Goodtime Charley

The show was originally announced under the title "Charley and Joan",[http://www.42ndstmoon.org/goodtime-charley "Goodtime Charley Playbill Notes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507111128/http://42ndstmoon.org/goodtime-charley |date=2012-05-07 }} 42ndstmoon.org, accessed May 30, 2012 with Al Pacino and Barbara Harris as the intended leads.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}} It underwent extensive changes throughout its development stage, especially when Joel Grey expressed interest in playing the lead. The script and score were rewritten significantly in order to tailor the piece to his personality and talents. The producers were so keen on casting Ann Reinking as Joan they put everything on hold while she recovered from a back injury she had sustained while performing in Over Here!. The delay would prove to be damaging, since Grey had been signed for the film Buffalo Bill and the Indians and had limited time to commit to the stage project.[https://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/05/04/lost-musicals-joel-greys-goodtime-charley New York Public Library]accessed 07/16/2023

Set in 15th Century France, the main character is Charles the Dauphin, the bastard son of Queen Isabella and a dissolute ne'er-do-well. This so-called "Goodtime Charley" meets his match in the Maid of Orleans, Joan of Arc. With her prodding and inspiration, "Goodtime Charley" grows from a fun-loving woman-chaser into Charles the VII, King of France, while Joan follows her voices to a greater fate as martyr and saint.[https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/7384/goodtime-charley Concord Theatricals]accessed 07/16/2023

==Song list==

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;Act I

• History
• Goodtime Charley
• Voices & Visions
• Bits and Pieces
• To Make the Boy a Man
• Why Can't We All Be Nice?
• Born Lover
• I Am Going to Love
• Castles of the Loire
• Coronation

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;Act II

• You Still Have a Long Way to Go
• Merci, Bon Dieu
• Confessional
• One Little Year
• I Leave the World

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An original cast recording was released by RCA.

The out-of-town tryout in Boston resulted in major cuts in order to trim the running time from three-and-a-half hours to a more reasonable ninety minutes before the show continued to Philadelphia, where the reviews were now "raves", and finally New York City.

The musical opened on Broadway on March 3, 1975 at the Palace Theatre, where it ran for only 104 performances and twelve previews, closing on May 31 when the producers were unable to find a name star to replace the departing Grey. The director was Peter H. Hunt, original choreography and staging concepts, Dennis Nahat (who brought in designers Willa Kim and Rouben Ter-Arutunian), replaced after Philadelphia by choreographer Onna White, with scenic design by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, costume design by Willa Kim, lighting design by Feder and orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick.

42nd Street Moon, San Francisco, California, presented a staged concert version in its "Lost Musicals" series from June 5 to 23, 1996. This version, in consultation with Grossman and Hackady, restored three songs that were cut prior to the Broadway premiere: "All She Can Do is Say No", "Tomorrow's Good Old Days", and "There Goes the Country" and returned the show to its original concept.

A New York City revival, starring Daniel Reichard, was presented at the Arclight Theatre in September 2001.

The York Theatre Company (New York) "Musicals in Mufti" series presented the musical as a staged concert from June 27, 2008 to June 29, featuring Jenn Colella (Joan) and Matt McGrath (Charley).BWW News Desk.[http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Flash_Opening_Night_of_Goodtime_Charley_20080630 Photo Flash: Opening Night of 'Goodtime Charley{{'"}}] broadwayworld.com, June 30, 2008 The Beautiful Soup Theatre Collective in New York presented it as a benefit reading in March 2012.Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/161030-Staged-Benefit-Reading-of-Goodtime-Charley-With-Charlie-Duncan-Presented-March-25 "Staged Benefit Reading of 'Goodtime Charley', With Charlie Duncan, Presented March 25"] playbill.com, March 25, 2012

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=3728 Internet Broadway Database listing]
• [http://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/05/04/lost-musicals-joel-greys-goodtime-charley New York Public Library blog on 'Goodtime Charley']
• [http://guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_g/goodtimecharley.htm 'Goodtime Charley' plot and songs at guidetomusicaltheatre.com]

Category:1975 musicals

Category:Broadway musicals

Category:Musicals set in France

Category:Cultural depictions of French monarchs