THE HISTORY OF "GRAVE WHITE WAY"

In the spring of 1994, author/composer/lyricist Joe Patrick Ward had a revelatory idea…. why not create an entire revue of really dreadful fictitious musicals?  The notion was inspired by several things.  For starters, one of Joe’s favorite movies had always been Mel Brooks’ The Producers, the tale of two down-on-their-luck theatrical producers who conspire to create the worst Broadway musical in history.  Secondly, Joe had developed a bizarre fascination with real-life musical flops, most particularly the musical Carrie.  How utterly inconceivable that anyone would dare musicalize Stephen King’s horror tale for the stage!  Even more unbelievable was just how miserably they would fail in their mission.  And finally, Joe had been looking for a new theatrical project that would make the best use of his offbeat sense of humor and his genuine love of musical theatre.  And so it happened…The Grave White Way was born.

Joe had just returned from New York following the opening of his off-Broadway musical Hysterical Blindness and Other Southern Tragedies, which had a successful run at the Soho Playhouse.  Upon his return to Los Angeles, he immediately began working on The Grave White Way.   This new show, he decided, was to be a satirical revue celebrating Broadway’s forgotten musical disasters… shows that played on a legendary New York boulevard called “The Grave White Way” (which was forever overshadowed by the more famous Great White Way).  The trick, of course (and the really fun part in writing it!) was to create a slew of Broadway musicals that NEVER existed.  They had to be bad shows… and yet, good enough to be believable.

To get the ball rolling, Joe pulled out a “trunk song” he’d written five years earlier for a comedy program which played on National Public Radio.  That particular tune was called “Oh Helen!”, and imagined an unlikely musical version of The Miracle Worker (featuring an even more unlikely duet between Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller).   This set everything else in motion.  Within six months, Joe had completed his first draft of The Grave White Way, complete with over 20 new songs.

The melodies were written in the same style as Broadway’s greatest songwriters… Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Lerner and Lowe, and Cole Porter, to name a few.  Among the twisted fictitious shows represented in the revue were Riverboat Regina (a poor man’s Showboat), Look Before You Leper (the story of Father Damien’s missionary work in a leper colony), Nazareth High (a 70’s rock opera about Jesus’ high school years) and Lenny and George (Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men set to music).  The revue also included fabricated histories about the musicals: their creators, directors, theatre settings, and some of their scathing reviews.

Anxious to get the show up on its feet, Joe began organizing a “concert style” presentation of The Grave White Way.  He called on Los Angeles director/actor Larry Randolph to stage the piece.  He then assembled a cast of talented musical theatre performers: Kay Cole (Broadway's original A Chorus Line), Craig A. Curtis, Sandy Rosenberg (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel), Elizabeth Smith, Edward Staudenmeyer (Forbidden Broadway), and Robert Yacko.  And so, in October 1994, the first public performance of The Grave White Way took place at the Hollywood Playhouse for an audience of 300 invited guests.  The response was overwhelming.  From the very first strains of the opening number, “Goin’ to the Cockfights” (from the make-believe musical Wichita), the laughter started and didn’t stop until the finale was sung.  Yes, the show was too long.  No, some of the numbers didn’t land.  But Joe knew he had a show that could work.

Ten months later, following massive cuts, revisions, and additions, the first commercial production of The Grave White Way was mounted at The Cinegrill in Hollywood’s famed Roosevelt Hotel.  The show was presented as a cabaret piece, which afforded Joe the opportunity to continue trying out new material.  The ultimate goal, however, was always to make it a theatrical presentation.  The revue was produced by Joe’s longtime friend Rhonda L. Hicks, and was again directed by Larry Randolph.  Four of the original performers remained (Kay Cole, Craig A. Curtis, Elizabeth Smith and Robert Yacko), with one new addition, Kirsten Benton (L.A.'s Rocky Horror Show).  Joe Patrick Ward accompanied at the piano.  The show played to sell-out houses in August, then made a return engagement two months later.  Again, the response was incredible.  Not only were the reviews glowing, the show was developing a loyal cluster of fans who kept coming back.  The Grave White Way was achieving a sort of cult status.

As a result of the Cinegrill performances, the show was optioned by theatrical producer, Scott Allyn.  In September, 1997, he arranged a backer’s reading of The Grave White Way in New York.  The two-night presentation took place at The Triad on West 72nd Street.  This time, the musical was directed by Edie Cowen (choreographer for the original Little Shop of Horrors).  The cast included Kirsten Benton and Craig A. Curtis (from the L.A. production), and New York actors Linda Romoff (Cabaret), Wendy Perelman, and Tom Rocco (Tommy).  The readings were greeted (as always) with applause, laughter and praise.  Better still, there seemed to be a lot of interest in producing the revue.  The only hitch was that The Grave White Way was now being pegged and promoted as a cabaret show, not a theatrical piece.  This isn’t what Joe wanted.

As often happens with new musicals, plans for The Grave White Way got put on the backburner.  Joe Patrick Ward was suddenly besieged with other time-consuming projects: a songwriting contract with Warner Bros., new regional productions of Hysterical Blindness (which Joe also directed), musical direction jobs and acting stints (including L.A.’s smash hit Southern Baptist Sissies), and composing songs for several new theatrical shows.  But deep in his heart, Joe’s dream project always remained The Grave White Way. 

Joe never stopped working on it… still tweaking song lyrics, changing melodies.  But more importantly, he completely rewrote the book to ensure that - next time - the “theatricality” of the piece would be recognized.  The central premise of the show now had an even more unique twist.  In an attempt to gain admittance into Broadway Paradise, five dead Broadway actors assemble before the Supreme Being to perform an “afterlife revue” of the disastrous musicals that condemned them to the musical theatre purgatory known as "The Grave White Way".  How perfect.

In October 2000, Joe decided to take the plunge and mount the show in a real theatre setting.  He secured the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Los Angeles, original home to the hit Reefer Madness, for a May 2001 Opening.  To ensure that The Grave White Way be the absolute best production possible, Joe assembled the absolute best creative team.  Jayson Raitt, Michael Weiner, and Alan Zachary became the show’s producers, bringing with them an endless amount of theatrical experience, energy, and genuine enthusiasm for the project.  New York's Sarah Gurfield (hot off Bat Boy) was brought aboard to direct.  L.A.’s busiest choreographer Kay Cole, involved with the show from its very first reading, was invited to continue as choreographer.  Every element of the production – scenic design, lighting design, sound design, costume design, publicity, marketing – was handled by creative professionals at the very top of their game.

Finally on May 4, 2001, The Grave White Way had its theatrical world-premiere!  The musical was instantly greeted with acclaim from audiences and critics alike.  Variety called the show "brilliant", with a "limitless future".  The Hollywood Reporter said that The Grave White Way was a "classy sophisticated comic send-up and a sheer delight".  Showmag.com wrote that the show contained "the funniest parodies of all time.”  The Grave White Way quickly became a "hot ticket" in town.  The audiences came out in droves... and they came back again and again.

Also joining the The Grave White Way bandwagon were a bevy of real-life Broadway stars who were enlisted to appear in the show each night.  In a clever gimmick and "cheap marketing ploy" (as written in the script), a special guest celebrity "miraculously" appeared onstage in the second-act to sing their own favorite Grave White Way song... a moment that was not only unique and fun, but also heightened the belief in this bizarre Broadway parallel universe.  John Raitt sat on a lone stool to sing a hilariously affecting ballad from the fictitious disaster Village Idiot.  Loretta Devine belted out a number from the Dreamgirls-inspired musical Bean Dip Divas.  Jason Graae lept atop the piano to croon the title tune from a Jerry Herman-esque musical entitled The Unflappable Typhoid Mary.  Other guests included Ken Page, Billy Porter, Harry Groener, Davis Gaines, Valarie Pettiford, and Gregory Jbara.  Even Broadway composers like Billy Barnes and Stephen Schwartz got in on the act… by sitting at the keyboard and accompanying themselves on such perversely touching melodies as "We'll Build a Little Slaughterhouse" and "Darlin' Sally from Death Valley".   The moments were priceless.

The show was extended through the summer, and ran until the end of July.  Afterwards, Joe Patrick Ward requested another six months to make some minor revisions (writers…always making the show better!).  There was no doubt in his mind... or anybody's mind, for that matter... that The Grave White Way could actually enjoy a long healthy run on the New York stage.  The show, afterall, was originally written as a "love letter" to devotees of Broadway musicals.  Interestingly though, the L.A. production proved that audience members did not have to be "theatre savvy" in order to appreciate the show's humor.  Everyone who saw the show, even the Broadway-illiterate, had a great time at the theatre!

And so now in 2002, The Grave White Way, direct from its triumphant West Coast tryout, heads into The Big Apple led by Los Angeles producer Jayson Raitt.  In a special presentation at the Lamb's Theatre on West 44th Street set for mid-April, the show will feature three of its original L.A. cast members, with the addition of cabaret veteran Jim Caruso and Broadway-bound sensation Stephanie Block (who starred in the workshop of Stephen Schwartz's new musical Wicked). 

Though the future is uncertain, it is inevitable, and ultimately ironic, that The Grave White Way will very soon find a permanent home... on The Great White Way!

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