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The Middle of Nowhere

The songs of Randy Newman are deftly woven into a contemporary "minstrel" show with the sociological punch that has made Newman America's foremost musical satirist.

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Description

  • Full Length Musical
  • Comedy

  • Time Period: 1960s
  • Target Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Orchestra Size: Small/Combo

  • Performance Group:
  • College Theatre / Student, Community Theatre, Professional Theatre
The songs of Randy Newman are deftly woven into a contemporary "minstrel" show with the sociological punch that has made Newman America's foremost musical satirist. 

Set in 1969, five disparate characters find themselves stranded at a bus depot in a back-water Louisiana town. As the rain pours down, their personas pour forth. There's the station's janitor, the jingoistic salesman and his hitchhiking pick-up, the redneck with a guitar case full of beer, and the Black GI returning from Vietnam. 

In a succession of stylized vaudevillian set pieces, this show-within-a-show becomes a bittersweet allegory of American pluralism.
REVIEWS:

"One of the few shows to give coherent dramatic shape to material not written specifically for the theater... The product of 20 years of songwriting, Mr. Newman's American portrait gallery blends the sweet lilt of New Orleans rock-and-roll with the ferocious observation of political cartoons."

Stephen Holden The New York Times

"It's magic!...amazing theatrical finesse...inventive and highly entertaining...a bounty of music and drama."

Chicago Tribune

Characters

  • Casting: 4M, 1F
  • Casting Attributes: Minority casting
  • Chorus Size: No Chorus

  • JOE - an old black man. He seems to be the janitor of the depot.
    THE GI - a handsome black soldier, very intelligent but with a chip on his shoulder.
    THE SALESMAN - a middle-aged, Jewish travelling salesman with a robust personality.
    THE GIRL - a young, white, urban, hitchhiker who's good at taking care of herself.
    THE REDNECK - a big, brawny, loud but likeable kind of a guy.

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Perusal Material Shipped immediately. This is optional. Order Now

    1 x Libretto-Vocal Book
    1 x Piano Conductor Score

    		$24.00
    Pre-Production Pack Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    1 x Libretto-Vocal Book
    1 x Piano Conductor Score

    		$75.00
    Rehearsal Material Shipped a minimum of 3 months before the last performance. This must be hired as a condition of the License to produce this show.

    20 x Libretto-Vocal Books
    2 x Piano Conductor Score

    		$550.00 +$135.00/pm
    Orchestral Material Shipped a minimum of 1 month before the last performance. This is optional.

    1 x Piano Conductor Score
    1 x Reed (Clarinet, Tenor Sax)
    1 x Drums (Trap Set, Wind Chimes, Tambourines, Triangle)
    1 x Electric Guitar
    1 x Bass

    		$350.00 +$135.00/pm
    Lib/Vocal Book 10 Pack Shipped with (or after) Rehearsal Material. This is optional.

    10 x Libretto-Vocal Books

    		$50.00 +$50.00/pm

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