In a musical tour-de-force, POLLY will relate the life of Polly Mathilda Merrill Colton from her teenage years in Shelby, Michigan, through her marriage, conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and life in Nauvoo, Ill., to Utah with the Mormon Trek. POLLY is the remarkable story of woman, as she endures the timeless human struggle to reconcile faith with the experiences of our lives, fighting through the day to day and ordinary to the larger vision. It’s humorous, it’s touching, and best of all…it’s true!
(The image above is the cover of the CD of the Original Cast, Johanne Fréchette Perry, issued by Prime Recordings in 1992.)
PLAY DETAILS
- 1f
- NOTE: In a recent production, as Polly Colton is played through 3 ages, three females were chosen:
- a child Polly, a young Mother Polly, and a Grandmother Polly, all from the same family.
- Other casting variations could also be employed.
- 90 minutes
- Pioneer costumes
- Simple setting can be real or projected
- ORDER #2103
REVIEW EXCERPTS
“POLLY is a soaring triumph.” – Deseret News
“Written by songwriter Steven Kapp Perry, POLLY is a musical tour de force that has brought audiences to their feet night after night since a standing-room only premiere at BYU. Filled with memorable music…” — Provo Daily Herald
“Everyone, no matter how ordinary, has an interesting story to tell…The songs are tuneful and pretty, often funny, always well-written and intricately rhymed…Though Polly insists she’s quite unremarkable, by the end she — and we — realize that anyone who joins the LDS Church, crosses the plains, settles in the wilderness and lives to be 75 is pretty remarkable indeed. – Eric D. Snider [full review here]
“It celebrates the life of a woman.” – BYU Daily Universe
“It was brilliantly written and captured the inner feelings of a woman’s heart… [Perry] truly has a genuine talent with words that touch the strings of the heart…an enchanting performance…” UVU NEWS
PERUSAL MATERIALS
- ORIGINAL CAST CD : Available Soon
- ORIGINAL CAST DVD : Available Soon
SONG LIST: (titles in bold are demoed below)
- Act I-
- Overture
- Remarkable
- Milking a Cow
- The Ladies in the Carriages / Women’s Work #1
- Movers and Shakers
- Can’t Kiss Polly
- From Out of the Blue
- Women’s Work #2
- According to Your Light
- We Built a House / The Spirit of God
- Rocking Chair Lullaby / Women’s Work #3
- Thirty Days
- Thirty Days (reprise)
- The Little Things
- Women’s Work #4 / Will He Miss Polly?
- The Other Lives
- Act II-
- Salt Lake City!
- The Way of Things
- At the Campfire / Women’s Work #5
- Make a Space for Joy
- Lead Kindly Light / Movers and Shakers
DEMO SONGS from the original Cast Album: (containing a total of 21 tracks)
REHEARSAL/PERFORMANCE MATERIALS
(Any PDF purchased will be emailed to your email address — if you need to provide that to us (not the one on your PayPal account?), email us. CDs will be mailed to a snail mail address. Do not purchase rehearsal materials or pay for royalties until you have performance clearance from the publisher.)
- Script in PDF format — Order #2103a : $30.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)
- Piano-Vocal Score in PDF format — Order #2103c : $40.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)
PAYPAL BUTTON HERE SOON - Vocal Book in PDF format — Order #2103b : $30.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)
PAYPAL BUTTON HERE SOON - First Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #2103d : (to be quoted upon application)
- Second Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #2103e :(to be quoted upon application
- Orchestrations (by Greg Hansen) in PDF format — Order #2103h : $150.00 [An 11-piece band] (parts consist of: Flute/Recorder, Oboe/English Horn, Horn, Banjo, Harmonica, Percussion, Piano, Keyboard2, Violin, Viola, Cello, from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)
- PAYPAL BUTTON HERE SOON
- PerformanceTrak digital Orchestra Files — Order #2103j — $200.00 (will be available for online download. The tracks include the same instrumentation as above orchestrations)
- Professional Royalties will be quoted upon application
- EMAIL us for rights and information. Be sure to give us anticipated performance dates and the address of your group and, if different, your theatre. Please also include a contact name and phone number.
BILLING and CREDITS
The following is how the credits should read in all programs, posters, fliers, handbills and other promotional advertising for the show:
POLLY
A One Woman Musical
Book, Music & Lyrics by
Steven Kapp Perry
Originally Directed by
Mark Huffman
Orchestrations by
Greg Hansen
NOTE: The names of the Playwright(s), Composer, Lyricist, and Bookwriter shall be equal in size, type, coloring, boldness, and prominence. No billing shall appear in type larger or more prominent than the billing to the Authors except for the title of the play. (In a press release all type, will of course, be the same size.)
ALSO:
THIS NOTICE MUST APPEAR IN ALL PROGRAMS, ON ALL POSTERS AND PUBLICITY MATERIALS AND INTERNET ADVERTISING/WEBPAGES FOR THE PLAY:
“Polly! is presented through special arrangement with Premiére Theatrical Licensing on behalf of Zion Theatricals. All authorized materials are also supplied by ZT, www.ziontheatricals.com”
PRODUCTIONS
- Weird Little Worlds, LLC, American Fork, Utah — July 2023
- Covey Center for the Arts, Provo, Utah — January-February, 2009
- Alpine Playhouse, Alpine Utah — August, 2005
- Little London Dinner Theatre, Pleasant Grove, Utah — March 2000
- Villa Playhouse, Springville Utah — September 1997
- @ Spanish Fork High School, Spanish Fork, Utah — July 1993
- PREMIERE: POLLY opened in the Pardoe Theater, Brigham Young University — May 7, 1992
From the catalog of