Celebration (musical)

Infobox Musical
name= Celebration
subtitle=


caption=
music= Harvey Schmidt
lyrics= Tom Jones
book= Tom Jones
basis=
productions= 1969 Broadway
awards=

"Celebration" is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt.

An avant-garde fable set on New Year's Eve, it focuses on four characters: Orphan, an idealistic and cheerfully optimistic young man, in possession of the stained-glass eye of God, who reminds Edgar Allen Rich, a wealthy but jaded old man, of his younger self; Angel, a sweet entertainer who longs to be "somebody"; and Potemkin, a Loki-like character who serves as narrator, commentator, and advisor. Surrounding them are a chorus known as the Revelers, who take on various roles throughout the action of the play, a group masked by the impersonal industrialism of their society, obediently following the rich man's demands but secretly aiding the boy who sees and respects them as individuals.

At the musical's core is the struggle between youth and old age, innocence and corruption, love and ambition, and poverty and wealth, as Angel tries to decide if she would be better served by her feelings for Orphan or Rich's willingness to fulfill her every dream.

With a set consisting of bare platforms, masks serving as the primary costumes, and a Brechtian-like score played by a nine-piece band instead of a full-fledged orchestra, the show was a major departure for Jones and Schmidt, whose previous work included the off-Broadway phenomenon "The Fantasticks" and the more-mainstream Broadway musicals "110 in the Shade" and "I Do! I Do!".

After thirteen previews, "Celebration", directed by Jones and choreographed by Vernon Lusby, opened on January 22, 1969 at the Ambassador Theatre, where it ran for 109 performances. The cast included Ted Thurston, Michael Glenn-Smith, Susan Watson, and Keith Charles.

ong list

;Act I
*"Celebration"
*"Orphan In The Storm"
*"Survive"
*"Somebody"
*"Bored"
*"My Garden"
*"Where Did It Go?"
*"Love Song"
*"To the Garden";Act II
*"I'm Glad to See You've Got What You Want"
*"It's You Who Makes Me Young"
*"Not My Problem"
*"Fifty Million Years Ago"
*"Beautician Ballet"
*"Saturnalia"
*"Under The Tree"
*"Winter And Summer"
*"Celebration" (Reprise)

External links

*ibdb show|id=2463|title=Celebration
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,841600,00.html?promoid=googlep/ Time Magazine review]