by Chip Deffaa
Music by Irving Berlin, Chip Deffaa and others
(For regional theater, community theater, college, or secondary school.)
The name of Irving Berlin conjures musical magic in the hearts and minds of theatre-goers and of the general populace. To those who listened and watched on Broadway, to dance bands, to singers in concert, on the radio, and on film, Irving Berlin, at one point in our history, was popular music. He wrote them all and we listened. The Irving Berlin Story is the first and only full-scale musical biography of Irving Berlin. In his lifetime, Berlin blocked every effort by others to dramatize his life, saying he insisted on maintaining his privacy; he said people could dramatize his life after he died. And now ASCAP award-winner Chip Deffaa has done just that. The Irving Berlin Story is a big, bold two-act musical comedy, with some 50-odd (and we mean ODD) characters. This is a perfect musical for any theater with the space, personnel, and budget to mount a really big musical that is chock-filled with great songs! Berlin’s story is a quintessential American success story. An immigrant raised in utter poverty, with little formal education, Berlin rose to be the most popular individual songwriter in the world. He could neither read nor write music. A musical secretary had to transcribe numbers he played, hummed, or sang. But the songs he created have delighted listeners for over a century.
PLAY DETAILS:
- (23M 22W 5TeenBoys 2TeenGirls 2B 1G + CHORUS) The over 50 roles, big and small, can be doubled by 20 performers.
- Settings can be simple or elaborate
- About 2 hours
- Order # 3060
Available to order NOW!
PERUSAL MATERIALS
- The PDF PERUSAL PAGES file is available for download IrvingBerlinStoryPERUSAL It contains Act One of this 2-act musical.
SONG LIST
Act One:
1. “CRINOLINE DAYS” (words and music by Irving Berlin, with revisions by Chip Deffaa)
2. “I’D RATHER SEE AN OLD-TIME SHOW” (words and music by Irving Berlin, with revisions by Chip Deffaa)
3. “I LOVE A PIANO” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
4. “HOME-AGAIN BLUES” (words and music by Irving Berlin and Harry Akst)
5. “THE CIRCUS IS COMING TO TOWN” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
6. “THE CURSE OF AN ACHING HEART” (words by Henry Fink, music by Al Piantadosi)
7. “DOWN IN THE CITY” (words and music by Chip Deffaa, based on traditional material)
8. “SHE IS MORE TO BE PITIED, THAN CENSURED” (words and music by William B. Gray)
9. “THAT OLD IRISH MOTHER OF MINE” (words by William Jerome, music by Harry Von Tilzer)
10. “WHAT YOU GOIN’ TO DO WHEN THE RENT COMES ‘ROUND?” (words by Andrew B. Sterling. Music by Harry Von Tilzer)
11. “CHINATOWN FLO” (words and music by Chip Deffaa)
12. “YOU’D BE SURPRISED” (words & music by Irving Berlin)
13. “I’M DOWN IN HONOLULU LOOKING THEM OVER” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
14. “GRIZZLY BEAR” (words by Irving Berlin, music by George Botsford)
15. “BRING ON THE PEPPER” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
Act Two:
16. “GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADWAY” (words and music by George M. Cohan)
17. “I BEG YOUR PARDON, DEAR OLD BROADWAY” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
18. “ALEXANDER’S RAGTIME BAND” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
19. “I WANT TO GO BACK TO MICHIGAN, DOWN ON THE FARM” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
20. “SOME SUNNY DAY” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
21. “STOP STOP STOP!” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
22. “I’LL SEE YOU IN C-U-BA” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
23. “WHEN I LOST YOU” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
24 “ALL BY MYSELF” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
25 “EVERYBODY’S DOIN’ IT NOW” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
26. “EVERYBODY STEP” (words and music by Irving Berlin, with revisions by Chip Deffaa)
27. “OH! HOW I HATE TO GET UP IN THE MORNING” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
28. “WHEN I GET BACK TO THE USA” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
29. “I’VE GOT MY CAPTAIN WORKING FOR ME NOW” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
30. “WHEN THE MIDNIGHT CHOO-CHOO LEAVES FOR ALABAM’” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
31. “AFTER YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT YOU DON’T WANT IT” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
32. “PLAY A SIMPLE MELODY” / “MUSICAL DEMON” (words and music by Irving Berlin)
33. BOWS MUSIC: “I LOVE A PIANO” (music by Irving Berlin)
34. EXIT MUSIC: “HOME-AGAIN BLUES” (music by Irving Berlin and Harry Akst)
DEMO LYRICS
- 02 I’D RATHER SEE AN OLD-TIME SHOW words and music by Irving Berlin
- (Lyric sheet for SHOW: Old-timeShowLYRIC)
- 10 WHAT YOU GOIN’ TO DO WHEN THE RENT COMES ‘ROUND? words by Andrew B. Sterling. Music by Harry Von Tilzer
- (Lyric sheet for TO DO: WhatYouGoinLYRIC)
- 17 I BEG YOUR PARDON, DEAR OLD BROADWAY words and music by Irving Berlin
- (Lyric sheet for BEG YOUR: IBegYourPardonLYRIC )
- 20 SOME SUNNY DAY words and music by Irving Berlin
- (Lyric sheet for SUNNY DAY: SomeSunnyDayLYRIC)
- 22 I’LL SEE YOU IN C-U-BA words and music by Irving Berlin
- (Lyric sheet for CUBA: CubaLYRIC )
- 31 AFTER YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT YOU DON’T WANT IT words and music by Irving Berlin
- (Lyric sheet for AFTER YOU GET: AfterYouGetLYRIC)
DEMO SAMPLES (are mp3s from the Finale versions of the Piano-Vocal Score. They are not sung, but the melody is played by an instrument. We have uploaded 6 out of the 34 songs in the show.)
PURCHASE REHEARSAL 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.)
- Performance License Application: No production rights can be granted until this application is filled out and sent to us. This is a filler form that after you click “SUBMIT” will send directly to our email address. Response averages 2-3 business days.
- Script in PDF format — Order #3060a : $25.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)
- Vocal Book in PDF format — Order #3060b : $15.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)
- Piano-Vocal Score Order #3060c : $30.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)
- First Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #3060d : Royalty terms quoted on application.
- Second Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #3060e : Royalty terms quoted on application.
- Professional Royalties will be quoted upon application.
- PerformanceTraks on CD — Order #3060j : $100.00 for the performance run (includes Priority Mail charges. This is rented material and must be returned. No distribution of the tracks is allowed and all copies for cast and others must be collected and destroyed.)
PRODUCTIONS
- Premiere at Landmark Community Theatre, Connecticut — 2014-2015 Season
BILLING CREDITS
The following is how the credits should read in all programs, posters, fliers, handbills and other promotional advertising for the show:
THE IRVING BERLIN STORY
A Bio-Musical
by
Chip Deffaa
With songs by
IRVING BERLIN
(plus a few songs by others)
Music Arranged by
Chip Deffaa
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.
ALSO:
THIS NOTICE MUST APPEAR IN ALL PROGRAMS, ON ALL POSTERS AND PUBLICITY MATERIALS AND INTERNET ADVERTISING/WEBPAGES FOR THE PLAY:
“The Irving Berlin Story is presented through special arrangement with Leicester Bay Theatricals. All authorized materials are also supplied by LBT, www.leicesterbaytheatricals.com”
From the catalog of
