Full of wit, humor, and luscious melodies that evoke 1920s London and Portofino, this “romantic, lyrical, jazzy” new musical sparkles with fun! Join us on the warm Mediterranean shore for wisteria and sunshine, and a story and score you’ll never forget.
Based on the best-selling novel, and following the success of the award-winning film and widely-produced Broadway play, Enchanted April The Musical has already delighted audiences around the country.
“In the hands of Evans and Leipart, von Arnim’s witty and insightful story and colorful characters, full of heart and humor – make for a fabulous new musical.”
—BroadwayWorld
Synopsis
London, 1922. Dispirited by the cold wet winter and seeking an antidote to their cares, four London women make a stand for a ladies-only holiday away in Italy. Rose, neglected by her pulp-fiction writer husband, and Lottie, full of life and mischievous fun but frustrated by her career-obsessed solicitor husband – “Look, Rose, a castle to rent in sunny Italy! Let’s rent it, hire it, have it for ourselves!” They recruit two entitled upper-class women to share the cost: Lady Caroline, a stunningly beautiful but jaded debutante, and Mrs. Fisher, an elderly widow lamenting her lost youth in the time of Queen Victoria. How will their month of April together in the warmth and beauty of the Mediterranean change each of them forever? And what will happen when husbands and lovers descend on the women’s private paradise?
Productions
Creators
RICHARD B. EVANS
Music & Orchestrations
A multi-faceted post-avant-garde composer, Evans has a long and richly varied career that includes composing musicals, choral music and art songs, touring North America and Europe as a concert pianist and lecturer, teaching as an award-winning university professor, as well as his accomplishments as a published author, professional accompanist, recording artist, organist, inventor, and jazz pianist. His contributions to the avant-garde musical world during the 1970s and 1980s included editing for John Cage and performing and proselytizing Cage’s music as well as music by other 20th-Century American composers. A member of The Dramatists Guild and ASCAP, Evans’ historical oratorio Ireland’s Poet Patriots: A Musical Tribute, scored for 3 classical vocal soloists, 2 Irish sean nos vocalists and instrumentalists, with Irish Traditional Ensemble, chamber orchestra, choir and 6 narrators, premiered to great acclaim in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral and in Washington DC’s National Cathedral.
CHARLES LEIPART
Book & Lyrics
In addition to Enchanted April and the Veblen vaudeville, The Price of Everything with Richard B. Evans, Charles has written the book & lyrics for Frog Kiss, for which he received the NYMT Festival 2010 Award for Excellence in Lyric Writing; Me and Miss Monroe, in a workshop produced by Chase Mishkin, starring Rachel York as Marilyn; a three-time finalist for lyrics for the Fred Ebb Foundation Award; and winner of the Kleban Award 2001 for Outstanding Librettist for The Showgirl of 52nd Street. His non-musical works for the stage have been performed in the UK and U.S. regionals. He most recently wrote the book & lyrics for Jazzland in Concert for the Harlem School of the Arts with jazz artist Eric Reed. Charles is a former Fellow of the Edward F. Albee Foundation and member of the Dramatists Guild and ASCAP.