Romance/Romance

Infobox Musical
name= Romance/Romance
subtitle=


caption= Original Recording
music= Keith Herrmann
lyrics= Barry Harman
book= Barry Harman
basis= Jules Renard's play
"Le pain de ménage"
productions= 1987 Off-off-Broadway
1988 Broadway
awards=

"Romance/Romance" is a musical with a book and lyrics by Barry Harman and music by Keith Herrmann.

The show is comprised of two acts linked only by the common theme of love and one song performed in both acts. The first, "The Little Comedy", is based on a short story by Arthur Schnitzler and explores the budding relationship between two people who have adopted personas other than their own. Set in late 19th century Vienna, it focuses on Josefine, a demimonde weary of the social life provided by her upper class lovers, and wealthy playboy Alfred, who has tired of a seemingly endless round of inconsequential affairs. She assumes the guise of a working class woman, while he pretends to be a struggling poet, and the two meet while enjoying their new identities. Whether or not they can survive a weekend in the country with their usually glamorous trappings replaced by inedible food, bad wine, swarming insects, and total boredom is the question to be answered.

"Summer Share", the second act based on Jules Renard's 1898 play "Le pain de ménage", is updated to the late 1980s and set in The Hamptons, where two married couples in their thirties are spending the season in a rented cottage. Sam, who is married to Barb, and Monica, who is married to Lenny, find themselves gradually progressing from harmless flirtation to the serious possibility of an illicit affair.

Initially staged off-off-Broadway in 1987, "Romance/Romance" garnered critical notices that encouraged the move to a larger house uptown. After thirteen previews, the Broadway production, directed by Harman and choreographed by Pamela Sousa, opened on May 1 1988 at the Helen Hayes Theatre, where it ran for 297 performances. The cast included Alison Fraser as Josefine/Monica, Scott Bakula as Alfred/Sam, Deborah Graham as Barb, and Robert Hoshour as Lenny. Barry Williams replaced Bakula later in the run.

An original cast recording was released by MCA.

ongs

;Act I
* The Little Comedy
* Goodbye, Emil
* It's Not Too Late
* Great News
* Oh, What a Performance!
* I'll Always Remember the Song
* Happy, Happy, Happy
* Women of Vienna
* Yes, It's Love
* A Rustic Country Inn
* The Night It Had to End
* The Little Comedy (Finale);Act II
* Summer Share
* Think of the Odds
* It's Not Too Late (Reprise)
* Plans A & B
* Let's Not Talk About It
* So Glad I Married Her
* Small Craft Warnings
* How Did I End Up Here?
* Words He Doesn't Say
* My Love for You
* Moonlight Passing Through a Window
* Now
* Romantic Notions
* Romance, Romance

Nominations

*Tony Award for Best Musical
*Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical
*Tony Award for Best Original Score
*Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Bakula)
*Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Fraser)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics

External links

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