''Bright Lights, Big City'' is a

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concep ...

with music, lyrics and book written by Scottish composer Paul Scott Goodman based on the 1984 novel by

Jay McInerney John Barrett "Jay" McInerney Jr. (; born January 13, 1955) is an American novelist, screenwriter, editor, and columnist. His novels include '' Bright Lights, Big City'', ''Ransom'', '' Story of My Life'', '' Brightness Falls'', and ''The Last o ...

. It follows a week in the life of Jamie, a successful young writer who loses himself in the chaos of 1980s

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The piece premiered

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 New York City in 1999 and was revived in a small London production in 2010.

Plot

Jamie, a twenty-four-year-old who came to New York City to fulfill his dream of being a writer, now finds himself in a frightfully boring job in the "factual verification department" of Gotham Magazine under tight-lipped boss Clara. Jamie soon discovers the

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

-scene of New York where he meets characters like Tad, who brings Jamie into a world of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

sex Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...

and all-night partying at the Odeon club. Jamie indulges but eventually finds himself spinning out of control. His wife Amanda, a model, leaves him to follow her dream in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He loses touch with his brother, Michael, who is left confused and alone since the death of their mother, and Jamie loses his job. Drugs and partying get the better of Jamie, as he starts to be haunted by hallucinations, while ''Chuck Bean'', the number one

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

in town, worms his way into Jamie's brain. Jamie spirals out of control as the hallucinations and reality start to crumble. Tad introduces Jamie to his cousin, Vicky. It is meant to be nothing but a one-night engagement, but Jamie finds himself drawn to the rationality, innocence and philosophical tendencies of Vicky. He soon decides to turn his life around, forgetting about Amanda, deserting Tad, reconnecting with Michael, being with Vicky and finally restarting the novel he once gave up on.

Productions

The show first opened at the

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theater noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it h ...

on 24 February 1999. It was directed and musically staged by

Michael Greif Michael Greif (born ca. 1960 in Brooklyn, New YorkWelsh, Anne Marie, "New York and family call Michael Greif home", ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', October 10, 1999, p.E-1) is an American stage director. He has won three Obie Awards and received ...

, with orchestrations and musical direction by

Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert events ...

. It starred

Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty (musical), The Full Mont ...

as Jamie, Jerry Dixon as Tad, Napiera Daniele Groves as Amanda, Annmarie Milazzo as the Mother, John Link Graney as Michael and Natascia Diaz as Vicky. The show opened to mixed reviews, many of which compared it unfavorably with '' Rent'', which was created at the same theatre with almost entirely the same creative team, minus

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright, most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent (musical), Rent'' and ''Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of mult ...

. On the concept cast recording, the cast included

(Jamie),

Christine Ebersole Christine Ebersole (born February 21, 1953) is an American actress, singer and comedian. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage (theatre), stage. She has received two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award as well as a nomination for a ...

(Clara),

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 ...

(Vicky), Jesse L. Martin (Tad),

Eden Espinosa Eden Erica Espinosa (born February 2, 1978) is an American actress and singer who is best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles, and San Francisco productions of the musical '' Wicked''. In 2022, she was nominated f ...

(Druggie/Coma Baby),

Celia Keenan-Bolger Celia Keenan-Bolger (born January 26, 1978) is an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for portraying Scout Finch in the play ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (2018). She has also been Tony-nominated f ...

(Mary O'Brien Mchann),

Sharon Leal Sharon Ann Leal is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles in movies such as ''Dreamgirls'' (2006), '' This Christmas'' (2007), '' Why Did I Get Married?'' (2007), '' Why Did I Get Married Too?'' (2010) and her roles on the tel ...

(Amanda), Anne Marie Milazzo (Mother), and

Gavin Creel Gavin James Creel (April 18, 1976 – September 30, 2024) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter best known for his work in musical theater. Over his career he received a Grammy Award, a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards and a Laurence O ...

(Michael). The show had its professional UK premiere in November 2010 at

Hoxton Hall Hoxton Hall is a performance arts theatre and community centre in the Hoxton area of Shoreditch, at 130 Hoxton Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. A grade II* listed building, the theatre was first built as a music hall in 1863, as MacDon ...

, London, starring Paul Ayres (Jamie), Matthew Gent (Michael), Lori Haley Fox (Mother), Rachael Wooding (Amanda), Jodie Jacobs (Vicky), George Maguire (Tad), Rietta Austin (Coma Baby/Clara), Stuart Armfield (Alex), Oliver Roll (Chuck Bean) and Mary Cormack (Mary O'Brien McCann). It was produced by Sue Knox for This Stage Ltd, directed by Christopher Lane and choreographed by Fabian Aloise.
, Cast and crew list from BLBC London website.

Musical numbers

*'Bright Lights, Big City' – Chuck Bean, Jamie, Drug Girl & Ensemble *'Back In The City' – Tad, Jamie & Ensemble *'Sunday Morning 6AM' – Jamie, Chuck Bean, Mary, Mother Amanda & Ensemble. *'Coma Baby' – Coma Baby, Chuck Bean, Jamie & Ensemble *'Fact & Fiction' – Clara, Jamie & Ensemble *'I Hate The French' – Jamie & Employee *'Brother' – Michael, Amanda & Jamie *'I Hate The French (Reprise)' – Jamie *'Odeon' – Jamie, Tad & Ensemble *'Happy Birthday Darling' – Mother *'Missing' – Coma Baby, Mary & Jamie *'To Model' – Amanda & Jamie *'So Many Little Things' – Jamie, Mother, Michael & Ensemble *'Back In The City 2' – Tad *'Kindness' – Vicky *'Perfect Feeling' – Jamie, Vicky & Ensemble *'Bright Lights, Big City 2' – Jamie *'You Couldn't Handle It Jamie' – Clara & Jamie *'How About Dinner At My Place?' -- Female Employee & Jamie (Omitted from Cast Recording but used in alternative productions) *'My Son' – Clara & Jamie (alternatively, Female Employee & Jamie) *'Wednesday' – Chuck, Tad & Jamie *'Camera Wall' – Amanda, Chuck Bean, Jamie, Mother, Michael, Mary, Coma Baby & Ensemble *'Heart And Soul' – Michael, Vicky & Mother *'Brother 2' – Michael & Jamie *'Mummies At The Met' – Mother, Jamie, Coma Baby, Mary & Ensemble *'Are You Still Holding My Hand?' – Mother *'Brother 3' Jamie & Michael *'Back In The City 3' – Tad & Ensemble *'Stay In My Life' – Jamie, Amanda, Vicky & Ensemble *'Bright Lights Big City 3 / Wordfall' – Jamie & Ensemble

References

External links

{{Wikiquote, Bright Lights Big City
Internet Off-Broadway Database Listing
1999 musicals Musicals based on novels Off-Broadway musicals Musicals set in New York City