Adding Machine: A Musical

Adding Machine: A Musical

Composed by Joshua Schmidt
Libretto by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt

Based on the play The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice

Adding Machine: A Musical

Adding Machine: A Musical

Composed by Joshua Schmidt
Libretto by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt

Based on the play The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice

Overview

Darkly comic and heartbreakingly beautiful, Adding Machine, a musical adaptation of Elmer Rice's incendiary 1923 play, tells the story of Mr. Zero, who after 25 years of service to his company is replaced by a mechanical adding machine. In a vengeful rage, he murders his boss. An eclectic score gives passionate and memorable voice to this stylish and stylized show, which follows Zero's journey to the afterlife in the Elysian Fields where he is met with one last chance for romance and redemption.

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Cautions

  • Caution Strong Language Strong Language
  • Caution Mild Adult Mild Adult Themes

Details

  • Genre: Fantasy, Adaptations (Stage & Screen), Period, Experimental
  • Time Period: 1920s
  • Cast Attributes: Ensemble cast, Flexible cast size, Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle)
  • Target Audience: Appropriate for all audiences

Authors

Elmer Rice

Elmer Rice (born Sept. 28, 1892, New York City—died May 8, 1967, Southampton, Hampshire, Eng.) was an American playwright, director, and novelist noted for his innovative and polemical plays. Rice graduated from the New York Law School in 1912 but soon turned to writing plays ...

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Joshua Schmidt

Josh Schmidt is the award-winning composer of Adding Machine (Lucille Lortel Award - Best Musical; Outer Critic’s Circle Award - Best Score & Best Off-Broadway Musical; Joseph Jefferson Award - Best Musical; as well as 4 Obie Awards, 9 Drama Desk nominations, and Drama League ...
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Jason Loewith

Jason Loewith produced and co-wrote the world premiere of Adding Machine: A Musical, winning Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best New Musical of the Season, as well as four OBIE Awards for direction, design, and performance; and is published by Samuel Frenc ...
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