Spelunking!

 Caroline, Or Change

opened on Broadway in May of 2004...

one of those shows that last for just a few months,

but garner plenty of good press, and you wish you'd caught them.

It starred Tonya Pinkins (above AND below)

as a maid employed by a Jewish family

in Louisiana, 1963.

It was "through-sung", with very little spoken dialogue

integrated into the music

(The Times called it a "chamber opera"), 

which was written by Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner.

"Back up singers"

play the voice of The Radio:

Tracy Nicole Chapman, Marva Hicks, and Ramona Keller.

Other actors, like Chuck Cooper, play The Dryer, The Washing Machine,

and The Bus.

Ben Brantley's review: 

"In ambition and achievement, 

''Caroline'' handily tops any new musical this fall."

Six Tony noms, but no wins...however, it did receive an

Olivier for Best New Musical when it hit London.  

I await an Encores! production. :)

On the other side of the Broadway "coin"

is Beetlejuice,

with music by Edward Perfect (his real name? Looks like it!),

who is a musical comedian a la Tim Minchin.

The cast includes Leslie Kritzer, above in gold,

beginning her star turn song,

"Day-O" with Adam Dannheiser at far right.

and (below) Sophia Ann Caruso and Alex Brightman.

Leslie (yup, her songs are my favorite in this show)

completing a quick-change into Miss Argentina 

for her "What I Know Now" number, above.

On first listen (no, I haven't seen it first-hand),

Beetlejuice brings the word "bombastic" to mind;

"it's loud, it's cheeky, and it's all about excess"

says Sara Holdren of New York's Vulture.

Newsies!
Perfect for a "Neat To Be A Newsboy" set.

Above, some "Carrying The Banner" urchins
(Jeremy Jordan and Andrew Keenan-Bolger led the herd)

in that Alan Menkin/Jack Feldman show. 

Based on the 1992 Disney movie,

Newsies Broadway-style premiered in 2012 and lasted 2 years,

turning a nice profit for ol' Walt.

Below, slightly old newsboys cavort to 

choreography by Christopher Gattelli,

who scooped a Tony for his dances,

as did Menken and Feldman for their original (if Disney-fied) score.

Floyd Collins is a musical about the real life exploits

of (guess who?) Floyd Collins,

who in 1925 became trapped in Crystal Cave,

which is now part of Mammoth Cave National Park

in Kentucky.

Newspaper men "descended" on the area,

making it the 3rd biggest media event "between the world wars."

One newspaper man in particular,

William Burke Skeets Miller (below)

interviewed the trapped man, took part in the unsuccessful rescue,

and won a Pulitzer Prize for his write-up. 

(He was 20 years old at the time.)

...and Floyd, his ankle caught by 7-ton boulder.

Miller was the only one who could fit down the hole to Collins, and brought him food and drink, til the end.

Several novels and a movie

(Ace in the Hole/The Big Carnival)

have been based on the Collins event.

Adam Guettel (above) and Tina Landau created 

Floyd Collins (the musical) and launched it 

Off-Broadway in 1996.

Starring were Christopher Innvar, Cass Morgan, 

Jason Danieley, Brian d'Arcy James, and 

as Skeets Miller, Martin Maran.

Below, reporters with "Is That Remarkable?"