''Copperfield'' is a 1981 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by

Al Kasha Alfred Kasha (January 22, 1937 – September 14, 2020) was an American songwriter, whose songs include " The Morning After" from '' The Poseidon Adventure''. Life Kasha started songwriting and producing at a young age and was hired as a producer ...

and

Joel Hirschhorn Joel Hirschhorn (December 18, 1937 – September 17, 2005) was an American songwriter. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song on two occasions. He also wrote songs for a number of musicians, including Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison. Hirsc ...

, who were nominated for the 1981

Tony Award for Best Original Score The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical or play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be eligible, a score must be written ...

. It is based on the classic 1850 novel ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. The

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production was directed and choreographed by Rob Iscove. It began previews at the ANTA Playhouse on March 25, opened on April 16, and closed on April 26 after 39 performances, including 26 previews.

Principal cast

* Brian Matthews ..... Adult

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

* Evan Richards ..... Young David *

Barrie Ingham Barrie Stanton Ingham (10 February 1932 – 23 January 2015) was an English actor, performing on stage and "in a handful of films." He was perhaps most widely known as "a prolific television actor". His notable work includes '' A Challenge for ...

..... Uriah Heep * Beulah Garrick ..... Mrs. Heep * George S. Irving .....

Mr Micawber Wilkins Micawber is a clerk in Charles Dickens's 1850 novel ''David Copperfield (novel), David Copperfield''. He is traditionally identified with the optimistic belief that "something will turn up." His role in the story Micawber was incarcera ...

* Linda Poser ..... Mrs. Micawber * Mary Stout .....

Peggotty The Peggotty family are fictional characters in Charles Dickens's 1850 novel ''David Copperfield''. Daniel Peggotty Yarmouth fisherman Daniel Peggotty is the brother of Clara. Referred to as "Mr Peggotty", he is a fisherman and dealer in lobs ...

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (born November 17, 1958) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in the 1980 revival of ''West Side Story'', and went on to appear in the 1983 film '' Scarface'' as Al Pacino's character's sist ...

..... Dora Spenlow *

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...

..... Billy Mowcher * Lenny Wolpe ..... Mr. Dick * Carmen Mathews ..... Aunt

Betsey Trotwood Betsey Trotwood is a fictional character from Charles Dickens' 1850 novel ''David Copperfield''. Role in novel Betsey Trotwood is David Copperfield's great-aunt on his father's side, and has an unfavourable view of men and boys, having been ill-us ...

* Pamela McLernon ..... Clara Copperfield * Brian Quinn ..... Mealy Potatoes * Maris Clement ..... Jane Murdstone * Gary Munch ..... Mick Walker

Principal production credits

Producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

..... Don Gregory, Mike Merrick, and Dome Productions * Musical Director ..... Larry Blank *

Orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

.....

Irwin Kostal Irwin Kostal (October 1, 1911 – November 23, 1994) was an American musical arranger of films and an orchestrator of Broadway musicals. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kostal attended Harrison Technical High School, but opted not to at ...

* Scenic Design .....

Tony Straiges Tony Straiges (born 1942) is a scenic designer for the stage and ballet. He has designed the sets for 17 Broadway musicals, plays and specials. His sets "often have a sparse elegance or sense of fantasy about them." Robert Brustein said of Straiges: ...

Costume Design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

..... John David Ridge *

Lighting Design In theatre, a lighting designer (or LD) works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create the lighting, atmosphere, and time of day for the production in response to the text while keeping i ...

.....

Ken Billington Ken Billington (born October 29, 1946) is an American lighting designer. He began his career in New York City working as an assistant to Tharon Musser. He was born in White Plains, New York, the son of Kenneth Arthur (an automobile dealer) and ...

Sound Design Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...

..... John McClure

Song list

;Act I *"I Don't Want a Boy" – Aunt Betsey Trotwood, Peggotty and Ensemble *"Mama, Don't Get Married" – Young David, Clara Copperfield and Peggotty *"Copperfield" – Young David, Mr. Quinion, Mealy Potatoes, Billy Mowcher, Mick Walker and Ensemble *"Something Will Turn Up" – Mr. Micawber, Young David, Creditors and Ensemble *"Anyone" – Young David *"Here's a Book" – Aunt Betsey Trotwood, Mr. Dick and Young David *"Here's a Book (Reprise)" – Betsey Trotwood, Mr. Dick and Adult David *"Umble" – Uriah Heep and Mrs. Heep *"The Circle Waltz" – Adult David, Dora Spenlow, Agnes Wickfield and Ensemble ;Act II *"Up the Ladder" – Uriah Heep and Mr. Micawber *"I Wish He Knew" – Agnes Wickfield *"The Lights of London" – Adult David, Dora Spenlow and Company *"Umble (Reprise)" – Uriah Heep *"Something Will Turn Up (Reprise)" – Mr. Micawber and Adult David *"Villainy Is the Matter" – Adult David, Uriah Heep, Mr. Micawber, Agnes Wickfield, Aunt Betsey Trotwood, Mr. Dick, Mrs. Heep, Peggotty and Mrs. Micawber *"With the One I Love" – Adult David *"Something Will Turn Up (Reprise)" – Mr. Micawber and Ensemble *"Anyone (Reprise)" – Adult David and Agnes Wickfield

Critical reception

In his review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'',

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is curren ...

said,

References

External links

''Copperfield'' at the Internet Broadway Database
{{David Copperfield 1981 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on novels Works based on David Copperfield Musicals based on works by Charles Dickens