The Me Nobody Knows
A musical entertainment in 2 acts : Music Gary William Friedman : Lyrics Will Holt : Book Robert H. Livingston, Herb Schapiro, Stephen M. Joseph
Spoken text written by children (7 - 18) attendiung NYC public schools - Edited by Stephen M. Joseph
Orpheum Theatre, Off-Broadway - Opened 18th May, 1970: Closed 15th November, 1970. Transferred Helen Hayes Theatre, Broadway 18th December, 1970, Closed 28 August, 1971, Transferred Longacre Theatre Opened 15th September, 1971- Closed 28th November, 1971 (total 689 perfs)
1970 Obie Award and a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical.
Synopsis
The adaptation was inspired by the writings of nearly 200 New York City students, aged 7 to 18. Stephen M. Joseph, a teacher, edited the collection, which was subtitled "Children's Voices From the Ghetto". Mr. Joseph wrote that the children had written about their feelings and their neighbourhoods. According to Mr. Joseph, they wrote "for keeps" and "like it is." At odds with a squalid setting and a cynical, materialistic view of the world, themes of hope and renewal emerged. To guarantee uplift, samples from the students' work were interwoven with a score that combined rock music, classical fugues, early rap and jazz.
Critics were overwhelmingly impressed by the vitality, passion, honesty and powers of observation shown by the young writers, as they painted a moving, but sometimes ugly, picture of inner city life.
Cast
- Rhoda
- Lillian
- Carlos
- Lillie Mae
- Benjamin
- Catherine
- Melba
- Donald
- Lloyd
- Clorox
- William
- Nell
Musical Numbers
- Dream Babies (lyrics by Herb Shapiro) - Melba
- Light Sings (lyrics by Herb Shapiro) - William and Company
- This World (lyrics by Herb Shapiro) - Company
- Numbers - Company
- What Happens to Life - Lillian and Lloyd
- Take Hold the Crutch - Nell and Company
- Flying Milk and Runaway Plates - Benjamin and Company
- I Love What the Girls Have - Donald
- How I Feel - Catherine and Carlos
- If I Had A Million Dollars - Company
- Fugue for Four Girls(these are children's poems, presented exactly as they were written) - Lillie Mae, Catherine, Lillian and Nell
- Rejoice - Clorox
- Sounds - Nell and Catherine
- The Tree - Carlos
- Robert, Alvin, Wendell and Jo Jo - Rhoda, Lillian, Lillie Mae and William
- Jail-Life Walk - Donald, Lloyd, Clorox and Carlos
- Something Beautiful - Rhoda
- Black - Benjamin, Clorox, Lillie Mae, Lloyd, Melba, Nell, Rhoda and William
- The Horse - Lloyd
- Let Me Come in - Company
- War Babies - Lloyd
Scenes and Settings
The action takes place at the present time in New York City's ghetto