Dempsey and Rowe

Dempsey and Rowe is the musical theatre composition team of Ohioans John Dempsey (lyricist) and Dana P. Rowe (composer). They have completed four shows to-date: The Reluctant Dragon, Zombie Prom (1996) The Fix (1997) and The Witches of Eastwick (2000).

Update

As of August 2005, an independent film production of Zombie Prom, starring RuPaul has just finished principal filming.

From September 14-25, Dana P Rowe will roadtest his new musical entitled The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde, with book and lyrics by Michael Aman and Oscar E. Moor. The premiere, directed by Michael Bush with musical direction by Rowe himself - part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival - will star off-Broadway star Deven May and country singer Sherrié Austin as the eponymous duo.

The Fix (1997)

The Fix premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in April 1997 under the direction of Sam Mendes. Its working title was "Cal: A Musical Tale of Relative Insanity". After mixed critical reception, the material were rewritten and the tone made more comic. The revised version, featuring an expanded, bolder orchestration, was premiered at the Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia.

Plot

Days before a United States presidential election, shoo-in candidate Reed Chandler suffers a fatal coronary between the thighs of his mistress. Before the body has turned cold, the dead man's widow, Violet, and brother, Grahame (a speechwriter and spin doctor crippled from birth by polio and jealous of his brother's public success) - not keen to see their patience and preparation go to waste - are conspiring to replace him with his own son, an unambitious drifter, Calvin. Cal is enlisted in the army and married off to a perky debutante before developing a hard drug problem and being photographed during sex with his mistress, a nightclub singer named Tina McCoy. To cover up Cal's indescretion, Grahame is forced to call upon the services of the city's criminal underworld, headed by Anthony Gliardi, who we are told is a "friend of the family". The years pass; Cal is elected governor and his wife bears a son. The list of favours owed to Gliardi grows longer, Cal's addiction deepens and Grahame's legs finally give way and he is condemned to life in a wheelchair. After a drying out period, Cal rediscovers his sense of self. He confronts the press, coming clean about his misgivings and the Chandler's relationship with Gliardi. Cal becomes the media darling once again, however on the eve of the United States Senate nominations, Gliardi uses Tina to lure Cal away from his family, then shoots them both. The play comes full circle as at Cal's funeral, Violet and Grahame move in on Cal's young son. And suddenly the future doesn't look so dim after all.

The Witches of Eastwick (2000)

Previewing 24 June 2000 and opening 18 July 2000 in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, The Witches of Eastwick was based upon the John Updike novel of the same name and also upon the motion picture directed by George Miller. The director who 'fixed' previous show, "The Fix" for its American premiere, Eric D. Schaeffer, was employed to head the new production. The original cast featured Ian McShane in the role of 'Darryl Van Horne' with Lucie Arnaz, Maria Friedman and Joanna Riding as the three witches, 'Alexandra', 'Sukie' and 'Jane'. The show was transferred to the Prince of Wales theatre on the 23 March 2001, where the set design was heavily reconceived and a new song, "The Glory of Me" added in place of Van Horne's solo, "Who's the Man?". The production closed on the 27 October 2001. The Witches of Eastwick is the season ending musical to Signature Theatre's 2006-2007 season featuring Marc Kuddisch, Emily Skinner, Jacquelyn Piro Donovan, and Christiane Noll.

Plot

Three lonely ladies in the quiet town of Eastwick, Rhode Island wish upon the moon for their perfect lover. According to their very specific (yet very conflicting) requirements, a lover arrives who is everything all three of the ladies could have ever asked for. He is Darryl Van Horne - an outsider - who, as well as being only one man for the three, has something of the devil about him - literally! Van Horne sweeps like a hurricane in their quiet town, seducing the three ladies, who fall in love with him, and corrupting the town's youth. Despite their best efforts, the elderfolk of the town cannot rid Eastwick of Van Horne or his influence over the three ladies and the story spirals out of control as he solidifies his hold over the trio.