A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Pageant

Full-Length Musical, Comedy  /  7m

Book and Lyrics by Bill Russell and Frank Kelly
Music by Albert Evans
Conceived by Robert Longbottom

Like no beauty pageant you’ve seen before! Six hilarious contestants vie for the title of “Miss Glamouresse”! With judges selected from the audience, the winner is anyone’s guess!

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    7m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Farce, Parody / Spoof
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Nominee: 2015 Drama Desk Award nomination, Best Revival of a Musical
    Nominee: 2015 Off Broadway Alliance Award nomination, Best Revival of a Musical

Details

Summary
Pageant is a hilarious pageant, played out in real time. Judges selected from the audience actually vote and determine the winner who, therefore, may be different at each performance. The show takes its shots not by mocking the proceedings from the outside, but by being an authentic pageant itself. The six contestants compete for the title of Miss Glamouresse (named for a fictional cosmetics company). Miss Deep South, Miss West Coast, Miss Great Plains, Miss Bible Belt, Miss Industrial Northeast and Miss Texas compete in evening gown, talent, swimwear and spokesmodeling events, and the finalists answer actual calls from the Glamouresse Beauty Crisis Hotline. A campy and uproarious take on a uniquely American concept, Pageant is 90 minutes of non-stop fun.
History
Pageant premiered off-Broadway at the Blue Angel on May 2, 1991. Conceived, directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom, the production featured Randl Ash, J.T. Cromwell, David Drake, Russell Garrett, Joe Joyce, John Salvatore and Dick Scanlan.
Cast Attributes

MISS BIBLE BELT/RUTH ANN RUTH  - Believes that she plus God equals a majority in any situation. She sees even the cheesiest part of the Glamouresse Beauty Regimen as part of His Plan. This gives her a righteous attitude which is unshakable, but she also has the manic cheerfulness of the newly saved. Big belter voice, strongest singer in the cast.

MISS DEEP SOUTH/LAURINDA SUMMERFORD - The Blonde in the show; even though others may have blonde hair, only she knows how to work it. At the same time she is The Lady. She has a very narrow and ritualized sense of "femininity" which is frequently outraged by the other contestants' behavior and attitudes. Her talent is ventriloquism.

MISS GREAT PLAINS/BONNIE LOUISE CUTLETT  - Utterly sincere in her belief in the values promoted by Glamouesse, though some of them seem quite exotic to her. She is honored to represent the great heartland of this nation and to show what honest country folk can do. In the present contest she is agape and aglow. Not necessarily the "prettiest" contestant.

MISS INDUSTRIAL NORTHEAST/CONSUELA MANUELA RAFAELLA LOPEZ - Included among he regional winners mostly due to Glamouresse's belated sense that the times they are a-changin' and the Northeast's notable lack of interest in the contest. Her talent has been culled from watching the variety show "Sabado Gigante" on Spanish television.

MISS TEXAS/KITTY-BOB AMES - The Professional of the group. With her father's money and a shrewd selection of contests, she has never lost a competition. Her skills may not be outstanding by themselves, but her attitude says "Winner" all the way. Actor must tap dance to some rudimentary extent.

MISS WEST COAST/KARMA QUINN - Like Miss Great Plains, is sweet-natured, but Karma is a lot less focused. She has tried to parlay her vagueness and I'll-try-anything-once attitude into a comprehensive mystical spirituality but it hasn't jelled. This pageant is the most structured event of her entire life. Actor should have some dance skills and (possibly) be able to create a different character for the reigning Mis Glamouresse.

FRANKIE CAVALIER - Our genial host, is certainly that. Frankie is a third or fourth-tier celebrity who is known to the audience where the pageant is being performed, perhaps as a weekend weather-report reader or a spokesman for a used car dealership. Strong singer who moves well.

It is the authors’ intent that these female contestants are all played by men. All actors need to sing, move well and have strong comedy skills. The actors playing the CONTESTANTS should at the very least look presentable as female beauty pageant contestants. The idea is to present male actors as female characters – not over-the-top drag queens.

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting A local theatre presenting the Miss Glamouresse Pageant.
  • Features Elaborate / High Volume Costumes
  • Additional Features Audience Participation/Interactive, Drag Performance
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Screamingly funny!” - New York Times
“Hilarious! Incredible! 90 minutes of the kind of laughter that makes tears run down your face.” – Gannett Newspapers

“So funny I thought I was going to die.” – Susan Powell, former Miss America

Videos

  • Pageant youtube thumbnail

    Pageant

Music

Music Samples

1. “Overture” – Offstage Voices
2. “Natural Born Females” – Contestants & Frankie
3. Natural Born Playoff – Instrumental
4. Judges’ Intro – Instrumental
5. Spokesmodel 1 Miss Texas – Instrumental
6. “Something Extra” – Frankie & Contestants
7. Spokesmodel 2 Miss Great Plains – Instrumental
8. “Miss Texas” – Miss Texas
9. “Miss Great Plains Talent: ‘I Am the Land’” – Miss Great Plains
10. Spokesmodel 3 Miss Bible Belt – Instrumental
11. “Miss Deep South Talent: ‘A Salute to Dixie’” – Miss Deep South, Old Miss Jeanie & Colonel
12. Miss West Coast Talent: ‘The Seven Ages of Me’ – Instrumental
13. Spokesmodel 4 Miss West Coast – Instrumental
14. Miss Industrial Northeast Talent: ‘Classical Fantasia in C Major’ – Instrumental
15. “Miss Bible Belt Talent: ‘Bankin' On Jesus’” – Ruth Anne
16. Spokesmodel 5 Miss Deep South – Instrumental
17. “It’s Gotta Be Venus” – Frankie & Contestants
18. Swimsuits – Instrumental
19. “Girl Power” – Contestants
20. Spokesmodel 6 Miss Industrial Northeast – Instrumental
21. Glamouresse Girlfriend – Instrumental
22. Finalists! – Instrumental
23. Beauty Crisis Hotline – Instrumental
24. “Something Extra (Reprise)” – Frankie
25. Spokesmodel 7 Tawny-Jo – Instrumental
26. “Goodbye” – Frankie & Contestants
27. The Final Judgment – Instrumental
28. Turn Around Please – Instrumental
29. “Miss Glamouresse” – Frankie
30. “She’s the One” – Contestants & Frankie
31. Exit Music – Instrumental
  • Musical Style Classic Broadway, Pop/Rock
  • Vocal DemandsModerate
  • Orchestra Size Small/Combo

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Music Rentals

Concord offers a full suite of resources to help you put on the show of a lifetime!
7   Vocal Book
1   Piano-Conductor (rehearsal)

1   Synthesizer (performance)
1   Guitar
1   Bass – Electric
1   Drums – Trap Set, Triangle, Bell Tree, Timp (B-flat) & Simmons Drum Pad

Digital Download
Performance Track - Miss West Coast Dance
7   Vocal Book
1   Piano-Conductor (rehearsal & performance)

Digital Download
Performance Track - Miss West Coast Dance

Add-Ons

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Authors

Bill Russell

Bill Russell received Tony Award nominations for the book and lyrics of the original Broadway production of Side Show (1997). The critically praised revised version played the La Jolla Playhouse and the Kennedy Center and received an acclaimed Broadway revival in 2014 and a L ...

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Frank Kelly

Frank Kelly co-authored (with Bill Russell) the book and lyrics of two musicals: The Texas Chainsaw Musical and Pageant. The last has played off-Broadway, in the West End, in Japan, Australia, and all over the USA. He also wrote lyrics and sketches for the satirical cabaret r ...
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Author

Albert Evans

Author

Robert Longbottom

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