''The View UpStairs'' 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 music, lyrics and book by

Max Vernon Max Vernon (born May 24, 1988) is an American performer, composer/lyricist, and playwright from Los Angeles, California, currently living and performing in New York City, where they attended New York University. Best known for their work in music ...

based on the real-life events of the 1973 arson attack at the UpStairs Lounge, a

gay bar A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once served as ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. This attack resulted in the deaths of 32 people, the deadliest attack on a gay club in U.S. history before the 2016

Orlando nightclub shooting On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff. In a 9- ...

. The show is inspired by and pays tributes to many of the patrons who frequented the venue. The single-act show runs for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes and is set entirely within the UpStairs Lounge.

Background

The show's score was composed by Max Vernon in 2013 and was first performed on June 24 of that year in a concert setting with performers such as Michael McElroy and Nathan Lee Graham (who eventually went on to originate the role of Willie) amongst others. The show then went into a workshop period in March 2016 under Invisible Wall Productions with Scott Ebersold as director and Matt Aument as musical director. The cast performed a benefit concert on July 11, 2016 for the victims and survivors of the

, with all proceeds going to the 'Equality Florida' institution.

Productions

''The View UpStairs'' was first produced Off-Broadway by Invisible Wall Productions, and was also under the direction of Scott Ebersold. It began previews on February 15, 2017 at the

Lynn Redgrave Theater The Lynn Redgrave Theater was an Off-Broadway theater located in New York City, New York, that was previously known as the Bleecker Street Theater and 45 Bleecker Street Theater, the theater name was changed in 2013. The theatre is named after a ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and officially premiered on February 26, before closing on May 21, 2017. It has since received a regional premiere in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

and Los Angeles. The show had its international premiere at the

Hayes Theatre The Hayes Theatre is a 111-seat theatre specialising in music theatre and cabaret in Potts Point, Sydney, Australia. It is named after the Australian performer Nancye Hayes. Hayes Theatre Co was established at the former Darlinghurst Theatre afte ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, under the direction of Shaun Rennie. The show was put on as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...

and began previews on 8 February 2018 before opening on 11 February. The sold out season of 33 performances concluded on 11 March 2018. Following the success of prior productions of the musical, several US regional productions were scheduled for the 2018–2019 season including: *Circle Theatre's production in Chicago from 22 June to 22 July 2018 *Out Front Theatre Company's production in Atlanta from 25 October to 19 November 2018 *The Desert Rose Playhouse production in Palm Springs from 8 to 29 March 2019 *New Conservatory Theatre Company's production in San Francisco from 10 May to 9 June 2019 *Good Company Theatre's production in Ogden from 7 to 23 June 2019 *Uptown Players' production in Dallas from 21 June to 7 July 2019 *SpeakEasy Stage Company's production in Boston from 31 May to 22 June 2019 *Evolution Theatre Inc's production in Columbus from 17 to 27 July 2019 The show had its European premiere at the

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. This production was directed by Jonathan O’Boyle and ran from 18 July to 24 August 2019. In February 2022 the show had its first run in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. This production was translated, adapted, directed and choreographed by Yojiro Ichikawa.

Characters

Casts

Musical numbers

The Original Off-Broadway Cast recording was released on 11 August 2017. * "Some Kind of Paradise" - Buddy, Company * "#householdname" - Wes * "Lost and Found" - Buddy, Company * "What I Did Today" - Patrick * "Are You Listening, God?" - Company * "The World Outside These Walls" - Henri, Company * "Completely Overdone" - Inez, Company * "The Future is Great" - Wes, Company * "Waltz" - Patrick, Company * "Sex on Legs" - Freddy, Company * "Better Than Silence" - Dale * "The Most Important Thing" - Inez, Company * "Crazy Notion" - Wes, Patrick, Company * "Theme Song" - Willie, Company * "And I Wish"‡ - Patrick * "The View UpStairs" - Wes, Company ‡ Cut song that is optional to put back in the show

Awards and nominations

Original Off-Broadway production

Source: Lortel.org

Sydney production

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:View UpStairs 2017 musicals LGBT-related musicals Musicals inspired by real-life events Off-Broadway musicals One-act musicals Plays set in the 1970s Plays set in New Orleans