The York Theatre Company, “Where Musicals Come to Life”, presents the return of its esteemed Musicals in Mufti series for the first time in four years. The Fall 2023 Musicals in Mufti series will feature five offerings: How to Steal an Election: A Dirty Politics Musical, followed by The Lieutenant and Golden Rainbow, concluding with a New2NY presentation of the new musical When We Get There. A special two-show run of the new musical 18 Minutes of Fame is also scheduled. These musical theatre gems, performed in a simply-staged concert format with scripts, are part of the Muftis’ twenty-seven year history of presenting shows from the past that deserve a second look. Mufti means “in street clothes, without the trappings of a full production.”
How to Steal an Election: A Dirty Politics Musical
August 26-September 3
Music and lyrics by Oscar Brand
Book by William F. Brown
Brown and Brand had the notion of Jazz Age President Calvin Coolidge materializing in the present day (that is, 1968). There he meets a couple of fervent young protesters, just back from the skull-cracking Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Disillusioned, these two protesters have no taste for the political machine. But what’s wrong with pragmatism, Coolidge wonders? What about learning to work within a corrupt system? Thus, Coolidge begins his history lesson, with vignettes and songs depicting cynical power grabs of yore. How to Steal an Election opened to rave reviews at Off-Broadway’s Pocket Theatre in 1968 and after 50 performances, the show was set to move to Broadway. But there was a glitch. According to Oscar Brand, the $80,000 lined up for the move was Mob money, and it would only be delivered after someone on the production helped with some securities laundering. Brand refused to cooperate; end of deal, end of production. How to Steal an Election will be directed by The York’s Associate Producing Director Joseph Hayward with choreography by Victoria Casillo and music direction by Miles Plant.
18 Minutes of Fame
August 28 & 29
By Susan Morgenstern and Barbara Minkus
Starring Barbara Minkus
Making her York Theatre debut, Broadway, film and television singer/actress Barbara Minkus shares an intimate performance of personal moments, funny and poignant songs and remarkable stories of working with such luminaries as Danny Kaye, Merv Griffin, Jerry Lewis and Charlotte Rae. While searching for fame throughout her life, Barbara found a lot more than she bargained for. In her delightfully engaging story, she shares an exceptional journey of love, life, difficult decisions, family dynamics and more. In concert with the presentation of How to Steal an Election, Barbara is adding special songs and stories to her show recounting her time working with composer/lyricist Oscar Brand and director George Abbott on The Education of H*YM*AN K*AP*LA*N, in which she starred on Broadway in 1968. 18 Minutes of Fame is directed by Susan Morgenstern with musical direction by Ron Barnett.
The Lieutenant
September 9-17
Book, music and lyrics by Chuck Strand, Gene Curty and Nitra McAuliffe
The Lieutenant is a brilliant rock opera which opened in 1975 and received four Tony nominations and five Drama Desk nominations, including ones for Best Musical and Best Score, despite an abbreviated run of only one week. Clive Barnes of the New York Times said it was a “rare musical with something worth saying,” calling it “unusual entertainment, sharp in its aspiration.” The show follows the passage of Lieutenant William Calley from raw recruit in the US Army through his 1971 court-martial for the infamous My Lai massacre of innocent civilians in 1968. The authors question the guilty verdict of a man who was tried first in the national media and later by a military tribunal, when militarism itself should perhaps shoulder the brunt of the blame. “Bertolt Brecht would have cheered this bold new look at the American sickness that was My Lai,” chimed in the Long Island Press, and ABC News said, “the rock score is one of the most dynamic and soaring since Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Golden Rainbow
September 23-October 1
Music and lyrics by Walter Marks
Book by Ernest Kinoy
Based on Arnold Schulman’s play A Hole in the Head
Golden Rainbow is the jazzy, heartfelt story of a single dad trying to achieve success in Las Vegas while raising his extremely bright and savvy son. His late wife's sister arrives and tries to bring stability to the boy's life, but unintentionally falls in love with her brother-in-law. The musical originally opened on Broadway on February 4, 1968 and ran nearly a year. It starred the married couple of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, major stars from their extensive work in the recording, television and concert industries. The musical introduced the enduring standard "I've Gotta Be Me," recorded by Sammy Davis, Tony Bennett, Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder and many others. Stuart Ross (Enter Laughing) directs.
When We Get There
October 7-15
Book by Robert P. Young III and Richard Lasser
Music and lyrics by Charlie Barnett
A New2NY presentation
Black teenager Dawn inspires her mother Mary, Mary’s employer Rose and Rose’s handyman Terrance to pile in Rose’s 1963 Buick Electra and drive to Selma to join Dr. Martin Luther King’s march. Green Book at the ready and hearts full of hope, the foursome heads south even as America remains hostile to its Black and Jewish citizens. Trouble will be encountered, secrets will be revealed and a new understanding of what a family (and maybe a country) can be will be discovered.
