ADDING MACHINE - a Musical A Chamber Musical: Music by Joshua Schmidt; libretto by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt, based on the play The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice. Off-Broadway, Minetta Lane Theater: Opened 25 February, 2008 - Closed 31st August, 2008 (scheduled) Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. Adding Machine is a darkly satirical examination of the abuses of capitalism in the early 20th century. STORY Mr. Zero is the eternal "little man," shallow yet possessing some dignity, who murders his boss when he learns that, after twenty-five years of being a bookkeeper, he is to be replaced by an adding machine. Condemned to death despite his piteous stream-of-consciousness appeal to the jury, he is executed and appears next in the Elysian Fields, where he meets and enjoys a brief idyll with Daisy, his deceased co-worker, whose love he had secretly desired. But conventional Mr. Zero cannot abide the freedom of paradise for long, and he leaves. Confused by encounters with such people as Shrdlu, who cannot understand why after killing his mother he has been sent to heaven, Zero finds happiness while operating a heavenly adding machine. Presently, however, he is sent back to earth by a celestial overseer to be reborn, endure again his insignificant life, and die, a perpetual victim of a depersonalising world. CAST • Mrs. Zero • Mr. Zero • Daisy • Shrdlu • Charles • Mrs. Two • Mrs. One • Mr. Two • Mr. One MUSICAL NUMBERS 1. Prelude - Chorus 2. Something to Be Proud Of - Mrs Zero and Chorus 3. Harmony, Not Discord - Mr Zero, Daisy, Mr One, Mae, Mr Two, Betty 4. Office Reverie - Mr Zero, Daisy, Mr One, Mae, Mr Two, Betty 5. Movin' Up / In Numbers - Mr Zero, Daisy, Mr One, Mae, Mr Two, Betty 6. I'd Rather Watch You - Daisy 7. The Party - Mrs Zero, Mr Zero, Mr One, Mrs One, Mr Two, Mrs Two 8. Zero's Confession - Mr Zero and Chorus 9. Once More 10. Zero's Confession - Mrs Zero, Chorus 11. Ham and Eggs - Mr Zero, Mrs Zero 12. Didn't We? - Mr Zero, Mrs Zero 13. I Was a Fool - Mrs Zero, Mr Zero 14. The Gospel According to Shrdlu - Shrdlu, Mr Zero, Chorus 15. Death March - Mr Zero, the Fixer 16. A Pleasant Place - Mr Zero, Chorus 17. Shrdlu's Blues - Shrdlu, Mr Zero, Chorus 18. Daisy's Confession - Daisy, Mr Zero 19. I'd Rather Watch You (reprise) Daisy, Mr Zero, Chorus 20. Freedom! - Shrdlu, Daisy, Mr Zero, Mrs Zero, Chorus
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