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| Top of the Heap by Bill Squier |
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| Description | Book & Lyrics. Music by Jeffrey Lodin. A pair of down-at-the- heels get a shot at stardom on a live television broadcast. The price? Only their last shred of integrity. The curtain rises on a stage environment that suggests a turn of the century theatre that was converted into a radio studio in the 1930's, and then into a live television studio in the 1950's. The look? A rhapsody of acoustical tile...arc lamps and boom mikes tangle together overhead...beams of unfiltered light cut through the general gloom...several television monitors focus on the action "onscreen," while the Members of the Ensemble can be seen loitering offscreen. It is moments before airtime. An Actress appears, script in hand -- calm within the chaos that whirls around her -- and she ushers us into the show-within-a- show: the story about to be broadcast: Top of the Heap. New York City. 1955. The Brooklyn Dodgers are about to square off with the Yankees in a Series that will net the team their first title in fifty-five years. But, our story centers on a team of Brooklyn Bums who face even longer odds: Ronny Mauro and Gil Webster. Ronny and Gil are a pair of standup comics who have seen the seedy nightclubs where they perform slowly being put out of business by television -- the medium that has become the dominant force in entertainment. Ronnys response to the problem is to attempt to break their act into teevee. But how to do it? The answer drops into his lap. Edgar Callahan, the Ed Sullivanesque host of t.v.s most popular variety program, Top of the Heap, is headed to Brooklyn for a live, remote broadcast tied into the Series. Its the perfect opportunity. However, when Ronny tries to convince his partner to help him get their act to Callahan, Gil begs off. Its clear that Gil has his own idea about what they need to do to survive, but Ronny doesnt want to hear it. Instead, Ronny crashes Edgars arrival party as a solo and connects with Elsa Orwell, an elegant, aging newspaper columnist on the make. They strike a bargain: Ronny will bed Elsa in exchange for an intro to Edgar Callahan. Later, Ronny catches up with Gil. Gils been working on a new routine for them to perform. Ronny announces that they have a meet with the Edgar Callahan. Thats when Gil confesses the reason for his reluctance: hes embarrassed by their act. He longs to ditch their bits and schtick for the story-telling style of comedy hes seen over in the Greenwich Village clubs -- this is what Gil believes will save them. To get him to cooperate, Ronny agrees to put a little of Gils new material into their act. When the boys finally meet Edgar, the new material turns out to be what clinches them a booking on the live Brooklyn broadcast. Ronny and Gil are ecstatic! As it happens, Edgar Callahan is something of a manipulator. At present, hes attempting to coerce his programs sleek commercial pitch gal, Meryl Dean, into continuing a love affair with him -- an affair that Meryl wants to end. At the broadcasts dress rehearsal, she latches onto Gil to keep Edgar at bay, and they end up heading down to The Village. After what turns into an entire night spent together, they acknowledge an admiration for one another. By the next day, however, Edgar has learned of their activities. In retaliation, he cuts Gils new jokes just before air-time, claiming theyre too risky for his audience. Gil wants to walk off the show, but Ronny pleads with him to stay. Gil does, but then, stops dead in the middle of the live program and appeals directly to the studio audience to listen and judge his new material. The broadcast ends in a shambles, with Edgar swearing revenge on the both of them. Within hours, word of the disaster has spread and Ronny is left with next to nothing. Act One ends. Lights ghost back up, slowly. Ronny is gone, but the rest of the Ensemble is present in the studio environment. They mill around, light cigarettes, study scripts, exchange a few words -- as if the intermission were a commercial break. The curtain remains up and the studio grips prepare the set for Act Two. As Act Two opens, Ronny gets word that Harmon Laybourne, owner of a sprawling suburban night spot, is looking for him. It seems that Edgar has arranged for Meryl to appear there as a singer and that, in turn, she has convinced Harmon to put Ronny and Gil on the bill. Ronnys still far too angry with Gil to commit, though he knows his options are few. Edgar gets wind of it and coopts Ronny into undercutting Meryl and Gil by dangling the promise of a solo career. So as not to arouse Meryls suspicion, however, Edgar tells Ronny to take the job with Gil and asks simply to be kept informed of Meryls activities. In the meantime, as Meryl rehearses for the opening at the club, Gil comes to realize that he is falling in love with her. Gil admits as much to Meryl. Meryl asks for time, but doesnt turn him down. This leads to an argument between Edgar and Meryl the night before the opening, during which Edgar loses control and beats her severely. Once he regains his senses, Edgar sees a way to turn his rashness to his advantage. He arranges for Gil to be identified as her attacker and Gil is arrested in front of a packed house on opening night. A few of the onlookers, such as Harmon Laybourne and Elsa Orwell, suspect Edgar of manipulating the situation. By the time Edgar sets Ronny up with a solo television appearance to buy his silence, the comic is racked with guilt about his own involvement in all that has happened and he sacrifices his chance at success by implicating Edgar, once again live and on-air. Ronny and Gil are reunited. Ronny then offers to step aside so that his partner can develop the kind of act he to which he aspires. Gil refuses to consider continuing without Ronny. So, Ronny takes a stab at Gils kind of comedy and, to his surprise, gets a unsolicited laugh. Encouraged, the boys head off to their old neighborhood to work some front porches -- after all, theres a celebration going on: the Dodgers have just won the World Series. The broadcast ends. The shadowless white light of the television studio fills the stage. The others in the Ensemble appear from the wings and behind set pieces to collect their belongings and head for home. The curtain falls. |
| Type | Musical |
| theme: | Dramedy |
| Royalty | Contact Author for Fees |
| Number of Men | 7 |
| Number of Women | 7 |
| Keywords | standup comics |
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