SHINBONE ALLEY at Third Avenue Playhouse

SHINBONE ALLEY (the story of archy and mehitabel)
July 26 – September 1
By Mel Brooks and Joe Darion
Music by George Kleinsinger
Lyrics by Joe Darion
Directed by James Valcq

Featuring a book by comedy legend Mel Brooks and Joe Darion, and a “cool” jazz score that remains one of the only examples of this genre in the commercial theatre, SHINBONE ALLEY was one of the most daring musicals of the 1950’s. This off-beat musical has appeared in almost every form, including a record and a concert with Carol Channing, a Broadway musical with Eartha Kitt, a television special with Tammy Grimes and, eventually an animated 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 hapless friend 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.

This will be a rare chance to see a true forgotten gem of Broadway’s Golden Age.