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The View UpStairs

The View UpStairs is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Max Vernon based on the real-life events of the 1973 arson attack at the UpStairs Lounge, a gay bar in New Orleans. This attack resulted in the deaths of 32 people, the deadliest attack[1] on a gay club in U.S. history before the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting. The show is inspired by and pays tributes to many of the patrons who frequented the venue.

The single-act show runs for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes and is set entirely within the UpStairs Lounge.[2]

Background

The show's score was composed by Max Vernon in 2013 and was first performed on June 24 of that year in a concert setting with performers such as Michael McElroy and Nathan Lee Graham (who eventually went on to originate the role of Willie) amongst others.[3][4] The show then went into a workshop period in March 2016 under Invisible Wall Productions with Scott Ebersold as director and Matt Aument as musical director. The cast performed a benefit concert on July 11, 2016, for the victims and survivors of the Orlando nightclub shooting, with all proceeds going to the 'Equality Florida' institution.

Productions

The View UpStairs was first produced Off-Broadway by Invisible Wall Productions, and was also under the direction of Scott Ebersold. It began previews on February 15, 2017, at the Lynn Redgrave Theater in New York and officially premiered on February 26, before closing on May 21, 2017. It has since received a regional premiere in Richmond, Virginia[5] and Los Angeles.

The show had its international premiere at the Hayes Theatre in Sydney, Australia, under the direction of Shaun Rennie. The show was put on as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and began previews on 8 February 2018 before opening on 11 February. The sold out season of 33 performances concluded on 11 March 2018.[6]

Following the success of prior productions of the musical, several US regional productions were scheduled for the 2018–2019 season including:

The show had its European premiere at the Soho Theatre in London. This production was directed by Jonathan O’Boyle and ran from 18 July to 24 August 2019.[15]

In February 2022 the show had its first run in Japan. This production was translated, adapted, directed and choreographed by Yojiro Ichikawa.[16][17]

Characters

Casts

Musical numbers

The Original Off-Broadway Cast recording was released on 11 August 2017.[23]

‡ Cut song that is optional to put back in the show

Awards and nominations

Original Off-Broadway production

Source: Lortel.org[24]

Sydney production

References

  1. ^ Kopplin, Zack (June 19, 2016). "The Deadliest Attack on Gays Before Orlando Was Treated Like a Joke". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 18, 2018 – via www.TheDailyBeast.com.
  2. ^ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (March 7, 2017). "Review: A Gay Nightclub Tragedy, Decades Before Orlando, in 'The View UpStairs'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "Michael McElroy, Nathan Lee Graham & More to Lead Concert Performance of Max Vernon's New Musical THE VIEW UPSTAIRS, 6/24". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "THE VIEW UPSTAIRS". www.TheViewUpstairs.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  5. ^ Farrell, Tony (August 12, 2017). "Theater review: 'The View UpStairs'". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "THE VIEW UPSTAIRS to Have Australian Premiere as Part of Mardi Gras Festival". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  7. ^ [1] circletheatrechicago.org
  8. ^ "Out Front bumps 18/19 season to 5 shows — Encore Atlanta". encoreatlanta.com.
  9. ^ "All". Palm Springs Life. April 28, 2018.
  10. ^ "The View UpStairs (Musical)". www.nctcsf.org.
  11. ^ "The View UpStairs by Max Vernon presented by Good Company Theatre". nowplayingutah.com.
  12. ^ "The View Upstairs - Uptown Players". www.uptownplayers.org.
  13. ^ [2] bostontheatrescene.com
  14. ^ "Events Archive". Downtown Columbus.
  15. ^ McPhee, Ryan (February 5, 2019). "Max Vernon's The View UpStairs to Make London Debut". Playbill.
  16. ^ a b "ミュージカル「The View Upstairs -君が見た、あの日-」オフィシャルホームページ ｜ 公演日程やチケット情報". theviewupstairs.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  17. ^ "ミュージカル「The View Upstairs -君が見た、あの日-」オフィシャルホームページ ｜ 公演日程やチケット情報". theviewupstairs.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  18. ^ "Theater review: The View UpStairs discos back to gay New Orleans in the 1970s". Timeout.com. March 3, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  19. ^ "The View UpStairs". www.SamuelFrench.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  20. ^ "The View UpStairs Original Off-Broadway Cast - 2017 Off-Broadway". www.BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  21. ^ "Cast announced for The View Upstairs - Theatrepeople". www.TheatrePeople.com.au. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  22. ^ "Casting announced for the European premiere of The View UpStairs at the Soho Theatre". www.londontheatredirect.com. April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  23. ^ "The View UpStairs' Max Vernon Breaks Down The Newly Released Cast Album Track by Track - Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  24. ^ "The View UpStairs - Lortel Archives". www.Lortel.org. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  25. ^ [3] audelco.org
  26. ^ Eddy, Michael (December 19, 2017). "The 2017 Henry Hewes Design Awards Honorees - Stage Directions". Stage Directions. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  27. ^ "Sydney Theatre Award Nominations Announced" broadwayworld.com, December 17, 2018
  28. ^ "2018 BroadwayWorld Australia - Sydney Awards". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved November 14, 2018.

External links