The Audience

April 2005

The Audience was Transport Group’s first world premiere musical. This original work was conceived and directed by Jack Cummings III and written by 28 playwrights, composers, and lyricists. The Audience told the story of one particular audience watching a Broadway musical on a Friday night. Among the cast of an astounding 46 were Broadway veterans Dee Hoty (3 time Tony Award nominee), Rita Gardner (the original girl in The Fantasticks), and Sondra Lee (the original Tiger Lily in Peter Pan with Mary Martin).

The Audience takes place on a rainy spring Saturday night when one audience ventures to a Broadway theatre to see a new musical. The show starts and with it so do a multitude of tensions: Will the audience like it? Will they leave at intermission? Will they kill the lady who unwraps a sourball for what seems like an eternity? Will they be changed in any way by the time of the curtain call? Will they take anything of value away from the experience or will they forget it all and just go about their lives as before? Did they really turn off their cell phones?

The Audience examines the creation of community and the struggle to come together in an ever more complex world, as well as the role theatre, entertainment, and art play in that process and in our everyday lives.

The book, music, and lyrics for The Audience are by Yvonne Adrian, Steven M. Alper, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Adam Bock, Joe Calarco, Mark Campbell, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, John Cariani, Brian Crawley, Jack Cummings III, Ellie Devers, Lewis Flinn, Jennifer Gibbs, Daphne Greaves, James Hindman, Matt Hoverman, Keith Byron Kirk, Sarah Knapp, Tom Kochan, Michael John LaChiusa, Michele Lowe, Steve Marzullo, Vincent G. Palumbo, David Pittu, Nancy Shayne, David Simpatico, Cheryl Stern, Lee Tannen and Ellen Weiss.

The orchestrations by Alden Terry used piano, percussion, woodwind, and acoustic upright bass.

Receiving rave reviews, the entire run of The Audience was sold out and the production garnered three Drama Desk Award nominations including: Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Director of a Musical, and Outstanding Lighting Design.