Segments Presently in Stories 1.0:

Act I

Away To Pago Pago The hilarious story of a doctor whose imminent death seems to be the only escape from an overbearing wife, dishonest partner, self-obsessed daughter and the rest of a very kitschy lot—but there’s an even better way! Very accessible and fun, with full-cast production singing, it lets the audience know they’re in good hands from the outset.

An Open Window (from the story by Saki entitled “The Open Window”) “Romance on short notice was her specialty.” Is the little girl telling the chilling truth or simply toying with the nervous visitor before her mother returns? A spare and elegant chamber piece shows a very different color in the evening’s palette.

Space For Two “There are no miracle mothers...or miracle daughters.” A touching reassessment and renewal of love between a demanding mother and her rebellious adult daughter, makes a strong emotional appeal to everyone who has had parents.

Remember Dancing An old convict re-entering society and the one woman who truly loved him meet again. How can they start over after decades lost, because only careless memories remain, fragments of broken dreams. The grand romantic question of ‘what if’ set in the milieu of a Mafia double-cross.

Philip Glass Buys A Loaf Of Bread A zany and irreverent send-up of contemporary performance art. A completely different satire, witty and intelligent, following the sentimental preceding segment keeps the audience intrigued.

Blue Monday It’s the classic ‘Frankie and Johnnie’ story, as set to music by George Gershwin with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva. Sometimes cited as a trial run by Gershwin for his later Porgy and Bess, it’s a true milestone in musical theater history, re-discovered by The Ten-Minute Musicals Project.

The Furnished Room (from the story of the same title by O.Henry) A nightmare of no escape and a dream of true love mix in this beautiful and haunting vision. A dramatic and musical tour-de-force to round-out the first act, leaving the audience with a sensory overload of musical and dramatic expressionism.

Act II

The Bottle Imp (from the story of the same title by Robert Louis Stevenson) An imp in a bottle will grant all your wishes, but if you can’t sell him for less than you paid before dying, then it's straight to hell for you. The plot careens along as true love blossoms and grows. A piece in the great Broadway tradition, but done with a ‘Rocky & Bullwinkle’ flavor—as seen by Busby Berkeley.

Pulp’s Big Favor The perfect crime—almost. Every word counts in this expertly crafted Raymond Chandler-esque detective story. It’s a tale of insurance fraud, believe it or not—and the rookie’s uncovered much more than she thinks. An intricately plotted mix of arioso singing and deft writing—the first great ‘film noire musical’ since City of Angels.

At Owl Creek Bridge (from the story by Ambrose Bierce entitled “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”) The rope around the neck of a Confederate spy breaks as the trap door opens. He swims to shore and escapes his pursuers to home, wife and safety, or so he and we believe. The segment takes the audience into a dreamy mix of music and stagecraft that sets still another boundary to the evening.

Precious Little Jewel (from the story by Kate Chopin entitled “The Story of an Hour”) A young wife in old New Orleans is shocked by her loving husband’s death in a railroad wreck, but learns she can go on living. In fact, life will actually be much better. An electrifying eleven o’clock number with the lead performer belting a final high E for eight bars.

The Fertilization Opera Basically the sperm guys are doing their damnedest to get to the egg gal before their lives tick away. The story of life’s beginnings—as loopy Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. What better way to end the roller-coaster evening than with a grand primal sex farce in eleven minutes. Everyone comes on for the finale, in costumes from all the preceding segments, to bring the show home.