Amen Corner (musical)

Infobox Musical
name= Amen Corner


caption=
music= Garry Sherman
lyrics= Peter Udell
book= Philip Rose
Peter Udell
basis= Play "The Amen Corner" by James Baldwin
productions= 1983 Broadway
awards=

"Amen Corner" is a musical with a book by Philip Rose and Peter Udell, lyrics by Udell, and music by Garry Sherman, based on the 1965 Broadway play of the same name by James Baldwin. The score consists of mostly gospel-inspired music.

After 12 previews, the Broadway production, directed by Rose and choreographed by Al Perryman, opened on November 10 1983 at the Nederlander Theatre, where it ran for 28 performances. The cast included Rhetta Hughes as Margaret, Keith Lorenzo Amos as David, Roger Robinson as Luke, Ruth Brown as Odessa, Helena-Joyce Wright as Sister Boxer, Jean Cheek as Sister Moore, and Chuck Cooper as Brother Boxer. Hughes was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The production received poor reviews. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B04E6DB1539F932A25752C1A965948260 New York Times review] ]

The musical was produced in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Drama Guild in 1986 and has been produced a number of times since. [ [http://www.goldfishpublishers.com/AmenCorner_BTT.html Information about a 2005 production] ]

ynopsis

Margaret Alexander, the pastor of a storefront church in Harlem in the early 1960s loses some of her sheen of righteousness in the eyes of her poor but devout, congregation, when her wayward jazz-trombonist husband Luke returns after many years, now ill. Luke had always been trouble, and Sister Margaret had tried to keep him out of the life of her son, David, who she wants to become pastor some day. Now David wants to see his father, and Luke claims to have changed. Meanwhile, members of the church have seen David sneaking out to bars at night. Some argue that Margaret should step down as pastor.

Margaret struggles with her feelings for her husband, who says he still loves her, and her teenaged son, David, who has lost his faith and threatens to leave home. She finally reconciles with her dying husband, which purges her of her bitterness, and finds the strength to continue her religious mission.

ong list

;Act I
*Amen Corner
*That Woman Can't Play No Piano
*In the Real World
*You Ain't Gonna Pick Up Where You Left Off
*In the Real World (Reprise)
*We Got a Good Thing Goin'
*In His Own Good Time
*Heat Sensation
*Everytime We Call It Quits

;Act II
*Somewhere Close By
*Leanin' on the Lord
*I'm Already Gone
*Love Dies Hard
*Everytime We Call It Quits (Reprise)
*Rise Up and Stand Again

References

* [http://www.musictheatreinternational.com/show_home.asp?id=000003 Information from the MTI website]
* [http://www.musicalheaven.com/Detailed/310.html Profile of the show at the Musical Heaven website]

External links

* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4237 Internet Broadway Database listing]
* [http://www.musictheatreinternational.com/show_songs.asp?ID=000003 Midi files]