After the long winter and the world’s long break from live theatre, it’s time for your spring musical! Stage Rights has a wide selection of jukebox musical revues that will rock your spring theatre season. These jukebox musicals bring familiar songs and nostalgia that are fun for performers and audiences of all ages. The only challenge will be which one to choose for your theatre.  

8-Track 

Conceived by Rick Seeber

Run Time: 1 hr 30 min

Cast Size: 2F, 2M

Themes: Nostalgia, Love Generation, Disco, Baby Boomers, Seventies Music

Setting: Simple locales in the 1970s

Synopsis: Put on your leisure suits, halter tops, and platform shoes and get ready to boogie down through ten years of groundbreaking music! With its propulsive rhythms and dazzling harmonies, 8-Track is a fast-paced musical romp through one of the most impassioned decades of the 20th century. This Baby Boomers’ dream come true features the music of The Emotions, The Carpenters, Labelle, Barry Manilow, Marvin Gaye, The Doobie Brothers, The Bee Gees, Helen Reddy, KC and the Sunshine Band, and more! Rediscover the heart and soul of the forgotten decade with this joyously rousing, moving, and often downright hilarious musical in concert.

Press:8-Track is an Electric…Energetic…Powerful Good Time!” –Los Angeles Times

8-Track is one stunning little show. If you are a Baby Boomer, bring your children, they may get to understand Mom and Dad just a little better. This is truly a show for everyone.” –Portsmouth Herald, NH

 

Honky Tonk Angels 

by Ted Swindley

Run Time: 2hrs

Cast Size: 3F

Themes: Following your dreams, Independence, Friendship

Setting: Honky Tonk Heaven, a honky tonk in Nashville, TN.

Synopsis: When three gutsy gals from different backgrounds take charge of their lives, they decide to follow their honky tonk dreams to the city of Nashville. Combining 30 classic country tunes (including “Stand By Your Man,” “9 to 5,” “Harper Valley PTA” and more!) The Honky Tonk Angels is a hilarious, foot-stomping good time from the creator of Always…Patsy Cline.

Press: “A highly enjoyable revue.” –Chicago Tribune

“A down-home treat for country music fans!” –Orlando Sentinel

 

Honky Tonk Angels and the Mystery of Bubba’s Revenge!

by Ted Swindley

Run Time: 2hrs

Cast Size: 3F, 3M

Themes: Friendship, Marriage, Tolerance, Supernatural

Setting: Honky Tonk Heaven

Synopsis: The hilarious final sequel in the Honky Tonk Angels series is a foot stompin’ gospel jubilee centering on the overbearing husband of Angela Bodine, the “physically sensitive” beer drinkin’ Bubba. From the creator of Always…Patsy Cline comes a spooky country-western style Halloween night séance including song such as “Jolene,” “Achy Breaky Heart,” and “Spirit in the Sky.”

Press: “Transforms hillbilly camp into theatrical fun.” —Indy Week

Bubba’s Revenge brings big laughs.” —Broadwayworld

 

Honky Tonk Angels Holiday Spectacular

by Ted Swindley

Run Time: 2hrs

Cast Size: 4F

Themes: Friendship, Holiday Spirit, Living your dreams

Setting: Honky Tonk Heaven Club

Synopsis: This holiday sequel to the hugely popular show The Honky Tonk Angels continues the comic escapades of three good ole country gals as they reunite for a Christmas show like none other at “The Hillbilly Heaven Club” in Nashville. There are many surprising twists and turns in this musical comedy revue, including a gospel soul sister who also happens to be a psychic manicurist. Songs include a Motown Christmas medley, country classics like “Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton, and comedy hits such as “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”

Press: “The show is a wonderful piece of entertainment. Memorable music, comedic characters, and excellent performances.” –Broadwayworld

“This light, fluffy holiday concert is full of smiles and spirit.” –Tvjerry.com

 

The Marvelous Wonderettes 

Created by Roger Bean

Run Time: 1 hr 45 min

Cast Size: 4F

Themes:  Friendship, Fun, Nostalgia, High School, Reunion, Jealousy, Adulthood

Setting: This smash Off-Broadway hit takes you to the 1958 Springfield High School prom, where we meet Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy, and Suzy: four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts! As we learn about their lives and loves, the girls serenade us with classic ‘50s hits including “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” and “Lipstick on Your Collar.” In Act II, the Wonderettes reunite to take the stage and perform at their ten-year reunion. We learn about the highs and lows the girls have experienced in the past decade and are charmed to find that no matter what life throws their way, they will conquer it together. Featuring over 30 classic ’50s and ’60s hits, The Marvelous Wonderettes will keep you smiling in this must-take musical trip down memory lane!

Synopsis: This is the first show in the WONDERETTES Series!

Press: “An expertly wrought showcase of ‘50s and ‘60s pop music—it’s tremendously fun.” –Variety

“One irresistible musical! An utter charm bomb!” –The New York Times

 

The Marvelous Wonderettes ’58 (One-Act)

Created by Roger Bean

Run Time: 55 min

Cast Size: 4F

Themes: Friendship, Fun, Nostalgia, High School, Jealousy

Setting: Springfield High School Gymnasium, 1958.

Synopsis: Wonderettes ‘58 takes you to the 1958 Springfield High School prom, where we meet the Wonderettes, four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts! As we learn about their lives and loves, we are treated to the girls performing such classic ‘50s songs as “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Lipstick on Your Collar,” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” and other classic hits! You’ve never had this much fun at a prom, and you will never forget Wonderettes ‘58— a must-take musical trip down memory lane! This delightful 55-minute version of the smash Off-Broadway hit is perfect for both teens and adults.

Press:The Marvelous Wonderettes is deliciously enjoyable.” –The Los Angeles Times

“Wonder women: a simply marvelous time-travel!” –The Portland Phoenix

 

The Marvelous Wonderettes: Caps and Gowns

Created by Roger Bean

Run Time: 55 min

Cast Size: 4F

Themes: Growing Up, Nostalgia, Friendship, Graduation, Marriage, Girl Power

Setting: Springfield High School Gymnasium, 1958 and 1968.

Synopsis: This is the second show in the WONDERETTES Series! We’re back in 1958, and it’s time for the Wonderettes to graduate in this delightful sequel to the smash Off-Broadway hit! Join Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy, and Suzy as they sing about their final year in high school, celebrate with their fellow classmates and teachers, and prepare for their next step toward a bright future. Act II zooms ahead to 1968, where the girls perform as bride and bridesmaids to celebrate Missy’s marriage to Mr. Lee! Featuring “Rock Around the Clock,” “At the Hop,” “Dancing in the Street,” “River Deep, Mountain High,” and 25 more hits, The Marvelous Wonderettes: Caps & Gowns will have your audience cheering for more!

Press: “Entertaining froth of a rarefied order.” –Backstage

“Suzy, Cindy Lou, Betty Jean, and Missy are as loveable and delightful as ever!” –StageSceneLA

 

The Marvelous Wonderettes: Glee Club Edition

Created by Roger Bean

Run Time: 1hr 30min

Cast Size: 4F, Ensemble (Flexible)

Themes: Friendship, Fun, Nostalgia, High School, Jealousy, Growing Up, Graduation, Girl Power

Setting: 1958, Springfield High School Gymnasium, USA.

Synopsis: This all-new version of the show combines the first act of The Marvelous Wonderettes with the first act of the sequel Wonderettes: Caps & Gowns, adding additional characters from the Springfield High Chipmunk Glee Club (any number of boys or girls you need) to create a truly flexible large-cast version of this perennial favorite.

We begin at the 1958 Springfield High School Senior Prom, where we meet Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy, and Suzy, four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts! As we learn about their lives, loves, and friendships, the girls serenade us with classic ’50s hits as they compete for prom queen. Act II zooms ahead to graduation day for the Class of 1958, and the Wonderettes celebrate with their fellow classmates and teachers as they prepare for their next step toward a bright future.

Press: “Iconic ‘50s pop hits shine in this bubbly musical.” –New York Magazine

“Smooth as a malted milk shake. Bask in girl-group renditions of ‘The Shoop Song’ and ‘Leader of the Pack.’ Charming!” –Show Business Weekly

 

Winter Wonderettes

Created by Roger Bean

Run Time: 1 hr 45 min

Cast Size: 4F

Themes: Friendship, Holiday Spirit, Working World, Santa, Generosity

Setting: Harper’s Hardware Store, 1968.

Synopsis: This is the third show in the WONDERETTES Series! The Wonderettes are back! This seasonal celebration finds the girls entertaining at the annual Harper’s Hardware Holiday Party. When Santa turns up missing, the girls use their talent and creative ingenuity to save the holiday party! Featuring great ’60s versions of holiday classics such as “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Run, Rudolph, Run,” and “Winter Wonderland,” the result is, of course, marvelous! This energetic and glittering holiday package is guaranteed to delight audiences of all ages.

Press: “The perfect Christmas revue! Crackles with energy and joy!” –LA Weekly

“A scrumptious confection! This glittering holiday package is a sugar plum delight for audiences of all ages!” –Backstage

 

The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On

Created by Roger Bean

Run Time: 1 hr 50 min

Cast Size: 4F

Themes: Ambition, Responsibility, Friendship, Marriage, Success, Infidelity, Reunion

Setting: Springfield High School Gymnasium, 1969 and 1978.

Synopsis: This is the fourth show in the WONDERETTES Series! It’s 1969, and The Marvelous Wonderettes are back at Springfield High (Go Chipmunks!) to throw a retirement party for their favorite homeroom teacher. As the girls sing their way through the greatest girl-group hits of the ’60s and bid Ms. McPherson a fond farewell, one of the Wonderettes reveals she’ll also be saying goodbye to search for success and happiness on her own. Act II finds the girls back together as the class of 1958 celebrates their 20-year reunion. The classic pop and rock hits of the ’70s provide the perfect soundtrack for these old friends to catch up on the places life has led them, all performed with their own marvelous spin!

Press: “Simply bullet-proof – charming, silly and wonderful!” –BroadwayWorld

“A fun jukebox musical… these girls know how to throw a party!” –Houston Chronicle

 

The Pin-Up Girls 

by James Hindman and Jeffrey Lodin

Cast Size: 3F, 1M

Themes: Nostalgia, Patriotism, Sacrifice

Setting: The Pin-Up Girls takes place in present time at a local VFW Hall that is about to be closed.

Synopsis: From The Andrew Sisters to hip-hop! From World War I to Afghanistan. The Pin-Up Girls sing a cavalcade of hits inspired by letters home from our troops overseas! While singing at their local VFW hall, Leanne and her friends stumble upon a huge stash of letters that go back a hundred years. Inspired by what they find— funny, romantic, heartbreaking and… sexy— the ladies put on a show that celebrates the guys and gals who fight to defend our country.

Press: “A lively script! Engaging piano arrangements! Evocative song list!” –North Texas Performing Arts News

 

Route 66 

Created by Roger Bean

Run Time: 1 hr 45 min

Cast Size: 4M (Flexible)

Themes: Nostalgia, Travel, Rock n Roll, Country, Heartland, Main Street

Setting: Towns, farms, and truck stops along Route 66.

Synopsis: Take a dollop of Grease, mix in some Pump Boys and Dinettes, and add a generous dose of Forever Plaid and you’ve got the high-octane fun of Route 66! Beginning with the sounds of 1950s Chicago and traveling along the ‘Main Street of America’ to the California coast with the surf music of the 1960s, this exciting musical revue features 34 of the greatest ‘Rock ‘n’ Road’ hits of the 20th century. Songs include “Dead Man’s Curve,” “King of the Road,” “Little Old Lady from Pasadena,” “Beep Beep,” “Six Days on the Road,” “Little GTO,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” and many more. Get your kicks with this smash coast-to-coast hit musical revue!

Press: “The audiences absolutely loved this show. They sang, they laughed, they remembered wonderful memories, but most of all they had a terrific time. The show is affordable, while being a box office bonanza. Route 66 was an unexpected surprise hit.” –Michael Barnard, Artistic Director, Phoenix Theatre

“Bright, sassy and bursting with nonstop energy!” –San Antonio Express News

 

Say It With Music: The Irving Berlin Saga 

Written and Arranged by Chip Deffaa

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

Run Time: 2hrs 30min

Cast Size: 1F, 2M, Flexible

Themes: American Dream, Inspiration, Retrospection

Setting: The play opens in the home of Irving Berlin, 17 Beekman Place, New York City. We are in the Berlin’s study, and he is 98 years old. It is the morning of December 24, 1987. The setting should be simple, because this play is a memory piece, and subsequent scenes will take us through Berlin’s long life (which spanned the years 1888-1989).

Synopsis: Say It With Music tells the story of Irving Berlin, a Russian immigrant with no formal education, and his pursuit of the American dream as he becomes the most successful songwriter in the world. Using dozens of popular hits from Berlin’s voluminous songbook, this show about the master songwriter and the country that shaped him is as American as apple pie!

 

Sh-Boom! Life Could Be A Dream 

Created by Roger Bean

Run Time: 2 hrs

Cast Size: 1F, 4M

Themes: Following Your Dreams, Friendship, Ambition, Fame, Romance, Nostalgia

Setting: Denny’s Basement, 1960.

Synopsis: Meet Denny and the Dreamers, a fledgling doo-wop singing group preparing to enter the Big Whopper Radio contest to realize their dreams of making it to the big time! Trouble comes in the form of Lois, who arrives to put some polish on the boys. Denny falls in love, Wally falls in line, Eugene falls apart, and along comes handsome heartthrob Duke to send the whole situation spinning. The ’60s hits say it all: “Fools Fall in Love,” “Tears on my Pillow,” “Runaround Sue,” “Earth Angel,” “Stay,” “Unchained Melody,” “Lonely Teardrops,” and “The Glory of Love.” Winner of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Best Musical Award, Sh-Boom! Life Could Be a Dream will leave you laughing, singing, and cheering— let’s hear it for the boys!

Press: “Heaven sent! This show will run everywhere for years to come.” –BroadwayWorld

“Fabulous, charming and affectionate! Your kids will love it.” –American Radio Networks

 

Streakin’ Through the 70s 

by James A. Rocco & Albert Evans

Run Time: 1hr 45min

Cast Size: 3F, 3M

Themes: Retro-music, pet rocks, white polyester pantsuits, 70s, bell bottoms, the Me Generation

Synopsis: An outrageous, mind-blowing dash through the “Me Decade,” complete with (shh!) a real life streaker! Featuring over 40 hit songs, Streakin’ Through the 70s is filled with enough music and comedy sketches to make your bell bottoms burst.

Press: “The most fun-filled show to hit the stage since Hairspray.” –The New York Resident

“Weaves compelling dramatic segments in with the kitschy comedy.” –Backstage East

 

Summer of Love 

Created by Roger Bean

Run Time: 2 hrs

Cast Size: 6F, 6M, Ensemble

Themes: Revolution, Family, Friendship, Drug Use, Generational Divide, War, Peace, Flower Power

Setting: Summer of 1967 in and around Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

Synopsis: This hippie, trippy musical from Wonderettes creator Roger Bean features the powerful music of the late 1960s. When a conservative runaway bride discovers the countercultural revolution of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, the hippies and dropouts of Golden Gate Park teach her to live, live, live! With such hits as “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” “War,” “One Tin Soldier,” “Piece of My Heart,” “Spinning Wheel,” and, of course, “San Francisco,” you’ll love this flower-power, feel-good musical experience.

Press: “Pure perfection! Foot stomping standing-ovations!” –Portland Daily Sun

Summer of Love is powerful, riveting, entertaining! Two thumbs up. A powerful and talented look at the morays and the message of the 1960s… a cast of characters that brought the audience to its feet.” –Foster’s Daily Democrat

 

That Lovin’ Feelin’

Conceived and Written by James A. Zimmerman

Musical Arrangements by J. Michael Roy

Run Time:  1 hr 40 min

Cast Size: 3F, 5M, Flexible

Themes: Friendship, Fame, Addiction, Nostalgia, Reconciliation, Creation, Pop Music

Setting: The story takes place on (and backstage) at the Miller Auditorium, Western Michigan University, and various locations at which The Righteous Brothers performed.

Synopsis: That Lovin’ Feelin’ is an exciting musical biography chronicling The Righteous Brothers’ life story, featuring 18 of their memorable songs. “Blue-eyed soul” pioneers Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield topped the charts for decades, galvanizing the link between rock and rhythm ‘n’ blues. Featuring their greatest hits, such as “Unchained Melody,” “Old Time Rock and Roll,” and the most played song in radio history, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” this musical will undoubtedly have you tapping your toes and humming along to the musical hits that defined the “Baby Boomer” generation.

Press: “[This] jukebox musical plays like a love song to the Righteous Brothers. Rousing stuff that will set toes tapping!” –LA Times

“A nostalgic blast to the past; a must see!” –The Tolucan

 

Unchained Melodies 

by Rebecca Hopkins, Richard Hopkins 

Arrangements by Jim Prosser

Run Time: 1hr 15min

Cast Size: 4M

Themes: Nostalgia, Music history, Performance

Setting: A cabaret or lounge space.

Synopsis: Under the streetlamps of East Coast cities, doo-wop emerged, bringing tight harmonies to the soundtrack of the 1950s. Beginning with doo-wop groups like The Drifters and The Platters, Unchained Melodies celebrates the swingin’ harmonies of the ‘50s and ‘60s, featuring songs like “Blue Moon,” “16 Candles,” “Save The Last Dance,” and “Working My Way Back To You.”

 

Have you decided yet? No matter what you plan for your season, On the Stage is committed to making your show a success. That’s why we created this production guide, filled with Broadway-calibur best practices for theatre producers anywhere. It’s totally free! Download it today and learn how to uplevel your next production.   

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