Full Synopsis
Act One
The cast is sitting onstage in movie theatre seats watching a scene from Now Voyager. After the clip has ended, they face the audience and sing ("Music from the Movies"). Just what would the movies be without music? They'd be nothing, that's what! The rest of this revue shows us exactly what they mean.
The first section is a tribute to the 1940s, using such songs as "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca; "Aurora" from Hold That Ghost; "I Get the Neck of the Chicken" from Seven Days Leave; "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo" from Orchestra Wives; "A Gal in Calico" from The Time, The Place, and the Girl; "I Said No" from Sweater Girl; "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancin' in a Hurry" from The Fleet's In; "In Love in Vain" from Centennial Summer; "Jungle Love" from Her Jungle Love; "Road to Morocco" from Road to Morocco; "Full Moon and an Empty Heart" from Beyond the Blue Horizon; "Dream" from Out of This World; "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet" from Broadway Rhythm; "The Fleet's In" from The Fleet's In; "The More I See You" from Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe; "I'll Buy That Dream" from Sing Your Way Home; "Shoo-Shoo Baby" from Follow the Boys; "You'll Never Know" from Hello, Frisco, Hello; "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me in St. Louis; and "Make Way for Tomorrow" from Make Way for Tomorrow.
Into the world of foreign films, the cast explores the music that we have loved for so many years. This is represented by "A Man and A Moon" from A Man and A Moon, which is danced for all the audience to enjoy.
Twentieth Century Fox wrote some of the best love songs ever, and they are clearly represented in this show. Songs included: "The Best of Everything" from The Best of Everything; "April Love" from April Love; "A Certain Smile" from A Certain Smile; "Ruby" from Ruby Gentry; "Laura " from Laura; "The Long, Hot Summer" from The Long, Hot Summer; "Affair to Remember" from An Affair to Remember; "Two for the Road" from Two For the Road; "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" from Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.
Act Two
The act opens to reveal the cast wearing 3-D glasses, and, in a medley, brief sections of the following songs are used: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World," "Jaws Theme," "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Theme," "Psycho Theme," "Help," "Goldfinger," "What's New Pussycat?," "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead," "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "Woody Woodpecker Song," "That's Amore" and "Maniac."
There are many famous songs that were recognized at the Academy Awards. What about all of the songs that lost the Oscar? Some of the best ever are presented here! They include: "Footloose" from Footloose; "Let's Hear It for the Boy" from Footloose; "Hi Lili, Hi Ho" from Lili; "Miss Celie's Blues" from The Color Purple; "It Might Be You" from Tootsie; "Walk on the Wild Side" from Walk on the Wild Side; "Town without Pity" from Town Without Pity; "Sadie Thompson's Blues" from Miss Sadie Thompson; "Something's Gotta Give" from Daddy Long Legs; "My Foolish Heart" from My Foolish Heart; "Ballad of Cat Ballou" from Cat Ballou; "On the Road Again" from Honeysuckle Rose; "Mule Train" from Singing Guns; "Blazing Saddle Theme" from Blazing Saddles; "Can You Read My Mind" from Superman; "I Will Wait For You" from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg; "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" from Best Friends.
There is also a tribute to the Hollywood film score that creates a ballet from the music written for A Place in the Sun.
There certainly have been a lot of songs that got their start in the movies. The finale features even more songs that we know and love: "Eternally" from Limelight; "The Way We Were" from The Way We Were; "Alfie" from Alfie; "The Way You Look Tonight" from Swing Time; "All the Way" from The Joker Is Wild; "The Windmills of Your Mind" from The Thomas Crown Affair; and "You Stepped Out of Dream" from Ziegfield Girl.
All is completed with a reprise of "Music from the Movies."
Show History
Inspiration
With much talk about how a particular moment or scene in a movie can elicit an emotional and imaginative response and recall, the creators of Blame It on the Movies! felt that the same held true for many songs from films. A song not only takes you back to the movie and scene with which it is cinematically linked, but it takes you back to the moment in your life when you heard it for the first time as you watched, where you were in time and space and who you were with. From this idea, Blame It on the Movies! was born.
Productions
The musical revue premiered in an open-ended run in January of 1988 at the Coast Playhouse in Los Angeles, where its hit status allowed for a long and successful run. The original cast included Bill Hutton, Barbara Sharma as the Usherette, Anne Marie Runolfsson and Michelle Nicastro.
Riding on the heels of its West Coast success, Blame It on the Movies! then premiered Off-Broadway in New York on May 16, 1989, at the Criterion Center/Stage Left. Hutton and Sharma reprised their roles.
Cultural Influence
- In true Hollywood fashion, Blame It on the Movies! was so successful that it spawned a sequel, which premiered on October 2 1998, in Los Angeles
Trivia
- Blame It on the Movies! was nominated for six Ovation Awards in 1998, including Best Musical (Large Stage).
Critical Reaction
"What Blame It on the Movies! delivers, above and beyond singing that is almost always exceptional, is an ever-moving diorama of characters and moods... every bit tops the preceding one.... They are majestic songs."
– Los Angeles Times
"Galligan masterfully sets up each tune within an emotion-stimulating context."
– Variety
"A perky new revue... a nearly sure-fire theatrical premise. Put seven singers and dancers on a set... hand them 40 years of mostly familiar film songs to perform, and somewhere along the way everyone will have at least one nostalgic button pushed."
– New York Times
"You will leave humming a tune... [It] succeeds as an act of musical preservation, which is surely to be applauded."
– Bohemian.com
Los Angeles Ovation Award
Connect
Billing
- Original Music and Lyrics by
- Musical Sequences Compiled and Conceived by
Requirements
Music: Harry Warren. Lyrics: Harold Adamson, Leo McCarey. (P)
APRIL LOVE
Music: Sammy Fain. Lyrics: Paul Francis Webster. (P)
ARTHUR MURRAY TAUGHT ME DANCING IN A HURRY
Music: Victor Schertzinger. Lyrics: Johnny Mercer. (H)
AS TIME GOES BY
Music & Lyrics: Herman Hupfeld. (Y)
AURORA
Music: Mario Lago, Roberto Roberti. Lyrics: Harold Adamson. (S)
THE BEST OF EVERYTHING
Music: Alfred Newman. Lyrics: Sammy Cahn. (Q)
A CERTAIN SMILE
Music: Sammy Fain. Lyrics: Paul Francis Webster. (Q)
DREAM
Music & Lyrics: Johnny Mercer. (Y)
THE FLEET'S IN
Music: Victor Schertzinger. Lyrics: Johnny Mercer. (H)
FULL MOON AND AN EMPTY HEART
Music: Harry Revel. Lyrics: Mort Greene. (H)
A GAL IN CALICO
Music: Arthur Schwartz. Lyrics: Leo Robin. (Y)
HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS
Music & Lyrics: Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane. (P)
I GET THE NECK OF THE CHICKEN
Music: Jimmy McHugh. Lyrics: Frank Loesser. (W)
I SAID NO
Music & Lyrics: Frank Loesser, Jule Styne. (H)
I'LL BUY THAT DREAM
Music: Allie Wrubel. Lyrics: Herb Magidson. (I)
IN LOVE IN VAIN
Music: Jerome Kern. Lyrics: Leo Robin. (N,X)
IT ONLY HAPPENS WHEN I DANCE WITH YOU
Music & Lyrics: Irving Berlin. (D)
I'VE GOT A GAL IN KALAMAZOO
Music: Henry Warren. Lyrics: Mack Gordon. (Y)
JUNGLE LOVE
Music & Lyrics: Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger. (H)
LAURA
Music: David Raksin. Lyrics: Johnny Mercer. (S)
THE LONG HOT SUMMER
Music: Alex North. Lyrics: Sammy Cahn. (P)
LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING
Music: Sammy Fain. Lyrics: Paul Francis Webster. (Q)
MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW
Music: Leo Robin. Lyrics: Sam Coslow, Jean Schwartz. (H)
A MAN AND A WOMAN
Music: Francis Lai. Lyrics: Pierre Barouch. (K)
MILKMAN, KEEP THOSE BOTTLES QUIET
Music and Lyrics: Don Raye, Gene DePaul. (P)
THE MORE I SEE YOU
Music: Harry Warren. Lyrics: Mack Gordon. (Y)
NO LOVE, NO NOTHIN'
Music: Harry Warren. Lyrics: Leo Robin. (Y)
NOW VOYAGER THEME (IT CAN'T BE WRONG)
Music: Max Steiner. (Y)
THE ROAD TO MOROCCO
Music: James Van Heussen. Lyrics: Johnny Burke. (H)
RUBY
Music: Heinz Roemheld. Lyrics: Mitchell Parish. (Q)
THE SECOND TIME AROUND
Music: James Van Heusen. Lyrics: Sammy Cahn. (Q)
SHOO-SHOO BABY
Music & Lyrics: Phil Moore. (K)
TWO FOR THE ROAD
Music: Henry Mancini. Lyrics: Leslie Bricusse. (B)
YOU'LL NEVER KNOW ("Hello, Frisco, Hello," 1943, Fox)
Music: Henry Warren. Lyrics: Mack Gordon. (Y)
All songs used by permission and administrated by the following publishers.
(B) Arista/SBK
(C) Bourne Co. Music Publishing
(D) Irving Berlin Music
(E) Bullseye Music, Inc.
(F) Colgems/EMI Music, Inc.
(G) Columbia Pictures Music, Inc.
(H) Famous Music Corp.
(I) Frank Music Corp.
(J) Maraville Music Corp.
(K) MCA Music Publishing
(L) MCA/SBK
(M) Willie Nelson Music
(N) Polygram Intl. Publishing, Inc.
(O) Songs of Polygram Intl. Publ, Inc.
(P) SBK Ent. World-Feist Catalogue
(Q) SBK Ent. World-Miller Catalogue
(R) SBK Ent. World-Maclin
(S) SBK Ent. World-Robbins Catalogue
(T) SBK Ent. World-U Catalogue
(U) SBK Ent. World-Unart Catalogue
(V) Shapiro-Bernstein & Co.
(W) Southern Music Corp.
(X) T.B. Harms Co./Kerns Music
(Y) Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
(Z) Ensign Music
(AA) Famous/Milkmoney/Ensign Music
ACT TWO
Music: Burt Bacharach. Lyrics: Hal David. (H)
ALL THE WAY
Music: James Van Heusen. Lyrics: Sammy Cahn. (J)
THE BALLAD OF CAT BALLOU
Music: Jerry Livingston. Lyrics: Mack David (F)
BLAZING SADDLES THEME
Music: John Morris. Lyrics: Mel Brooks. (Y)
BLUE PACIFIC BLUES
Music: Lester Lee. Lyrics: Ned Washington. (G)
CAN YOU READ MY MIND
Music: John Williams. Lyrics: Leslie Bricusse. (Y)
CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG
Music & Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman. (U)
DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD
Music: Harold Arlen. Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg. (P)
ETERNALLY (LOVE THEME)
Music: Charles Chaplin. Lyrics: Geoffrey Parsons. (C)
FOOTLOOSE
Music & Lyrics: Kenny Loggins, Dean Pitchford. (AA)
GOLDFINGER
Music: John Barry. Lyrics: Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley. (U)
GONE WITH THE WIND THEME
Music: Max Steiner. (Y)
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY THEME
Music: Ennio Morricone. (U)
HELP!
Music & Lyrics: John Lennon, Paul McCartney. (R)
HI LILI HI LO
Music: Bronislau Kaper. Lyrics: Helen Deutsch. (S)
HOW DO WE KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING
Music: Michel Legrand. Lyrics: Alan & Marilyn Bergman. (Y)
I WILL WAIT FOR YOU
Music: Michel Legrand. Lyrics: Jacques Demy. (O)
IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD
Music: Ernest Gold. Lyrics: Mack David. (T)
IT WAS A GOOD TIME
Music: Maurice Jarre. Lyrics: Mack David, Mike Curb. (T)
JAWS THEME
Music: John Williams. (K)
LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY
Music & Lyrics: Tom Snow, Dean Pitchford. (Z)
MANIAC
Music & Lyrics: Michael Sembrello, Dennis Matkosky. (Y)
MIDNIGHT EXPRESS THEME
Music: Giorgio Moroder. (G)
MISS CELIE'S BLUES (SISTER)
Music: Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton. Lyrics: Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton, Lionel Ritchie. (Y)
Music & Lyrics: Fred Glickman, Hy Heath, Johnny Lange. (E)
MY FOOLISH HEART
Music: Victor Young. Lyrics: Ned Washington. (Y)
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Music & Lyrics: Willie Nelson. (M)
THE PINK PANTHER THEME
Music: Henry Mancini. (B)
A PLACE IN THE SUN
Music: Franz Waxman. (H)
PSYCHO THEME
Music: Bernard Herrmann. (H)
ROCKY THEME (GONNA FLY NOW)
Music: Bill Conti. Lyrics: Carol Connors, Ayn Robbins. (P)
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Music & Lyrics: Johnny Mercer. (Y)
SPARTACUS LOVE THEME
Music: Alex North. (K)
THAT'S AMORE
Music: Harry Warren. Lyrics: Jack Brooks. (H)
TOWN WITHOUT PITY
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin. Lyrics: Ned Washington. (T)
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
Music: Elmer Bernstein. Lyrics: Mack David. (V)
THE WAY WE WERE
Music: Marvin Hamlisch. Lyrics: Alan & Marilyn Bergman. (F)
THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT
Music: Jerome Kern. Lyrics: Dorothy Fields. (N,X)
WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT?
Music: Burt Bacharach. Lyrics: Hal David. (T)
THE WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND
Music: Michel Legrand. Lyrics: Alan & Marilyn Bergman. (T)
THE WOODY WOODPECKER SONG
Music & Lyrics: Ramey Idriss, George Tibbles. (K)
YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM
Music: Nacio Herb Brown. Lyrics: Gus Kahn. (P)
(B) Arista/SBK
(C) Bourne Co. Music Publishing
(D) Irving Berlin Music
(E) Bullseye Music, Inc.
(F) Colgems/EMI Music, Inc.
(G) Columbia Pictures Music, Inc.
(H) Famous Music Corp.
(I) Frank Music Corp.
(J) Maraville Music Corp.
(K) MCA Music Publishing
(L) MCA/SBK
(M) Willie Nelson Music
(N) Polygram Intl. Publishing, Inc.
(O) Songs of Polygram Intl. Publ, Inc.
(P) SBK Ent. World-Feist Catalogue
(Q) SBK Ent. World-Miller Catalogue
(R) SBK Ent. World-Maclin
(S) SBK Ent. World-Robbins Catalogue
(T) SBK Ent. World-U Catalogue
(U) SBK Ent. World-Unart Catalogue
(V) Shapiro-Bernstein & Co.
(W) Southern Music Corp.
(X) T.B. Harms Co./Kerns Music
(Y) Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
(Z) Ensign Music
(AA) Famous/Milkmoney/Ensign Music
Video Warning
In accordance with the Performance License, you MUST include the following warning in all programs and in a pre-show announcement:ANY VIDEO AND/OR AUDIO RECORDING OF THIS PRODUCTION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
Included Materials
Item | Quantity Included |
---|---|
LIBRETTO/VOCAL BOOK | 10 |
PIANO CONDUCTOR'S SCORE | 2 |
Production Resources
Resource |
---|
HOW DOES THE SHOW GO ON-10/CS |
HOW DOES THE SHOW GO ON? |
PRODUCTIONPRO-DIGITAL SCRIPT/SCORE |
REFERENCE RECORDING |
STAGE WRITE APPLICATION |
TRANSPOSITIONS-ON-DEMAND |
STANDARD ORCHESTRATION
Instrumentation | Doubling |
---|---|
BASS | |
DRUMS | CONGA , COWBELL , TRIANGLE , TYMPANI , WIND CHIMES , WOOD BLOCK |
HARP | |
KEYBOARD 1 |