STORYBOOK'S TOP SECRET MUSICAL
PRESENTED ONSTAGE

Fundraiser event, in support of
STORYBOOK THEATRE SUBSIDIZED PROGRAMMING

Each year StoryBook presents a top-secret musical event featuring many of Calgary's brightest and shining musical theatre stars.

Be part of the excitement and feel what it is like to sit down and have no idea what show you are seeing until the lights go down and the music begins. This night is a highlight of the Calgary musical theatre scene.

Past shows have included: Little Miss Sunshine, Titanic - The Musical, Assassins, The Secret Garden, In The Heights and Company

THIS SHOW IS RATED 12+ and Includes mature themes and language

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SHOW SUMMARY

Based on the original book and concept of the same name by Peter Stone, the musical is a send-up of backstage murder mystery plots, set in 1959 Boston, Massachusetts and follows the fallout when Jessica Cranshaw, the supremely untalented star of Robbin' Hood of the Old West is murdered during her opening night curtain call. It is up to Lt. Frank Cioffi, a police detective who moonlights as a musical theater fan, to save the show, solve the case, and maybe even find love before the show reopens, without getting killed himself. Cioffi also dreams of being in musical theater. The show opened on Broadway to mixed reviews, though several critics praised the libretto and the character of Lieutenant Cioffi, who critic Ben Brantley called "the best damn musical theatre character since Mama Rose in Gypsy, and the best role of David Hyde Pierce's career."

RATING: PG | 12+
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video from the Original Broadway cast, NEWSIES THE MUSICAL

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Show Summary

CREATORS

ABOUT THE CREATORS

KANDER & EBB

Kander and Ebb, American songwriting duo made up of John Kander (b. March 18, 1927, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.) and Fred Ebb (b. April 8, 1928?, New York, New York, U.S.—d. September 11, 2004, New York City), who collaborated for more than 40 years—from the mid-1960s to the early 2000s—to produce scores for many successful musicals and films. Kander composed the music, and Ebb supplied the lyrics.

Kander was born into a musical household. He began studying piano at age six and performed with family and friends during his youth. Kander ultimately received a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College (Ohio) in 1951 and a master’s degree from Columbia University (New York) in 1954; both degrees were in music. He worked as a pianist, dance music arranger, and summer-stock musical conductor before joining lyricists James and William Goldman to write the score for the musical A Family Affair (1962).

Ebb developed a love for the city’s theatrical scene at a young age. After receiving an undergraduate degree from New York University in 1955 and a master’s degree in English literature from Columbia University in 1957, he penned nightclub pieces and teamed with Paul Klein and Norman Martin to write songs for the revue From A to Z (1960).

Ebb died two years before the musical premiered, leaving Kander to finish the work alone, a sentiment echoed throughout the musical, as this would be considered their final musical.

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SONG LIST

Act I

Overture - The Orchestra
Wide Open Spaces - Randy Dexter, Niki Harris, Jessica Cranshaw, Bobby Pepper and Ensemble
What Kind of Man? - Carmen Bernstein, Oscar Shapiro, Aaron Fox and Georgia Hendricks
Thinking of Him - Georgia, Aaron and Bobby
The Woman's Dead - Entire Company
Show People - Carmen, Lieutenant Frank Cioffi and Company
Coffee Shop Nights - Cioffi
In the Same Boat 1 - Georgia, Niki and Bambi Bernét
I Miss the Music - Aaron and Cioffi
Thataway! - Georgia and Ensemble