''George M. Cohan Tonight!'' is a 2006

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 ...

, conceived, written and arranged by

Chip Deffaa Chip Deffaa is an American author, playwright, jazz historian, songwriter, director, and producer of plays and recordings. For 18 years, he wrote for the ''New York Post'', covering jazz, cabaret, and theater. He has contributed to '' Jazz Tim ...

, with music and lyrics by

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

, and additional material by Deffaa.Orlando Weekly
/ref> It is a

one-man show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

depicting the life and music of Cohan utilizing his songs, dance routines, memoirs, and the stories of those who knew him. Able to be performed in dozen of venues, ''George M. Cohan Tonight!'' opened

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 2006 at the

Irish Repertory Theatre The Irish Repertory Theatre is an Off Broadway theatre founded in 1988. History The Irish Repertory Theatre was founded by Ciarán O'Reilly and Charlotte Moore, which opened its doors in September 1988,http://www.nyc-arts.org/organizations/ ...

in New York City. The original cast album is available from Sh-K-Boom Records/Ghostlight Records. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' hailed the show as "brash, cocky, and endlessly euphoric" (''The New York Times'', March 11, 2006). The show originally starred Jon Peterson, was directed by

, with musical direction by Sterling Price-McKinney. The show earned star Jon Peterson a

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

nomination, and author/director Chip Deffaa an

IRNE Award The IRNE Awards are presented annually by the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) to honor the best achievements in Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealt ...

(Independent Reviewers of New England). It is one of six different musicals about Cohan, created for different sized casts and audiences, created by Deffaa.

Productions

Since 2006, ''George M. Cohan Tonight!'' has toured the United States appearing in many regional theatre houses. Jon Peterson, Justin Boccitto, and David Herzog have all starred in productions of the show in the US, directed by Deffaa. ''George M. Cohan Tonight!'' made an Asian debut in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

in 2007. In August 2008, it made its European debut at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

starring David Herzog. Herzog is set to star in the show's British debut, opening September 21, 2010 at the New Players Theatre on the West End in London.

Musical Numbers

*Hello Broadway/

Give My Regards to Broadway "Give My Regards to Broadway" is a song written by George M. Cohan for his musical play ''Little Johnny Jones'' which debuted in 1904 in New York. Cohan, playing the title character, sings this song as his friend is about to sail to Ameri ...

*The Man Who Owns Broadway *Night Time *Musical Moon *Ireland, My Land of Dreams *I'm Saving Up to Buy a Home for Mother *Josephine/Oh, You Wonderful Girl *The Hinkey Dee * Harrigan *You Won't Do Any Business If You Haven't Got a Band *My Father Told Me *

Forty-five Minutes from Broadway ''Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway'' is a three-act musical by George M. Cohan written about New Rochelle, New York. The title refers to the 45-minute train ride from New Rochelle to Broadway. The musical debuted on January 1, 1906 at the New Ams ...

*I'm Awfully Strong For You *Oh! You Beautiful Girl/I Want the World to Know *Goodbye Flo *I Want to Hear a Yankee Doodle Tune *The Fatal Curse of Drink *

The Yankee Doodle Boy "The Yankee Doodle Boy", also well known as "(I'm a) Yankee Doodle Dandy" is a patriotic song from the Broadway musical ''Little Johnny Jones'' written by George M. Cohan. The play opened at the Liberty Theater on November 7, 1904. The play conc ...

* Mary's a Grand Old Name *

You're a Grand Old Flag "You're a Grand Old Flag" is an American patriotic march. The song, a spirited march written by George M. Cohan, is a tribute to the U.S. flag. In addition to obvious references to the flag, it incorporates snippets of other popular songs, includ ...

Over There "Over There" is a 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight the "Hun". The song i ...

*Drink With Me/Did Ya Ever Have One of Those Days? *I Love Everyone In the Wide, Wide World/I'm True to Them All *All-American Sweetheart *I Won't Be An Actor No More *Life's a Funny Proposition After All *All Aboard for Broadway/

(Reprise)

References

{{reflist

External links

Chip Deffaa website
2006 musicals Off-Broadway musicals George M. Cohan