Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (musical)

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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Original Broadway Production Poster
Music David Yazbek
Lyrics David Yazbek
Book Jeffrey Lane
Based upon 1988 film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Productions 2004 San Diego
2005 Broadway
2006 North American tour
2006 Tokyo
2006 Madrid
2007 Tampere
2007 Stockholm
2007 Oslo
2008 Stuttgart
2008 Mexico City
2009 Copenhagen
2009 Reykjavik
2009 London

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane; it is based on the film of the same name. John Lithgow, Norbert Leo Butz, and Sherie Rene Scott played the lead roles at opening, with Joanna Gleason and Gregory Jbara also receiving above-the-title billing. The show premiered in San Diego, California on September 22, 2004, before moving to Broadway in January 2005 and officially opening in March. The show closed on Broadway on September 3, 2006 with a total of 666 performances. The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Original Broadway Cast Recording CD was recorded on March 14, 2005 at Right Track Studio in New York City and was released on May 10, 2005 by Ghostlight Records (an imprint of Sh-K-Boom Records).

A North American national Equity tour launched on August 4, 2006 with Tony Award-winner Norbert Leo Butz reprising his role as Freddy, alongside Tom Hewitt as Lawrence. The Equity tour wrapped on August 19, 2007. The 25-city non-Equity tour of the show, with Jamie Jackson as Lawrence and Doug Thompson as Freddy, debuted September 25, 2007 in Dayton, Ohio, with its final performance on March 23, 2008, in Memphis, Tennessee.[1] International productions have opened in Tokyo, Mexico City, Madrid, Stuttgart, Seoul, Oslo, Stockholm, Tampere and productions are planned for Copenhagen, Reykjavik, and London.[2]

Contents

[edit] Plot

[edit] Act 1

At a Casino near the French Riviera, con artist Lawrence Jameson tricks wealthy women out of their money with his “bodyguard” Andre (Give Them What They Want). However, one woman, Muriel, (as well as other woman) later realizes he was not what he said (What Was a Woman To Do). While on a train Lawrence notices an American named Freddy Benson swindle money out of a woman (although at much smaller amounts). Lawrence ends up bringing Freddy to his lavish mansion, where Freddy envies how Lawrence has made a living out of swindling. Then talks of all the things he wants when he’s rich (Great Big Stuff). Freddy ask Lawrence to “show [him] his ways.” Lawrence doesn’t think much of it until Jolene Oakes, one of the women he is with, tells him that they are unexpectedly getting married and moving to Oklahoma (Oklahoma?), at which point Lawrence decides to use Freddy’s help. Freddy poses as Lawrence’s mentally challenged brother Ruprecht (All About Ruprecht). When Jolene is introduced to him she calls off the wedding and breaks up with Lawrence.

Lawrence begins to say that there isn’t enough room in town for the two of them. They make a deal; The first to get $50,000 out of a woman gets to stay in town and the other has to leave. Immediately after making the deal the arrival of “The American Soap Queen” (Christine Colgate) is announced (Here I Am). They decide on her for the scam. Freddy creates an alias as a man paralyzed from the waist down. She and Freddy become deep in conversation and he says there is a therapist (Dr. Shuffhausen) that can help him, but he doesn’t have the money ($50,000). Christine hopefully tells him "Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True". She tells Freddy she has the money to pay for the therapist as Freddy hoped (The Miracle). She then tells him that Dr. Shuffhausen is at the hotel. Freddy is shocked when he sees it is none other than Lawrence.

[edit] Musical numbers

See also: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: Original Broadway Cast Recording
Act I
  • Overture
  • Give Them What They Want (Broadway)/The Only Game in Town (National Tour)
  • What Was a Woman To Do
  • Great Big Stuff
  • Chimp in a Suit
  • Oklahoma?
  • All About Ruprecht
  • What Was a Woman To Do (Reprise)
  • Here I Am
  • Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True
  • The Miracle (Act I Finale)
Act II
  • Entr'Acte
  • Ruffhousin' Mit Shuffhausen
  • Like Zis/Like Zat
  • The More We Dance
  • Love is My Legs
  • Love Sneaks In
  • Son of Great Big Stuff
  • The Reckoning
  • Dirty Rotten Number
  • Finale

[edit] Notes

  • For the first national tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the number "Give Them What They Want" was replaced with (according to Yazbek) a more suitable opening number, "The Only Game in Town". Yazbek has also noted that the new number will most likely be the one available when the rights for the show are released to regional and amateur theatres.
  • The line in "Give Them What They Want" which mentions David Niven is a reference to Niven's starring role as Laurence Jameson in the original film "Bedtime Story".

[edit] Cast replacement history

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Tony Award nominations

[edit] Drama Desk Award nominations

  • Outstanding New Musical
  • Outstanding Book of a Musical
  • Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Norbert Leo Butz) WINNER
  • Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Sherie René Scott)
  • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Gregory Jbara)
  • Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason)
  • Outstanding Choreography (Jerry Mitchell)
  • Outstanding Orchestrations (Harold Wheeler)
  • Outstanding Music (David Yazbek)
  • Outstanding Lyrics (David Yazbek
  • Chuck Saculla - Swings

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dirty Rotten Scoundrels On Tour
  2. ^ playbill article, Sept. 3, 2006, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Ends Its Broadway Streak Sept. 3; Tour Is Hot

[edit] External links