''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a musical adapted from the 2006 film of the same name, with music and lyrics 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 ...

and book and direction by

James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', '' Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ...

. The musical premiered in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

at the Mandell Weiss Theater,

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

on February 15, 2011 and began performances Off-Broadway at the

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...

in October 2013. The musical opened

Off West End Off West End refers to theatres in London which are not included as West End theatres. The term is a relatively recent one, coined after the similar American term "off-Broadway" (though without the same strict definition). It is usually used synony ...

at the Arcola Theatre in 2019.

Production history

The play was workshopped at the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers fr ...

Theatre Lab at White Oak in

Yulee, Florida Yulee is a Census county division (CCD) in Nassau County, Florida, United States. The population is currently 28,798 as of April 2018. Yulee is part of the Jacksonville metropolitan area, which was home to 1,504,980 people in 2017. Today, t ...

, from October 25 through November 7, 2009. It then premiered at the

from February 15 through March 27, 2011. The score is by

, with musical staging at La Jolla by Christopher Gattelli. A private reading was done at La Jolla in September 2011, featuring

Raúl Esparza Raúl Eduardo Esparza (born October 24, 1970) is an American stage, screen, and voice actor. Considered one of Broadway's leading men since the 2000s, he is best known for his Tony Award-nominated performance as Bobby in the 2006 Broadway reviva ...

and

Sherie Rene Scott Sherie Rene Scott (born February 8, 1967)Some sources give 1969, but Scott herself, at thOfficial Sherie Rene Scott Myspace Pageand at Lovece, Frank"Sherie Rene Scott is caught up in the 'Rapture'", ''Newsday'', May 6, 2010, gives 1967 is an Ame ...

. The musical premiered Off-Broadway at the

on October 15, 2013 (previews), and officially on November 14, 2013. The production was given a one-week extension before the official opening. The show closed on December 15, 2013. The cast features Will Swenson as Richard Hoover, Hannah Rose Nordberg as Olive Hoover, Stephanie J. Block as Sheryl Hoover, Rory O’Malley as Frank Hoover, Wesley Taylor as Joshua Rose, Josh Lamon as Buddy,

David Rasche David Rasche ( ; born August 7, 1944) is an American theater, film and television actor who is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the 1980s satirical police sitcom ''Sledge Hammer!'' Since then he has often played characters ...

as Grandpa Hoover, Jennifer Sanchez as Miss California and Logan Rowland as Dwayne Hoover. The musical has "undergone a major overhaul since its world premiere at California's La Jolla Playhouse in February 2011, retaining only three songs from the original version." The musical is directed by Lapine, with scenic design by

Beowulf Boritt Beowulf Boritt is a New York City-based scenic designer for theater. He is known for his scenic design for the play '' Act One'', which earned him the 2014 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design in a Play. Early life Boritt was born to American Civi ...

, costume design by Jennifer Caprio, lighting design by

Ken Billington Ken Billington (born October 29, 1946) is an American lighting designer. He began his career in New York City working as an assistant to Tharon Musser. He was born in White Plains, New York, the son of Kenneth Arthur (an automobile dealer) and ...

, sound design by Jon Weston, and choreography by Michele Lynch. The musical opened at the Arcola Theatre,

, before touring the UK and Ireland in a new production directed by Mehmet Ergen and produced by Selladoor Productions, marking the show's European premiere.

La Jolla cast

Georgi James played the role of Olive Hoover in the premiere production at the La Jolla Playhouse. Other cast included

Hunter Foster Hunter Foster (born June 25, 1969) is an American musical theatre actor, singer, librettist, playwright and director. Career After touring in several shows and playing on Broadway, in 2001 he was cast in his breakthrough role of Bobby Strong i ...

Malcolm Gets Malcolm Gets (born December 28, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Richard in the American television sitcom '' Caroline in the City''. Gets is also a dancer, singer, composer, classically trained pianist, vocal direct ...

, Dick Latessa,

Jennifer Laura Thompson Jennifer Laura Thompson (born December 5, 1969) is an American actress and singer, best known for her theatrical performances. She originated the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Tony Award-winning musical, ''Dear Evan Hansen'', and received a Tony ...

, and Taylor Trensch. On March 11, 2011 Malcolm Gets left the show. Ensemble member Andrew Samonsky took over the role of Uncle Frank, and understudy Ryan Wagner took over the role of Joshua Rose until the show closed on March 27, 2011.

Principal roles and casts

Awards and nominations

Original Off-Broadway production

References

External links

Off-Broadway Database listing
{{William Finn 2011 musicals Musicals based on films Musicals by James Lapine Musicals by William Finn