porter's first Broadway show), Lupe Velez, and Libby Holman. The hit song from the show was 'At Long Last Love,' which Porter said he composed after having his legs crushed in a horse-riding accident. (Read More)

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown

You're a Good Man Charlie Brown originally opened Off-Broadway on March 7, 1967, at Theater 80 St. Marks in New York City. It played for over 1,500 performances (more than 3 years!) then transferred to Broadway's John Golden Theater on June 1, 1971. (Read More)