Melnick and Durang Join 'Macao' Cast at Barnes and Noble

Composer Peter Melnick and lyricist Christopher Durang will join the original cast of the hit off-Broadway musical ADRIFT IN MACAO at a free event at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street, on Wednesday, May 14th at 6 PM.  The cast, including Alan Campbell, Will Swenson, Rachel deBenedet, Orville Mendoza and CAITLIN HOPKINS, will perform songs from the musical and sign CDs.  Admission is free and seating is first-com in the third floor events space.

ADRIFT IN MACAO made its New York debut with Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters in 2007 in a limited Off-Broadway run.  The Adrift in Macao cast album is produced by Peter Melnick and Grammy® and Oscar® winner Joel Moss and released by LML Music.

Adrift in Macao, a madcap musical parody of glamorous films noirs, features the leading lady who can't really sing yet somehow always manages to book a gig, and the mysterious leading man who can't go home for murky reasons he won't explain.  From the opium dens of China to seedy bars in New York, this hilarious romp from Durang and composer Melnick takes audiences through the post-WWII years with plenty of intrigue and wit, and a playfully melodic score.  In describing the style of this musical parody, Christopher Durang stated, "Films noirs makes people think of evil femme fatales like Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity, and brings to mind violence and gangsters.  Adrift in Macao doesn't focus on the crime aspects of films noirs, but more on the ambience - the smoky nightclubs, the alluring women, and the mysterious men with shady pasts."

Critics gleefully embraced Adrift in Macao when it bowed Off-Broadway.  The New York Times wrote, "Melnick's music hops effectively among genres, evoking period music from Kurt Weill to big band," while John Simon (Bloomberg News) hailed "This musical takeoff on film noir is as light as a helium balloon…the music manages to be delightful pastiche and the frequently funny book is peppered with puns and the lyrics are always hilarious." The New York Post raved: "MELNICK, a grandson of Richard Rodgers (he's Adam Guettel's cousin), has contributed some very catchy melodies to the score, including the title tune and the climactic number and sing-along, "Ticky Ticky Tock," which may take several days to be dislodged from your brain."  Variety stated: "Adrift in Macao is so delicious, written by Durang and his well-matched composer, Peter Melnick. As movie cliches go, it's hard to top show's opening number, "In a Foreign City," in which a glamorous dame named Lureena finds herself stranded on the dock with no luggage and no dough -- nothing but the slinky purple gown on her back -- and instantly lands a job as a singer at Rick's place. More cliches fly thick and fast, the absurdity of them smartly captured by MELNICK'S bright, nontaxing compositions and Durang's drolly inane lyrics". 

And Broadwayworld.com said "Adrift in Macao, the uproarious new pocket-sized musical Primary Stages has planted into 59E59 Theatres. With a drop-dead funny book and shamefully silly lyrics by Christopher Durang and lethally catchy music by Peter Melnick, Adrift in Macao lovingly parodies the Hollywood film noir classics of the 1940's and 50's that featured hardened dames, shady gentlemen and really dim lighting. MELNICK'S music mixes dark film scoring with peppy showtune. The exceedingly hummable title song is only topped by a final number that gleefully pounds its memorable tune into our heads."

ADRIFT IN MACAO earned two Drama Desk nominations, including one for Outstanding Music.

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