''Everyday Rapture'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

with a book written by

Sherie Rene Scott Sherie Rene Scott (born February 8, 1967)Some sources give 1969, but Scott herself, at thOfficial Sherie Rene Scott Myspace Pageand at Lovece, Frank"Sherie Rene Scott is caught up in the 'Rapture'", ''Newsday'', May 6, 2010, gives 1967 is an Ame ...

and

Dick Scanlan Dick Scanlan (born 1960) is an American writer, director, and actor. Early life Scanlan was born on April 14, 1960, in Washington D.C. and grew up in suburban Maryland. Career Publications Scanlan has written articles that have appeared in ''The ...

and music by various composers. It ran

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in 2009 and opened on

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 ...

in 2010. The musical is a loose autobiography of Scott herself, showing her travels from her half-

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

childhood to a life in show business.

Concept

The show is called a "stage memoir disguised as fiction" and a "mixed

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known popular music songs, rather than original music. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs perfo ...

". It features songs by artists including

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were an American funk and soul band signed to Daptone Records. They were part of a revival movement of mid-1960s to mid-1970s style funk and soul music. They released their debut album ''Dap Dippin in 2002, the fir ...

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

, and

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

. The

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

standards " Get Happy" and " You Made Me Love You" are sung, the "latter amusingly illustrated with a series of cheeky images of Jesus." Songs from ''

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' debut ...

'' are also sung.Grode, Eric (May 13, 2009)
"Everyday Rapture Glimpses (Funnily) into Tug Between Narcissism and Discipline"
''Village Voice''. Retrieved April 19, 2010. Scanlan described the show as "a one-person show with four people in it." Monty Arnold, reviewing for

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...

, added, "The other three, besides Scott, are a younger actor who has an extended YouTube sequence and two women who serve as backup singers — 'The Mennonettes' — and share other scenes with her."

Production history

''Everyday Rapture'' debuted

at the

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...

on April 7, 2009, in previews, officially opened on May 3, and closed on June 13, 2009. It starred

with direction by Michael Mayer, choreography by Michele Lynch, and orchestrations and arrangements by Tom Kitt. Featured in the cast were Eamon Foley,

Lindsay Mendez Lindsay Michelle Mendez (born March 1, 1983) is an American actress and singer, best known for her work in American musical theatre. Mendez won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge i ...

, and

Betsy Wolfe Betsy Wolfe (born Elizabeth Marie Wolfe; June 1, 1982) is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur. Betsy Wolfe is currently starring in the new Broadway musical ''& Juliet'' as Anne. Previously, Wolfe starred as Jenna Hunterson, the titl ...

. Scott was nominated for the

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...

for Outstanding Lead Actress, and the show was nominated for Best Musical. Scott presented an earlier form of the show titled ''You May Now Worship Me'' on March 31, 2008, as a one-night benefit for the

Phyllis Newman Phyllis Newman (March 19, 1933 – September 15, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Martha Vail in the musical ''Subways Are for Sleeping'' on Broadway, ...

Women's Health Initiative of The Actors’ Fund. The show began previews on Broadway at the

American Airlines Theatre The American Airlines Theatre, originally the Selwyn Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 227 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1918, it was designed by George Keister and developed by brothe ...

on April 19, 2010, and officially opened on April 29, 2010. (It was a last-minute replacement for The Roundabout Theatre Company's planned production of

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," ...

's ''

Lips Together, Teeth Apart ''Lips Together, Teeth Apart'' is a play by American playwright Terrence McNally. The play, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1991, concerns two straight couples who spend a weekend in a gay community. Plot A gay community in Fire Island provides a ...

'', which was canceled when

Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for playing Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award no ...

withdrew after differences with director

Joe Mantello Joseph Mantello (born December 27, 1962) is an American actor and director known for his work on Broadway productions of ''Wicked'', '' Take Me Out'', and ''Assassins'', having gained notoriety in the 1993 cast of ''Angels in America''. Early li ...

.) Following a limited engagement of 85 performances, the show closed on July 11, 2010. The original cast reprised their performances in the Broadway production, Lynch returned as choreographer, and Mayer returned as director while simultaneously directing

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

's '' American Idiot''. During ''Everyday Rapture'''s run, Scott was nominated for the 2010

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for Best Leading Actress in a Musical as well as Best Book of a Musical, the latter with co-writer

. In the summer of 2012, the first production of the musical outside of New York City was held in Kansas City, Missouri, at the

Unicorn Theatre The Unicorn Theatre is a children's theatre in the London Borough of Southwark, in England. It is a custom-built, RIBA Award–winning building on Tooley Street, which opened in 2005. The theatre was designed by Keith Williams, built by Arup an ...

directed and choreographed by Jerry Jay Cranford and starring Katie Gilchrist with Christina Burton and Chioma Anyanwu.

Song list

From the original cast recording: *"The Other Side of This Life" (Overture) *"Got a Thing on My Mind" *"

Elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

" *"

On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" is a popular song written by Harry Warren with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1944, spanned the hit chart in mid-1945, and won the 1946 Academy Award for Best Original Song, the fir ...

" *" Get Happy" *" You Made Me Love You" *Mr. Rogers Medley ("It's Such a Good Feeling", "Everybody's Fancy", "I Like to Be Told") *"It's You I Like" *"

I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" is a song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Nilsson in 1969. A track from his fourth studio album, ''Harry'', it became his second charting single. Background The song was written for, but not ...

" *"Life Line" *"The Weight" *"Rainbow Sleeves" *"Why" *" Won't You Be My Neighbor?" *"

Up the Ladder to the Roof "Up the Ladder to the Roof" is a 1970 hit single recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. It was the first Supremes single to feature new lead singer Jean Terrell in place of Diana Ross, who officially left the group for a solo career two w ...

" Bonus Tracks: *"Remember" *"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)"

Recording

The

original cast recording Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...

was released by

Sh-K-Boom Records Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by Kurt Deutsch with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their second ...

on their Ghostlight label. Scott is a co-founder of Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records with her husband, Kurt Deutsch. The cast album is now available to download on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Critical response

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...

's 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 ...

'' of the 2009 off-Broadway production stated that "it easily qualifies as one of the year’s most extravagantly entertaining new musicals."Brantley, Ben.
"Review ''Everyday Rapture''"
''The New York Times'', May 4, 2009 Eric Grode, in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', commented that "Gifts like cott's especially when packaged and delivered this shrewdly, deserve a kind of worship."

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

External links

* * {{IOBDB title
New Yorker article on Everyday Rapture

Backstage Review of Everyday Rapture, May 4, 2009

Bloomberg News Review of Everyday Rapture, May 4, 2009
2009 musicals Broadway musicals Jukebox musicals