Featuring a book by Joe Darion and comic legend, Mel Brooks, and a "cool" jazz score that remains one of the only examples of this genre in the commercial theatre, Archy & Mehitabel is one of the most daring musicals of its time. This off-beat musical has appeared in almost every form, including a record, a concert, a Broadway musical, a television special and, eventually, a film.
In a deserted office, a cockroach dives headfirst onto the keys of a typewriter, pouring out the ruminations of his soul. It's "archy" (he's too small to hold down the shift key), poet, philosopher, moralist and futile worshipper of "mehitabel," the alley cat. This bizarre, highly original musical takes us into the streets of the big city as archy tries hopelessly to bring the "toujours gai" mehitabel off the back fence and into a respectable home as a housecat.
Versatile actors play the various urbane, non-human city dwellers that we encounter along the way, suggesting their animal characteristics without explicit costumes. Designers will have a field day with the unit set of oversized props and set pieces. A true gem of the golden age, Archy & Mehitabel is a show not to be overlooked.
