INDIANA PREMIERE
A ROLLER-COASTER OF A WEDDING DAY!
Nominated for 6 Outer Circle, 3 Drama League, and 3 Drama Desk Awards, It Shoulda Been You ran on Broadway from March 17 – August 9, 2015. Directed with whimsy and wit by David Hyde Pierce, the play starred Tyne Daly, Lisa Howard, and Harriet Harris. At first glance a light, froth-filled farce, peopled with simple stereotypes, It Shoulda Been You soon becomes a complex tale about family relationships, acceptance, and love─funny and sad and very, very real. Hyde Pierce describes the play as “a show of great dexterity, wit, and heart, tuned, shaped, and scored like an old-fashioned musical, but surprising, subversive, and timely” (Liner Notes, Original Broadway Cast Recording, 14 Aug 2016).
It Shoulda Been You portrays a roller-coaster of a wedding day, with a twist or three, in which we can see ourselves and the roles that we play in our families, for it is a play about each of us. A woman who saw the Broadway production noted in an e-mail, “I laughed, I cried. And a large girl as the lead. Wow!
It was the first time I’ve had someone I could identify with as a lead. And in the moment when [Jenny] finally stood up for herself and realized she needed to start living for herself, I felt empowered.”
Hyde Pierce described his cast as “sporting like loons.” We plan too as well─to entertain you; to make you laugh (aloud, if we can); and give you a funny, though-provoking evening of delightful theatre─and, if a couple is moved to become engaged during the curtain call, well, what better way to have life imitate art!
Grammy and Oscar-winning composer and singer John Legend has noted that “Art has the power to build connection and empathy. We need to see each other in all of our humanity.”
That’s just what It Shoulda Been You does─exquisitely!
VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94xE5LQnmF4
“In the Studio: Recording It Shoulda Been You‘s Original Broadway Cast Recording”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hyde_Pierce
“Emmy- and Tony-Award Winner Actor and Director”
FURTHER READING:
Bloom, Ken, and Frank Vlastnik. Broadway Musicals, Revised and Updated: The 101 Greatest Shows of
All Times. New York: Black Dog and Leventhal, 2010.
Featuring commentary on composers, lyricists, show book writers, and performers, this work is
highlighted by exquisite production photos.
Green, Stanley. The World of Musical Comedy. Boston: Da Capo Press, 1984.
Written in 1960 by “the first exemplary historian in the field” and hailed as musical theatre’s
seminal work, this fourth edition continues Green’s astute commentary on both musical theatre’s
magic and its creators.
Stempel, Larry. Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010.
This 826-page tome covers Broadway from 1849 to Jason Robert Brown and his contemporaries.
Stempel writes, “Musical theater will undoubtedly discover new ways of doing what it has always
done in transforming our experience as Americans into the stuff of an art that entertains.”
Viagas, Robert. I’m the Greatest Star: Broadway’s Top Musical Legends from 1900 to Today.
New York: Applause Books, 2009.
This first major survey of Broadway musical theatre stars tells the life stories of 40 stars from Al Jolson to Audra McDonald.
Production reflection from Actors Theatre of Indiana co-founders…
ATI works tirelessly to transcend boundaries and add a substantial investment to the cultural fiber of our community by attracting the best talent to our stage, while offering opportunities for local artists to create, perform, and provide our community with a quality choice of live entertainment, preserving and advancing theatre as a cultural necessity. It Shoulda Been You, a fresh, original musical that includes themes of acceptance, taking chances in life, and being true to yourself, among others, will allow ATI to carry out this artistic vision and enhance our community.
Indeed, this production will allow us to stay faithful to our mission and values, while continuing to transcend boundaries, engage our community in productive and potentially healing discussions, and provide a heartfelt original musical for our season.
The themes in It Shoulda Been You are extremely relevant . . . and timeless. Why do certain individuals have difficulty accepting themselves for who they truly are? Why do parents have that same problem of acceptance with some of their offspring? Is a heavy woman less attractive than a skinny one? Does our religion dictate who we are, or hinder what we should become? Are we all a little prejudiced?
“Oh, Jenny, you would be so pretty if you just lost weight.”
Judy Steinberg, Mother of the Bride, and Mother of all Jewish Mothers
“Steen . . . Stein? I wish you people would make up your mind on that one.”
Georgette Howard, Mother of the Groom, and WASP Extraordinaire
This play does what theatre should do . . . it makes us laugh, cry, reflect. It empowers us, gives us strength to face ourselves and others. It gives us a gentle push in the right direction.
And all with one of the greatest gifts─Live, Musical Theatre!