''Romance in Hard Times'' is a musical by

William Finn William Alan Finn (born February 28, 1952) is an American composer and lyricist. He is best known for his musicals, which include '' Falsettos'', for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, ''A New B ...

. It ran briefly

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 1989 at 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 ...

Productions

An earlier version of the same show, '' America Kicks Up Its Heels'', received two staged readings from

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

,Stasio, Marilyn
"A New Musical Finds Comedy and Romance in Hard Times"
''The New York Times'', December 24, 1989 along with a fully staged production running from March 3, 1983 to March 27, 1983. Directed by Mary Kyte and Ben Levit, and choreographed by Kyte, the cast featured Alix Korey, Dick Latessa, and Robert Dorfman. The musical was part of the 1989 and 1990

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...

in New York City. ''Romance in Hard Times'' was presented in one of

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 ...

's "musical laboratories" at the Public Theater's Anspacher Theater for three weeks in June 1989. Directed by David Warren, the cast featured

Lillias White Lillias White (born July 21, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is particularly known for her performances in Broadway musicals. In 1989 she won an Obie Award for her performance in the Off-Broadway musical ''Romance in Hard Times''. In ...

. It was open to the public but not for critics. The musical then opened

at The Public Theater on November 14, 1989 and closed on December 17, 1989. The musical was again directed by David Warren with musical direction by

Ted Sperling Ted Sperling is a musical director, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, stage director and musician, primarily for the stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Orchestrations, for his ...

and choreography by

Marcia Milgrom Dodge Marcia Milgrom Dodge is an American director, Choreographer and stage writer. After working in regional theatre, Dodge directed and choreographed her first Broadway production, a revival of ''Ragtime'' in 2009. The production received four Helen ...

. The cast featured

, Cleavant Derricks, Victor Trent Cook, Rufus Bonds, Jr.,

James Stovall James Herbert Stovall, Jr. (May 16, 1958 – September 25, 2010) was an American actor best known for his work in Broadway theatre, Broadway and regional theater, appearing in productions of ''Once on This Island'', ''The Life (musical), The L ...

, and Alix Korey. White won the

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

, Performance, in 1990." ''Romance in Hard Times'' Original Off-Broadway Production (1989) credits
ovrtur.com, accessed June 17, 2016 The musical ran at Finn's Barrington Stage Company's Musical Theatre Lab from August 14, 2014 to August 31, 2014, with a new book by Finn's ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

'' collaborator Rachel Sheinkin. The show was directed by Joe Calarco."William Finn revisits 'Romance in Hard Times' with a new book by Rachel Sheinkin at Barrington Stage; Aug. 14-31"
barringtonstageco.org, accessed May 26, 2015 The cast featured David Benoit, Lance Fletke, Alan H. Green, Demond Green, Anne Kanengeiser, Theresa Kloos, Alix Korey, Andrea Leach, Michael Mandell, Christina Acosta Robinson, and Aaron Serotsky.

Plot summary

The musical takes place in a soup kitchen in New York City during the Depression.Rich, Frank. "From Author of 'Falsettos,' A Musical About the 1930s", ''The New York Times'', p. C3, December 29, 1989 Hennie, a pregnant woman who works in the soup kitchen, decides not to give birth until children have a better world.

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

provides messages of hope.

Notes

References

*Playwrights Horizon (2013). ''America Kicks Up Its Heels''

{{William Finn 1989 musicals Musicals by William Finn Off-Broadway musicals