| More Than You Deserve | |
|---|---|
| Music | Jim Steinman |
| Lyrics | Jim Steinman |
| Book | Michael Weller |
| Productions | 1973 The Public Theater |
More Than You Deserve is a musical written by Jim Steinman and Michael Weller, produced by Joseph Papp and directed by Kim Friedman. It opened at The Public Theater on November 21, 1973, ran for 63 performances and closed on January 13, 1974. Weller's original title for the play was Souvenirs, which referred to the severed ears of killed Viet Cong which the soldiers collected and wore as keepsakes on strings around their necks. He was irate when the title was changed to More Than You Deserve.
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The story is set in a U.S. army base in Vietnam during the war. Major Michael Dillon (Gwynne), who is impotent, falls in love with a reporter sent to cover the camp, who turns out to be a nymphomaniac when she is gang-raped by the other soldiers in the camp. However, she realizes at the end that she will be even happier giving up her new-found lust for sex to settle down with the impotent commander.
Steinman and Meat Loaf first met during the production and would go on to make the multi-platinum album, Bat out of Hell. The title track from the show was recorded by Meat Loaf for the Dead Ringer album. He also performed the song on his VH1 Storytellers show.
Paul Shaffer served as musical director for the show.