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A Good Man the musical


 Music by Ray Leslee
Book and Lyrics by Philip S. Goodman
Based on the novel by Jefferson Young
   




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cast, Amas presentation



Staged readings of A GOOD MAN were presented at the Snapple Theatre in N.Y. by AMAS Muical Theatre,  Nov. 3-4, 2011. Jerry Dixon directed the oustanding cast, L to R: Raun Ruffin, Chester Gregory (Sister Act), Nikki Michelle James (Tony Winner, Book of Mormon), Anastacia McClesky (Hair), Tony nominee Joshua Henry (Scottsboro Boys), Jeremy Gumbs (Scottsboro Boys), Cheryl Alexander (Dream Girls) , Kenneth Robinson,  Bob Stillman (Gray Gardens), John Jellison (Memphis).


Click on the word to go to:
Production - Development Music  - Bios - Representation


The Story:    Louella, Albert








   

        It's just after World War II.  For years black people have been fleeing Mississippi in droves. Not "Prince"Albert Clayton, a struggling sharecropper, and a proud and gifted grower. He feels he fits in. The little town he lives in is truly "home. "
        When he decides to fulfill a lifelong dream, and makes  plans to paint his shabby tenant house white, that simple notion turns his world upside-down.
        Almost everyone is against it, his landlord and the whites in town, most of the blacks too -- his wife, his friends, his son, even his preacher. He's pressed from every side.
        Stubborn and determined, Albert pushes on as passions  erupt, and hate and fear gather like a  dark summer storm, shattering family and community, threatening life itself.
    The show is gripping, touching, often funny, full of life and rhythm, with a blues, gospel, and Americana score rhat has audiences clapping and singing.
 


                           

"A Good Man is a beautiful, honestly written musical story about grace under enormous pressure, so deceptively simple that it rings starkly true, with great impact on all of us. Grace is powerfully evident in the character of our hero whose white house is a vision of what all of life might be, were he able to pursue his dreams.

Philip Goodman's taut book and lyrics are  and miracles of quiet dignity and vivid expression; surprises abound,  and  they seem inevitable in retrospect, but we never see them coming.

Ray Leslee's powerful music cultivates seam after seam of blues, devotional tradition and nuance, and we not only hear these songs we can almost touch, taste and smell them, deep, rich, dark, and life-giving."



                -- Donna Trinkoff, AmasArtistic Producer, quoted in                     Broadway World.igh be were he to fulfill hs right to peams.











Premiere European production of A GOOD MAN
at The Vienna Chamber Opera


KammerOper Wedding jump

Amber Schoop as LOUELLA, Quintin Gray as COOTER, Lerato Sebele as LETTIE, Cedric Hayman
 as AUGUSTUS, David Durham as ALBERT.
 

KammerOper - Granny - moon
"This is a gripping story, both funny and sad, with a rhythm, blues and gospel score, the great sound of American music from the Mississippi Delta and its cotton fields. "Prince"Albert is a fascinating character: a man with backbone who won't let anything dissuade him from his goal."

                                          - Franco Schedl, Events




  Carole Alston as GRANNY







"The legendary blues, jazz and  African-American church music merge with the story, and  in a remarkable integration, become one bright and joyful musical play...A Good Man is an exceptional musical, well worth seeing and sometimes putting pressure on the tear glands." 
                                             - Manuela Miebach, Der Neue Merker

David Durham


KammerOper Take me Home
Lerato Sebele (Lettie), Alvin Le Bass (Hardway), Cedric Hayman (Augustus),
Stephen Shivers (Preacher Tom), Quintin Gray (Cooter), David Durham (Albert)
Amber Schoop (Louella)

"Another musical hit...the Chamber Opera gets everything just right: the simple, witty setting by Thomas George, Esther Muschol’s poignant, unaffected staging, and the ensemble, which bring the show honor beyond that of lesser musicals that play on larger Vienna stages. This show puts the Chamber Opera at the top of the heap in Vienna right now. Go!"
                                          – Markus Hennerfeind, Wiener Zeitung


Louella Lost
Amber Schoop
Tittle - Albert
Charlie Hensley, David Durham
Louella - Albert fg
Amber Schoop, David Durham




    MANY GIFTED PERFORMERS HAVE BEEN
 INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF  A GOOD MAN   


Aisha DeHaas
Lawrence Clayton
Cheryl Alexander
Marva Hicks

C.E. Smith
                                              












 
  Aisha DeHaas
   Lawrence Clayton
  Cheryl Alexander
       Marva Hicka
  Rosalind Brown Anika Noni Rose
    Stephen Lee
      Anderson

      C.E. Smith

                              
Kevyn Morrow
Tina Fabrique
Nikki Renee Daniels
Ed Satrakian
Darius DeHaas
Capathia Jenkins
Wayne Pretlow David St. Louis



    Kevyn Morrow
   Tina Fabrique
Nikki Renee Daniels
      Ed Satrakian   Darius DeHaas   Capathia Jenkins     Wayne Pretlow     Davud St. Louis







              
                         

          

      
NAMT Fest Cover
  DEVELOPMENT

  
After unrehearsed readings at The Dramatists Guild and
   The Actors Studio, Thomas Cott and Musical Theatre
    Works
presented a staged reading with Lawrence
    Clayton, Aisha DeHaas, Rosalind Brown, Wayne
    Pretlow, and Stephen Lee Anderson in prominent roles.

   A GOOD MAN
was selected by the National Alliance for
   Musical Theatre
for presentation at Dodger Stages as part
   of NAMT's 2004 Festival of New Musicals.


   In the company:

   Albert............................Kevyn Morrow
   Louella...........................Sondra M. Bonitto
   Lettie..............................Anika Noni Rose
   Augustus........................David St. Louis
   Preacher Tom.................John-Martin Green
   Granny...........................Cheryl Alexander
   Hardway.........................C.E. Smith
   Cooter............................Derrick Middleton
..Mr. Tittle.........................Ed Setrakian

..Director..........................John Ruocco
..Musical Director/Piano.....William F.McDaniel
..Guitar/Harmonica.............Stew Cutler

                                        






There were also readings at the Schomburg Center in Harlem and the York Theater.
Considerable work has been done on the show since,  especially during the summer of 2011.

 
    

































About
composer

Ray Leslee
at rayleslee.com,
CLICK HERE.

MUSICAL NUMBERS

To listen to music from A GOOD MAN, click on songs underlined in BLUE.

Opening-Mule Song...............................................Louella, Albert, Co.
Long Brown Woman......................................................Augustus, Co.
White House.............................................................................Albert
 New Orleans..........................................................................Louella
Don't Want No Change In You........................................Albert, Louella
Figurin’ Paint...........................................Albert, Augustus & Company
Prayer....................................................................................Granny
Take Me Home.....................................................Preacher Tom & Co.
I Got A Right.............................................................................Albert
One Man...................................................................................Lettie
How the Happy Girl Got Lost....................................................Louella
Lay-By..........................................................................Lettie, Louella
Celebration...........................................................Preacher Tom & Co.
What's Out There?................................;..................................Cooter
  Can't You See What I See?...........................................Albert, Louella 
The Numbers Game....................................................................Tittle
  One Left Standin'.....................................................................Louella 
 
Finale -I Got A Right.............................................Louella, Albert & Co.
      

The artists featured in the recordings:
Albert.........................................................................Lawrence Clayton
  Louella............................................................................Aisha DeHaas 
                                          Rema Webb (Opening-Mule Song, and Finale)
                                                                     Marva Hicks (New Orleans)
   Lettie............................................................R
osalind Brown (One Man) 
                                                                 Capathia Jenkins (We Got Life)   
Cooter...................................................................... ....Jeremy Gumbs  Granny........................................................................Cheryl Alexander
    Preacher Tom.....................................................................Bob Stillman    

Other Voices: Tarea Campbell, Lawrence Hamilton,
Tina Fabrique,
Bobby Harden, Anastacia NcClesky,C.E. Smith,
Jeffrey Thompson

Guitar/Harmonica...................................................................Stew Cutler
Keyboards.............................................................................Ray Leslee
                           
  A GOOD MAN © 2006-11





For a complete Playlist of SONGS  from
A Good Man. CLICK HERE
.


















bou




About
about
playwright/lyricist
Philip S. Goodman
at paintedpeople.com,
CLICK HERE.



Send e-mail to mail@agoodmanthemusical.com

Representation:

David H. Friedlander, Esq.
81 Park Drive
Mount Kisco, NY  10549

tel. (914) 241-2477
fax (914) 470-2244
e-mail: david@dfriedlander.com