Me and Juliet
Music by Rodgers, Richard | Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Rodgers & Hammerstein's valentine to the theatre takes place both onstage and backstage during the production of a musical entitled-what else?-'Me and Juliet.' This show-within-a-show follows the romance between a chorus girl and an assistant stage manager leading to their secret marriage. Their happy union is threatened by the electrician who still carries a torch for the girl and, in a drunken rage, tries to kill them both. A contrasting romance involves the stage manager, whose credo never to fall for a girl in a show he's working on is complicated when a dancer he's been wooing is suddenly thrown into the cast of 'Me and Juliet.' Informed by rich insights into the world of Broadway-how jobs are gotten and lost, the inside tricks of the trade and the pitfalls of backstage romances-ME AND JULIET is an innovative, irresistible show that consistently delivers both musically and dramatically.
Cast Size: Medium (5-21) • Large (14+). Vocal Demands: Easy • Moderate. Dance Requirements: Extensive • Some Dancing Required. Good For: High School • College/University • Amateur/Community • Professional Theatre • Religious Organization.
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About The Show
Production Info
To request the rights to make merchandise for this show email brian.sherman@rnh.com.
Fan Info:
I had a, well, magical experience on Saturday night. Andy Einhorn, the indefatigable conductor and musical director of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA, invited me to sit in the orchestra pit of the Broadway Theatre during the performance. Because the pit is big enough, there is a space where, once the orchestra members are settled in their seats, a chair can be placed safely, between the bows of the violins and the constant instrument shifting of the woodwind section. Read more →
With the 9 Tony Award nominations for Rodgers + Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA announced this morning, once again Rodgers and Hammerstein stand tall and proud among the best of Broadway.
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As I am now based in London, where Rodgers & Hammerstein is launching our own European theatrical licensing division – R&H Theatricals Europe – I had the great pleasure of hopping down to Madrid for 24 hours in late December, to see SONRISAS…, meet the cast and equally hardworking crew, and revel in a production of the timeless musical that seems to “bloom and grow forever” – and everywhere.
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August 31, 1953
March 28, 1954
March 31, 1934
April 20, 1953
May 28, 1953
"Far and away the best musical of the season...It has a glorious score which we will be hearing for years to come...Hammerstein has caught the true spirit of the theatre." — New York Morning Telegraph
"Far and away the best musical of the season...It has a glorious score which we will be hearing for years to come...Hammerstein has caught the true spirit of the theatre." — New York Morning Telegraph
Song #
Song Name
Character Name
Play
Other Versions
3
That's The Way It Happens (Reprise)
Larry
4
That's The Way It Happens (Dance)
Susie and Dancers
5
Me And Juliet (Overture)
Dario and Orchestra
6
Me And Juliet (Opening)
Lilly and Charlie
9
Keep It Gay (Reprise)
Betty and Buzz
12
It's Me (Dance)
Elizabeth, Francine and Ralph
13
The Big Black Giant (Reprise Fragment)
Ruby
14
No Other Love (Reprise)
Lilly and Charlie
15
Finale Act One
18
Sequence In Second Act
Ballet
22
Dario Rebels
Dario and Orchestra
23
Finale Act Two
Charlie, Lilly, Betty, Jim and Chorus
24
No Other Love (Reprise) Finale Ultimo
Jeanie and Entire Company
Excerpted from "Buried Treasure," as featured in Happy Talk, Volume 9, Issue 3 - Summer 2002:
"ME AND JULIET (1953) was Rodgers & Hammerstein’s self-confessed valentine to the theater, an upbeat, contemporary tale of life and love backstage at a long-running Broadway show. It was also, in Hammerstein’s words, the first of our plays where nobody dies. With ME AND JULIET, the masters of the musical play were experimenting in the frisky and breezy musical comedy vernacular.
A year-long run on Broadway (with Shirley MacLaine in the chorus) was followed by a brief stint in Chicago (with Shirley Jones in the chorus), before ME AND JULIET faded into near oblivion. The R&H Theatre Library rarely licenses it, and our records report no New York stagings in at least 30 years.
In April, the York Theatre presented ME AND JULIET as the third in its all-Rodgers series of Musicals in Mufti. Inventively directed by Michael Montel, the simplicity of the staging "using a couple of step-ladders and little more" neatly quashed the theory that, as originally conceived, this musical was too dependent on technical wizardry for the story and score to work on their own.
As a musical about a musical cast with young performers, ME AND JULIET is ideally primed for the ambitious high school or college market. The cast is able to play on two planes at once "offstage, and onstage" and while the Ô50s setting is richly evocative of Broadway in its heyday, the romantic machinations are timeless. "
Vocal Range of Characters:
Written By: Richard Rodgers
One day about a year and a half ago I remembered an idea that I had been toying with for six or seven years. I thought it would be fun to do a piece about the musical theatre itself and to do it as truthfully as possible. The idea was to go from place to place within a single theatre -- dressing rooms, wings, offices, the lounge, the alley way, the orchestra pit, the stage itself -- and tell our story at the same time. When I brought the idea to Oscar his enthusiasm re-lighted my own. He had been wanting badly to write in today's terms, and I was aching to get some dance music out of my system.
Playbill VIP:
MAKE YOUR OWN PLAYBILL! Playbill VIP allows you to create your very own Playbill Program. We have provided Playbill with all of the credits, song listings, musical numbers and more so that most of the work is already done for you. Just add your productions details, photos of the cast and share it with all of your friends. Learn more: www.playbillvip.com
STANDARD
- Orchestration Package (21 Books)
- 1 – Piano Conductor Score
- 1 – REED I (Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Baritone Sax)
- 1 – REED II (Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, Tenor Sax)
- 1 – REED III (Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax)
- 1 – REED IV (Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet)
- 1 – REED V (Clarinet, Bassoon, Tenor Sax, Bass Sax)
- 1 – HORN
- 1 – TRUMPET I-II
- 1 – TRUMPET III-IV
- 1 – TROMBONE I
- 1 – TROMBONE II
- 1 – TROMBONE III
- 1 – PERCUSSION (see list below)
- 1 – VIOLIN A (Divisi)
- 1 – VIOLIN B (Divisi)
- 1 – VIOLIN C (Divisi)
- 1 – VIOLA
- 1 – CELLO
- 1 – BASS
- 1 – HARP
- 1 – PIANO (Piano Conductor Score)
- ME AND JULIET - Perusal Package (1 Lib., 1 VB)
- 1 – Libretto
- 1 – Vocal Book
- Rehearsal Set (42 Books)
- 20 – Libretto
- 1 – Logo CD
- 20 – Vocal Book
- 2 – Piano Vocal Scores
- 0 – Digital Logo
ADDITIONAL
- ME AND JULIET - PRE-PRODUCTION PACKAGE
- 1 – Libretto
- 1 – Piano Vocal Scores
2 Women
3 Men
FEATURED
7 Women
11 Men
ENSEMBLE
Large singing-dancing ensemble consisting of Theatre Patrons, Company, Stage Crew, Audience.
CHARACTERS
George - 2nd Assistant Stage Manager
Sidney - Electrician
Jeanie - Chorus Singer
Herbie - Candy Counter Boy
Chris - Rehearsal Piano Player
Milton - Drummer
Stu - Bass Fiddle Player
Michael - A Chorus
Bob - Electrician
Larry - Assistant Stage Manager
Mac - Stage Manager
Monica - Chorus Dancer
Ruby - Company Manager
Charlie (Me) - Featured Lead
Dario - Conductor
Lily (Juliet) - Singing Principal
Jim (Don Juan) - Principal Dancer
Susie (Carmen) - Principal Dancer
Voice of Mr. Harrison - Producer
Voice of Miss Davenport - Choreographer
Hilda - An aspirant for a dancing part
Marcia - Another aspirant for a dancing part
Betty - Successor to Susie as Principal Dancer
Buzz - Principal Dancer
Ralph - Alley Dancer
Miss Oxford - A Bit Player
Sadie - An Usher
Mildred - Another Usher
Theatre Patrons
Company
Stage Crew
Audience
SPECIFIC LOCATIONS
Backstage
The Orchestra Pit
First Scene of ME AND JULIET
The Light Brigade
Alley Leading to the Stage Door
Betty's Dressing Room
Night Club Scene in ME AND JULIET
Downstairs Lounge in the Theatre
The Bar Across the Street
Second Act Sequence from ME AND JULIET
Theatre Manager's Office
Last Scene from ME AND JULIET
Materials Notes
Trap Set, Timpani, Triangle, Bells, Castanets, Optional Maracas, Tambourine, Cow Bells, Wood Block, Xylophone.
Media Rights
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