Merrily We Dance and Sing
by Billy Van Zandt, Jane Milmore, Ed Alton

Name: Merrily We Dance and Sing
Brand: Billy Van Zandt
SKU: 9780573704291

Merrily We Dance and Sing Book Cover — Merrily We Dance and Sing Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins Present Day Expandable Casting Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes

Synopsis

Merrily We Dance and Sing is a slapstick, madcap musical farce.

While a small-town community theater performs an original operetta The Naughty Boy , an escaped serial killer gets loose in the theater – eventually hiding from the local police on the stage – which forces the actors to improvise new plot lines, rewrite dialogue, and take the opportunity to invent their own happy endings.

Imagine “Gilbert & Sullivan Meet the Marx Brothers.”

With book & lyrics by Van Zandt & Milmore and original music by Van Zandt, Milmore & Ed Alton.

Includes the songs “I Am First an Englishman,” “Once Upon a Time,” the near-impossible tongue-twister show-stopper “It’s All in the Chase” and “They Call Me Sweet Carnation (Because I Love to Smell).”

Press Reviews

"It’s exceptional! With its wicked puns, naughty misogyny, sexual entendre and general goofiness, it’s like an extended Milton Berle Comedy Hour! Slapstick, missed cues, tear-away clothing, pratfalls. Just about everything except scenery falling down. Stay for the curtain call!"
— Two River Times

"A zany musical! The first musical nuttiness Van Zandt & Milmore have put together in their 22-year association. Van Zandt and Milmore have included every gag in the book – men dressed as women, women dressed as men, innuendoes and slapstick galore! Let us rejoice! Flashes of Pirates of Penzance, Abbott & Costello, sex of various persuasions, chases through the audience and collapsing scenery. First-rate! And so hilarious!"
— The Coaster

"Packed with fun! Unparalleled in its absurd hilarity! Uproariously funny! So packed with quips, wisecracks and innuendoes that it may be impossible to get all the jokes in one viewing!"
— Asbury Park Press

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Loretta Peaman Playing the role of Sweet Carnation's Nan (G3-C5)	—	—	Playing the role of Sweet Carnation's Nan (G3-C5)
Mickey Playing the role of the Naughty Boy (G2-E4)	—	—	Playing the role of the Naughty Boy (G2-E4)
Corey Playing the role of Sweet Carnation (G#3-D5)	—	—	Playing the role of Sweet Carnation (G#3-D5)
Brock Playing the role of the Major-General (Bb3-E4)	—	—	Playing the role of the Major-General (Bb3-E4)
Petey Playing the role of the Fool (Bb3-G4)	—	—	Playing the role of the Fool (Bb3-G4)
Jack “Jackie” Baldo Escaped mental patient	—	—	Escaped mental patient
Sergeant Taggert The real thing (B3-C4)	—	—	The real thing (B3-C4)
Two Policemen Also real	—	—	Also real
Bernie Ludloe The show’s composer and conductor	—	—	The show’s composer and conductor
Chorus Boys And Girls At least four	—	—	At least four
Chuck Peaman Playing the role of the Mayor of Himm (G2-E4)	—	—	Playing the role of the Mayor of Himm (G2-E4)