David Rogers has adapted his play
Flowers for Algernon for the musical stage and it includes the glorious melodies of Charles Strouse.
Charlie Gordon, a man with the mind of a child, is given innovative surgery. His intelligence increases to genius level paralleling that of Algernon, a lab mouse, who has had the operation earlier. The interweaving of the fate of the man and the mouse and the love that grows between Charlie and his teacher, Alice Kinnian, make a most unusual, intelligent and romantic musical.
The songs, as varied and exciting as the story, include the enchanting love song,
Whatever Time There Is; the skylarking
Hey, Look at Me!; the brilliant
The Maze; the literate
Reading; and a vaudeville turn in which Charlie appears to dance with the mouse.
The original Broadway and London orchestrations are by Phil J. Lang and are scored for an orchestra of nine. The scenery requires small, fragmentary sets and is easy to create. Please treat yourself by listening to the cast album. You and your cast will know why you should give very serious consideration to this warm and wonderful show.