A Class Act

Work:: A Class Act (S2064623798)

"God, I m a dancer; a dancer dances" sings Cassie in A Chorus Line. Edward Kleban, the man who wrote that lyric was a composer. He was happiest writing theatre music, and produced songs that were gracefully eloquent, intimately expressive, and charmingly attractive. Until his untimely death in 1987 from cancer - the death that robbed him of the chance to keep plugging - Kleban continued to write songs for the stage, but none of his musicals was ever produced. It didn t matter. He was a composer; a composer composes! A moving and emotionally charged tribute to a man who had an enormous impact on musical theatre, the show is effectively a gift to its composer. When A Class Act opened on Broadway, it posthumously satisfied Kleban s dream of becoming a Broadway composer. A simple and artful book tells his life story using the songs he wrote for other projects. The show is structured around the gathering of his friends for a memorial service after his death at the age of 48, late in the run of A Chorus Line, using the 'flashback device to take us on a whistle-stop tour of the highs and lows of Kleban s somewhat turbulent and neurotic existence. For fans of musical theatre, A Class Act is a delightfully privileged glimpse behind the curtain at how a certain type of musical is created and brought to the stage. The show is, by it s very nature, a love letter to the musical and to theatre magic. It celebrates the musical creation process the way we d like it to be – as the fantastic place where a slightly mentally imbalanced guy can stun theatre professionals into silence with his first song. For anyone who just likes a good song, A Class Act introduces us to 20 of Kleban s songs, many of which have scarcely been performed before: some of them are used in the context of the musicals-in-progress for which they were intended, whilst others are shameless character songs for Kleban himself and the people who shared his life.

Music	Edward Kleban
Lyrics	Edward Kleban
Book by	Linda Kline
Book by	Lonny Price

Listing:: L1613333909

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