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About | Characters | The
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(top)
Set in 1950’s New York, TOP OF THE HEAP tells the tale of Ronny
Mauro and Gil Webster, a pair of nightclub comics who get a shot
at the big time by landing an appearance on a popular television
variety program. Gil runs afoul of Edgar Callahan, the program’s
host, when he slips one of the team’s edgier routines into
the live broadcast after being told not to perform it. As a result,
Ronny finds himself having to choose between remaining loyal to his
friend and getting back into the good graces of the one man who can
grant him showbiz success: the machiavelian Mister Callahan. |
(top)(In order of appearance)
Meryl Dean aka Actress #1 (Mid-20’s) - soprano
Ronny Mauro (Early 30’s) - tenor
Edgar Callahan aka Actor #3 (40 - 50) - baritone
Gil Webster (Early 30’s) - lyric baritone
Coochie Kovack aka Actress #2 (Early 30’s) - mezzo soprano
Harmon Laybourne aka Actor #4 (50 - 60) - baritone
Elsa Orwell aka Actress #3 (50 - 60) - alto
Sidney, the T.V. Floor Manager aka Actor #1 and Various Ensemble
Characters
Joey Fink aka Actor #2 and Various Ensemble Characters
Benny Cortona / Bartender aka Actor #3 and Various Ensemble Characters
Norma (Elsa’s Asst.) / Cigarette Girl / Calla-“Hen” Dancer
aka Actress #4 and Various Ensemble Characters
Phyllis (Edgar’s Wife) / Photo Girl / Calla-“Hen” Dancer
aka Actress #5 and Various Ensemble Characters |
(top)It’s 1955. We’re in New York City. The Brooklyn
Dodgers are about to square off with the Yankees in a Series that will
net the team their first title in fifty-five years. But, our story
focuses on a “team” of Brooklyn Bums who face even longer
odds: Ronny Mauro and Gil Webster.
Ronny and Gil are a pair of standup comics who have seen the seedy
nightclubs where they perform slowly being put out of business by television
-- the medium that has become the dominant force in entertainment.
Ronny’s response to the problem is to attempt to break their
act into teevee. But how to do it? The answer drops into his lap. Edgar
Callahan, the ‘Ed Sullivanesque’ host of t.v.’s most
popular variety program, ‘Top of the Heap,’ is headed to
Brooklyn for a live, remote broadcast tied into the Series. It’s
the perfect opportunity.
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However, when Ronny tries to convince his partner to help him
get their act to Callahan, Gil begs off. It’s clear that Gil has his own
idea about what they need to do to survive, but Ronny doesn’t
want to hear it. Instead, Ronny crashes Edgar’s arrival party
as a solo and “connects” with Elsa Orwell, an elegant,
aging newspaper columnist on the make. They strike a bargain: Ronny
will bed Elsa in exchange for an “intro” to Edgar Callahan.
Later, Ronny catches up with Gil. Gil’s been working on some
new material. Ronny announces that they have a “meet” with
the Edgar Callahan. That’s when reason for Gil’s reluctance
comes out: he’s embarrassed by their act. He longs to ditch their
bits and schtick for the story-telling style of comedy he’s seen
over in the Greenwich Village clubs -- this is what Gil believes will
save them. To get him to cooperate, Ronny agrees to put a little of
Gil’s new material into their act. When the boys finally meet
Edgar, the new material turns out to be what clinches them a booking
on the live Brooklyn broadcast. Ronny and Gil are ecstatic!
As it happens, Edgar Callahan is something of a manipulator. At present,
he’s attempting to coerce his program’s sleek commercial
pitch gal, Meryl Dean, into continuing a love affair with him -- an
affair that Meryl wants to end. At the broadcast’s dress rehearsal,
she latches onto Gil to keep Edgar at bay, and they end up heading
down to ‘The Village.’ After what turns into an entire
night spend together, they acknowledge an admiration for one another.
By the next day, however, Edgar has learned of their activities. In
retaliation, he cuts Gil’s new jokes just before air-time, claiming
they’re too risky for his audience. Gil wants to walk off the
show, but Ronny pleads with him to stay. Gil does, but then, stops
dead in the middle of the live program and appeals directly to the
studio audience to listen and judge his new material. The broadcast
ends in a shambles, with Edgar swearing revenge on the both of them.
Within hours, word of the disaster has spread and Ronny is left with
next to nothing.
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As Act Two opens, Ronny gets word that Harmon Laybourne, owner
of a sprawling suburban night spot, is looking for him. It seems
that
Edgar
has arranged for Meryl to appear there as a singer and that, in
turn, she has convinced Harmon to put Ronny and Gil on the bill.
Ronny’s
still far too angry with Gil to commit, though he knows his options
are few. Edgar gets wind of it and coopts Ronny into undercutting Meryl
and Gil by dangling the promise of a solo career. So as not to arouse
Meryl’s suspicion, however, Edgar tells Ronny to take the job
with Gil and asks simply to be kept informed of Meryl’s activities.
In the meantime, as Meryl rehearses for the opening at the club,
Gil comes to realize that he is falling in love with her. Gil admits
as
much to Meryl. Meryl asks for time, but doesn’t turn him
down. This leads to an argument between Edgar and Meryl the night
before
the opening, during which Edgar loses control and beats her severely.
Once he regains his senses, Edgar sees a way to turn his rashness
to his advantage. He arranges for Gil to be identified as her attacker
and Gil is arrested in front of a packed house on opening night.
A
few of the onlookers, such as Harmon Laybourne and Elsa Orwell,
suspect Edgar of manipulating the situation.
By the time Edgar sets Ronny up with a solo television appearance
to buy his silence, the comic is racked with guilt about his own
involvement
in all that has happened and he sacrifices his chance at success
by implicating Edgar, once again “live” and on-air. Ronny
and Gil are reunited. Ronny then offers to step aside so that his partner
can develop the kind of act he to which he aspires. Gil refuses to
consider continuing without Ronny. So, Ronny takes a stab at Gil’s
kind of comedy and, to his surprise, gets a unsolicited laugh. Encouraged,
the boys head off to their old neighborhood to “work some front
porches” -- after all, there’s a celebration going on:
the Dodger’s have just won the World Series. |
(top)SOMETHINGS ON - SAMPLE
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Lead Vocalists: Adinah Alexander, Mana Allen, Amanda Naughton
TELL THE GIRL GOODBYE - SAMPLE
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Lodin&Squier)
Vocalist: Marcus Neville
TOP OF THE HEAP - SAMPLE
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Vocalists: Mana Allen, Eddie Korbich, Marcus Neville
SMALL DARK ROOMS - SAMPLE
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Vocalists: Adinah Alexander, Mana Allen, Amanda Naughton, Jeff Lodin |
(top)
The York Theater - NYC, NY
Concert Reading. October 16, 2007
Featuring: The cast of the Spirit of Broadway production
Brett Bernadini, director
The New York Musical Theater Festival - NYC, NY
Concert Reading - Winner of the 2007 "Director's Choice" Award -
September 19. 2007
Featuring: Adinah Alexander, Emily Drennan, Jerold Goldstein, Brian M.
Golub, Carolee Goodgold, Alan H. Green, Susan Haefner, Marcus Neville,
Eddie Korbich, Angel Reda, Peter Scolari
Karen Carpenter, director.
The Spirit of Broadway Theater - Norwich, CT
Regional production. August 29 - October 7, 2007
Brett Bernadini, director.
Curtain Call, Inc. - Stamford CT
Full production. January 9 - 18, 2004
Cast of 18. Frank S. Petrilli, director.
The Global Search for New Musicals - Cardiff, Wales
Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre - Concert readings,
November 3, 4 & 5, 2006
Nick Phillips, director.
The Theater Building - Chicago, IL
Monday Night Musicals Concert reading. November 21, 2005
Allan Chambers, director.
The Broadway Theater Institute
Musical Mondays Theater Lab
Two concert readings. April 28 & 29, 2003
Featuring: Mary Ellen Ashley, Bridget Bierne, Jerold Goldstein
Susan Haefner, John Hickok, Eddie Korbich, Marcus Neville
With: James Jackson, Kiera O’Neill, Jared Stein
Andrew Volkoff, director
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New American Theater - Rockford, IL
New Voices in the Heartland
Concert reading. September, 2000
Michael P. Webb, director.
Collaborative Arts Project 21 - NYC, NY
Blackjacks New Works Festival
Concert readings. June, 1996
Featuring: Paul Binotto, Ray DeMattis, Alix Korey
Michael McCormick, Happy McPartlin, Amanda Naughton, Clarke Thorell
With: Ian Thomas, Jenn Tusa, Bill Ullman
BT McNicholl, director.
Collaborative Arts Project 21 - NYC, NY
Studio concert reading; act one. November, 1995
Featuring: Adinah Alexander, Mana Allen, Jim Hindman
Julie Johnson, Kenneth Kantor, Eddie Korbich, Amanda Naughton
With: Mark Anders, Bill Ullman
BT McNicholl, director.
The Dramatist’s Guild
Musical Theatre Workshop
Concert of score selections. May, 1993 |
(top)“A gritty musical that takes a look at the darker
side of showbiz.”
ELLEN WILDER
The Stamford Advocate
January 4, 2004
“
Not for nothing is William Squier and Jeffey Lodin’s musical
comedy titled “Top of the Heap.”
PETER SZATMARY
Rockford Register Star
September 15, 2000 |
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