''The Fortress of Solitude'' is a musical with music and lyrics written by Michael Friedman, and a

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

Itamar Moses Itamar Moses (born 1977) is an American playwright, author, and television writer. Biography Moses grew up in a American Jews, Jewish family in Berkeley, California, Berkeley, California, earned his bachelor's degree at Yale University, and his M ...

adapted from '' The Fortress of Solitude'' by

Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His first novel, ''Gun, with Occasional Music'', a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was publishe ...

Synopsis

According to

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 ...

's website, "''The Fortress of Solitude'' is the extraordinary coming-of-age story about 1970s

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and beyond — of black and white, soul and rap, block parties and blackouts, friendship and betrayal, comic books and 45s. And the story of what would happen if two teenagers obsessed with superheroes believed that maybe, just maybe, they could fly".Staff
"The Verdict: Critics Review the New Musical 'The Fortress of Solitude' at The Public"
playbill.com, October 23, 2014

Productions

The musical premiered at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

and

New York Stage and Film New York Stage and Film is an art and film institution founded in 1985 by Mark Linn-Baker, Max Mayer and Leslie Urdang in order to provide artists with a rigorous and nurturing environment to invigorate the artistic process; to promote collabora ...

's Powerhouse Theatre, as a part of the Martel Musical Workshops (concert readings of works-in-progress), opening on June 29, 2012 and closing July 1. The show was directed (and originally conceived) by Daniel Aukin, with Kyle Beltran,

Alex Brightman Alexander Michael Brightman (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and writer. He is best known for his work in musical theatre, specifically as Dewey Finn in the musical adaptation of ''School of Rock'' and the title character ...

, John Ellison Conlee,

André De Shields André Robin De Shields (born January 12, 1946) is an American actor, singer, dancer, director, and choreographer. De Shields originated the role of Hermes on Broadway in the musical ''Hadestown'', winning the 2019 Tony Award for Best Actor i ...

, Carla Duren,

Santino Fontana Santino Fontana (born March 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He has received a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, Lortel Award, Obie Award, and Clarence Derwent Award in a mix of straight plays and musica ...

, Brandon Gill, Conlin Hanlon,

Rebecca Naomi Jones Rebecca Naomi Jones (born March 31, 1981) is an American actress and singer best known for her performances in the Broadway rock musicals ''Passing Strange'', '' American Idiot'', and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' as well as being the first wo ...

, Jahi Kearse, Meghan McGeary, Lauren Molina, and David St. Louis."Powerhouse Schedule"
vassar.edu The

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

production at

Dallas Theater Center The Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theater in Dallas, Texas, United States. It produces classic, contemporary and new plays and was the 2017 Tony Award recipient for Best Regional Theater. Dallas Theater Center produces its original w ...

opened on March 7, 2014 and closed on April 6. The show was directed by Daniel Aukin, set design Eugene Lee, lighting design Tyler Micoleau, costume design Jessica Pabst, sound design Robert Kaplowitz, projection design Jeff Sugg, wig design Leah J. Loukas, choreography

Camille A. Brown Camille A. Brown is a dancer, choreographer, director and dance educator. She is the Founder & Artistic Director of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and has congruently choreographed commissioned pieces for dance companies, Broadway shows, and unive ...

, musical director Kimberly Grigsby, orchestrations John Clancy & Matt Beck. The band was composed of Grigsby (conductor, keyboard 2), Alex Vorse (associate music director, keyboard 1, keyboard programmer), Joe Lee (guitar), Peggy Honea (bass), Mike Drake (drums), Jorge Ginorio (Latin percussion), Pete Brewer (reeds), Cathy Richardson (viola/violin), and Larry Spencer (trumpet/Fleugelhorn/piccolo trumpet).''The Fortress of Solitude''
dallastheatercenter.org The Off-Broadway production opened on September 30, 2014 (previews), officially on October 22 at

, a co-production with the

. The show wass directed by Daniel Aukin with choreography by Camille A. Brown.''The Fortress of Solitude''
publictheater.org The show closed on November 16.

Cast

Musical numbers

Source: ''CurtainUp''Sommer, Elyse

curtainup.com, October 17, 2014 ;Act 1 *Prelude — Barrett Rude Junior, Subtle Distinction, Dylan, Rachel *The One I Remember — Full Company *The Time Keeps Changing — Dylan, Barrett Rude Junior, Rachel *(You Gotta) Grab Something — Barrett Rude Junior, Subtle Distinction *Superman/Sidekick — Mingus, Dylan, Barret Rude Junior, Subtle Distinction *White Boy — Arthur, Abby, Marilla, Dylan *The Ballad of Barrett Rude, Sr. — Barrett Rude Senior, Abby, Marilla, Liza *Painting — Abraham, Mingus *This Little World — Mingus, Rachel, Abraham, Dylan, Barrett Rude Junior *Take Me to the Bridge — Barrett Rude Senior, Mingus, Dylan, Ensemble *High High High School/Fuck You Up — Mike, Skate Girl, Dylan, Robert, Arthur *I'm Busy Now (So Don't Bother Me) — Marilla, Lala, Subtle Distinction, Ensemble ;Act 2 *Act Two Prelude — Rachel *If I Had Known Then (What I Know Now) — Barrett Rude Junior, Subtle Distinction *Bothered Blue — Barrett Rude Junior, Subtle Distinction, Dylan, Rachel *Take It Baby — Barrett Rude Junior, Subtle Distinction, Dylan, Rachel *Who's Calling Me — Barrett Rude Junior, Subtle Distinction, Dylan, Rachel *Something — Abby, Rachel, Abraham *This Little World (Reprise) — Dylan, Abby, Rachel, Barrett Rude Junior, Subtle Distinction *The Ballad of Mingus Rude — Mingus, Robert, Ensemble *Superman/Superman (Reprise) — Mingus, Ensemble *The Gift — Rachel, Ensemble *Middle Space — Dylan, Mingus, Ensemble

Awards and nominations

Original Off-Broadway production

References

External links

Lortel Archives Entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortress of Solitude 2014 musicals Musicals based on novels Off-Broadway musicals Plays about race and ethnicity Plays by Michael Friedman Plays set in the 1970s Plays set in New York City