Who Wrote The Show? Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen, Music by Alan Menken
What's It About? Kicks follows the lives of four showgirls, Joanne, Arlene, Betty and Claire from the end of World War II to the tumultous 1960s.
When Did It Run? Workshops starting in 1984, announced for Broadway but never came in
Why Did It Have a Short Run? Kicks closed in workshops. This was a huge Broadway musical. It had elaborate production numbers choreographed by Chris Chadman, a beautiful scenic design by Robin Wagner and a magnificent, many-costumed plot by William Ivey Long. Although the show's producers were on board and believed fully in the project, they just couldn't raise the money for the out-of-town tryout at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, and a planned opening at the 46th Street (Richard Rodgers) Theatre in December 1984 was announced and then scrapped. Investors had seen too many quick failures lately, in the tumultuous Broadway of the mid- 1980s, and they were all hesitant. Kicks The Showgirl Musical would have opened during the 1985 Tony season, noted as one of the driest Broadway seasons of all time. The awards for Best Actor and Actress in a Musical were even eliminated that year. And while Big River won the Tony for Best Musical, the other three nominees were all unsuccessful. Kicks would have had a great shot at success in the environment of the 1985 season.
Why Should It Be Revived? Audiences who loved Eyen's Dreamgirls would LOVE Kicks. The show is written in a similar style, with similar themes, but it has a uniqueness that sets it apart as well. The plot, stacked on the premise that the theatre that the showgirls started out in is being torn down, is very Follies. Essentially, if you feel like you'd love Follies-meets-Dreamgirls, you will love Kicks. (And this is an Alan Menken score, written before he'd made it to Broadway yet!)
Who Would Be Cast In The Revival? As Joanne, Arlene, Betty and Claire, I'd love to see Betsy Wolfe, Lindsay Mendez, Heidi Blickenstaff, and Jenn Colella. Okay, now that I've written that, I feel I may die of Broadway magic if those four ladies ever sang a show-stopping Dreamgirls-style friendship ballad together, but it would be worth it. I would love to see this directed by Marc Bruni, who has a great sensibility about creating character development over long periods of time and also pacing a show that has nonstop movement.
Hidden Gem Of The Show: A story of the friendship and lives of four women, with their decisions and dreams in the spotlight, is something that Broadway could definitely use. I also gotta see those William Ivey Long costumes!
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