''Starting Here, Starting Now'' 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 ...

revue with lyrics by

Richard Maltby Jr. Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He conceived and directed the only two musical revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical: '' Ain't Misbehavin (1 ...

and music by

David Shire David Lee Shire (born July 3, 1937) is an American songwriter and composer of stage Musical theater, musicals, film and television film score, scores. The soundtracks to the 1976 film ''The Big Bus'', ''The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974 f ...

. With a cast of three and three musicians, the revue explores a variety of romantic relationships.

Productions

The revue was first produced at the

Manhattan Theater Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has gr ...

in 1976 under the title ''Theater Songs by Maltby and Shire''. In March 1977, the show moved to the Barbarann Theater Restaurant in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where it ran for 120 performances. The cast featured Loni Ackerman, Margery Cohen and

George Lee Andrews George Lee Andrews (born October 13, 1942, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American actor and singer. He holds the Guinness World Record for the most performances in the same Broadway show, having appeared in the musical ''The Phantom of the Opera'' on ...

. The original cast album was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, and the 1993 London production also produced a cast album. The revue continues to be frequently produced. After Maltby and Shire graduated from Yale, they wrote many songs for shows that either closed out of town or were never produced. Their songs tend to be "story songs", each giving the character(s) a chance to explore a mini-drama. The two writers decided to assemble these songs into a revue, grouping them by theme.Description of the revue and its background
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Synopsis

Act I explores the humorous, joyful, melancholy and angry ups and downs of city romances. In Act II, the songs present characters who have had unlucky experiences in love and life and who have a chance at a new start.

Song list

*The Word Is Love *Starting Here, Starting Now *A Little Bit Off *We Can Talk To Each Other *Just Across The River *I Think I May Want to Remember Today *Today Is the First Day Of The Rest Of My Life *Beautiful *Crossword Puzzle *Autumn *I Don't Remember Christmas *I Don't Believe It *I'm Going To Make You Beautiful *You Can't Let Down Your Fans *A Girl You Should Know *Travel *Watching The Big Parade Go By *What About Today *One Step *Barbara *Song Of Me *A New Life Coming *Pleased with Myself *Flair *I Hear Bells The Original Cast recording was released in 1977 by RCA (ASIN: B000002W3D).

Notes

{{reflist

References

Article describing the show's history and where the songs came from

External links

''Starting Here, Starting Now''
at the Music Theatre International website

at guidetomusicaltheatre
amazon.com listingMusical Heaven
1976 musicals