''More Than You Deserve'' 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 ...

written by

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

and

Michael Weller Michael Weller (born September 26, 1942) is a Brooklyn-based playwright and screen writer. His plays include ''Moonchildren'', ''Loose Ends'', ''Spoils of War'' and ''Fifty Words''. His screenplays include ''Ragtime'', for which he was nominate ...

, produced by

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. He established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in Lower Manhattan. There Papp created a y ...

and directed by

Kim Friedman Kim Friedman (born November 14, 1949) is an American television director and producer. Friedman's TV career began by directing 70 episodes of the sitcom, ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' for Norman Lear. She then moved on to directing the pilot ...

. After a workshop production lasting two weekends in April 1973 at the Other Stage (now known as the LuEsther Hall) of

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

, it opened at the Newman Theater (also within The Public Theater) on November 21, 1973, ran for 63 performances and closed on January 13, 1974. Weller's original title for the play was ''Souvenirs'', which referred to the severed ears of killed Viet Cong forces which the soldiers collected and wore as keepsakes on strings around their necks.

Original cast

* Major Michael Dillon -

Fred Gwynne Frederick Hubbard Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor, artist and author widely known for his roles in the 1960s television sitcoms ''Car 54, Where Are You?'' as Francis Muldoon and as Herman Munster in ''The Munsters'' ...

* Fiona Markham - Kimberly Farr * Nurse/Nin Hua - Leata Galloway * Nurse/Uncle Remus -

Mary Beth Hurt Mary Beth Hurt (''née'' Supringer; born September 25, 1946) is an American actress of stage and screen. She is a three-time Tony Award-nominated actress. Notable films in which Hurt has appeared include ''Interiors'' (1978), ''The World Accordi ...

* Nathan/Herbie/Pilot -

Stephen Collins Stephen Weaver Collins (born October 1, 1947) is an American former actor and writer. He is known for playing Eric Camden on the television series '' 7th Heaven'' from 1996 to 2007. Afterwards, Collins played the roles of Dayton King on the ABC t ...

* Dr. Smith/Sgt. Price -

Graham Jarvis Graham Powley Jarvis (August 25, 1930 – April 16, 2003) was a Canadian character actor in American films and television from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Early years Jarvis was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Margaret Biddulph (Scratche ...

* Luke/Lance Moriarty - Seth Allen * Mike / Brown / Gerald Moore - Larry Marshall * Perrine / Rabbit -

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

* Wiley / Trout -

Kim Milford Richard Kim Milford (February 7, 1951 – June 16, 1988), known professionally as Kim Milford, was an American actor, singer-songwriter, and composer. He was known for his stage acting in musicals such as ''The Rocky Horror Show'' and '' Jes ...

* Owlsy / Joe - Tom Leo * Costucci / Lt. Maddox - Edward Zang * Spooky 1 / Vietnamese - Justin Ross * Spooky 2 / Vietnamese / Radio man - Eivie McGehee * Melvin -

Terry Kiser Terry Kiser (born August 1, 1939) is an American actor. Besides portraying the deceased title character of the comedy ''Weekend at Bernie's'' and its sequel, ''Weekend at Bernie's II'', he has more than 140 acting credits to his name, with a car ...

* General Chet Eastacre - Ronald (Ron) Silver

Plot synopsis

The story is set in a United States Army base in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Major Michael Dillon (Gwynne), who is

impotent Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...

, falls in love with a reporter sent to cover the camp, who turns out to be a

nymphomaniac Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased libido. It is controversial whether it should be included as a clinical diagnosis used by mental healthcare professionals. Nymphomania and satyriasis were terms previously used for the c ...

when she is gang-raped by the other soldiers in the camp. However, she realizes at the end that she will be even happier giving up her newfound lust for sex to settle down with the impotent commander.

Song

The song that gives the musical its title was planned as a single in 1973, but ultimately cancelled. Only promotional copies exist. Years later

recorded the song again for his 1981 album '' Dead Ringer''.

Other songs

# Overture # Give Me the Simple Life # Could She Be the One # Where Did It Go? # Come With Me (We Know Love) # Mama, You'd Better Watch Out for Your Daughters # More Than You Deserve # O, What a War # Song of the City of Hope # To Feel So Needed # Mama, You'd Better Watch Out for Your Daughters (reprise) # Go, Go, Go, Guerrillas # What Became of the People We Were # If Only # Midnight Lullabye # Song of the Golden Egg # What Became of the People We Were (reprise)

Legacy

Steinman and Meat Loaf first met during the production and would go on to make the multi-platinum album ''

Bat Out of Hell ''Bat Out of Hell'' is the 1977 debut album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. It is one of the best-selling albums in history. The album was developed from a musical, ''Neverland'', a futuristic rock version of ''P ...

''. The title track from the show was recorded by Meat Loaf for the album '' Dead Ringer''. He also performed the song on his show ''

VH1 Storytellers ''Storytellers'' is a television music series produced by the VH1 network. In each episode, artists perform in front of a (mostly small and intimate) live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat ...

''.

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both '' Late ...

served as musical director for the show.

Citations

1973 musicals Off-Broadway musicals Vietnam War in popular culture Musicals by Jim Steinman {{Musical-theat-stub