The Me Nobody Knows VERY RARE 1970 ORIGINAL CAST AUTOGRAPHS NYC NEW YORK For Sale

AUTOGRAPHS FOR THE CAST OF THE ME NOBODY KNOWS ORIGINAL CAST 1970 NEW YORK CITY ON APPROXIMATELY 5 3/8 X 3 1/2 INCH CARDThe Me Nobody Knows is a musical with music by Gary William Friedman and lyrics by Will Holt. It debuted off-Broadway in 1970 and then transferred to Broadway, making it one of the earliest rock musicals to play on Broadway, and the first Broadway hit to give voice to the sentiments of inner-city American youth. It received the Obie Award and the Drama Desk Award for best New Musical, and Five Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.Search ResultsWeb resultThe Me Nobody KnowsThe Me Nobody Knows, the hit 1970 musical nobody seems to know because its cast album has been out of circulation for decades, finds a spotlight again Sept. 5 with the CD reissue of the score.
The collection of songs inspired by the stories of inner-city kids was embraced Off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre in 1970 and transferred to Broadway to be a unique voice on the commercial landscape. Critics found it to be a breath of fresh air.
Nominated for five Tony Awards, the musical had a score by Gary William Friedman, lyrics by Will Holt and its material was adapted by Robert H. Livingston and Herb Shapiro, based on a 1969 book edited by Stephen M. Joseph. The musical won the 1969-70 Drama Desk and Obie awards for Best Musical.
Livingston directed a cast of fresh-faced kids, including Irene Cara, Northern J. Calloway, Hattie Winston, Beverly Ann Bremers, Gerri Dean, Jose Fernandez, Douglas Grant, Melanie Henderson, Kevin Lindsay, Paul Mace, Laura Michaels and Carl Thoma. Patricia Birch choreographed.
After 30 years, Atlantic Records licensed the rights for a CD re- release of the cast album to 150 Music. Songs from the score include "Light Sings" (which the 5th Dimension recorded) and "This World" (recorded by the Staples Singers). The topical revue has 12 young people singing about drugs, slums, poverty, religion and lighter subjects. The CD is available at specialty shops and Amazon.com, and a wider release it anticipated. An Off-Broadway staging of The Me Nobody Knows is in the works for 2002, according to composer Gary William Friedman (who, with Holt, would later write the musical, Platinum, starring Alexis Smith, and the senior-centered musical, Taking My Turn). Friedman also composed music for TV's "The Electric Company," the educational program that used cast members from The Me Nobody Knows as part of its ensemble.
THE ME NOBODY KNOWSAbout this ItemTitleTHE ME NOBODY KNOWSGenremusical showNotes- Orig prod. MUSIC: Gary William Friedman. WORDS: Will Holt, Herb Schapiro. ORCH & COND: Gary William Friedman. CAST: Melanie Henderson, Northern J Calloway, Jose Fernandez, Gerri Dean, Kevin Lindsay, Beverly Ann Bremers, Hattie Winston. (Atlantic SD-1566; CD/Atlantic 150MUSIC02.) (Production and Recordings Information)- From: Show Music on Record by Jack Raymond- loc.natlib.smor.19700518 (DigitalID)DescriptionMusical Show. Orig prod. MUSIC: Gary William Friedman. WORDS: Will Holt, Herb Schapiro. ORCH & COND: Gary William Friedman. CAST: Melanie Henderson, Northern J Calloway, Jose Fernandez, Gerri Dean, Kevin Lindsay, Beverly Ann Bremers, Hattie Winston. (Atlantic SD-1566; CD/Atlantic 150MUSIC02.) (Production And Recordings Information). From: Show Music on Record by Jack RaymondThe Me Nobody Knows is a musical with music by Gary William Friedman and lyrics by Will Holt. It debuted off-Broadway in 1970 and then transferred to Broadway, making it one of the earliest rock musicals to play on Broadway, and the first Broadway hit to give voice to the sentiments of inner-city American youth. It received the Obie Award and the Drama Desk Award for best New Musical, and Five Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.Contents1 Synopsis2 Songs3 Productions4 Response5 Recording6 Awards and nominations6.1 Original Off-Broadway production6.2 Original Broadway production7 References8 External linksSynopsisThere is no plot, but the theme is children in low-income neighborhoods of New York City, who are "complex, introspective characters. Each 'I' is an authentic voice saying attention must be paid." The children are self-assertive in the face of difficult lives.[1] Various stories are told through song by the cast of 8 black and 4 white children. One story is about a 13-year-old boy taking heroin for the first time. Another involves a child shocked to hear a white boy order "milk and a nigger". Another boy watches as a drunk black man is taken away in an ambulance after an accident.[2] In the musical number "If I Had a Million Dollars", the ghetto children ponder what they would do with the money and express "tightwad selfishness to outrageous spending sprees."[1]
SongsAct IDream Babies – MelbaLight Sings ‡ – William and CompanyThis World ‡ – CompanyNumbers – CompanyWhat Happens to Life – Lillian and LloydTake Hold the Crutch – Nell and CompanyFlying Milk and Runaway Plates – Benjamin and CompanyI Love What the Girls Have – DonaldHow I Feel – Catherine and CarlosIf I Had A Million Dollars – CompanyAct IIFugue for Four Girls – Lillie Mae, Catherine, Lillian and NellRejoice – CloroxSounds – Nell and CatherineThe Tree – CarlosRobert, Alvin, Wendell and Jo Jo – Rhoda, Lillian, Lillie Mae and WilliamJail-Life Walk – Donald, Lloyd, Clorox and CarlosSomething Beautiful – RhodaBlack – Benjamin, Clorox, Lillie Mae, Lloyd, Melba, Nell, Rhoda and WilliamThe White Horse – LloydWar Babies – LloydLet Me Come in – Company‡ These songs by The Staple Singers ("This World") and The 5th Dimension ("Light Sings") became hits.
ProductionsThe Me Nobody Knows premiered off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre on May 18, 1970, and closed on November 15, 1970 after 208 performances. It then opened on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre on December 18, 1970, transferred to the Longacre Theatre, and closed on November 14, 1971 after 378 performances. Directed by Robert H. Livingston with musical staging by Patricia Birch, the cast included a young Irene Cara as Lillie Mae, Hattie Winston as Nell, Beverly Bremers (at the time credited as Beverly Ann Bremers) as Catherine, and Northern J. Calloway.
The adaptation by director Robert H. Livingston and additional lyricist Herb Schapiro was inspired by the anthologized writings of nearly 200 New York City students, aged 7 through 18. Stephen M. Joseph, a teacher, edited the collection, which was subtitled "Children's Voices From the Ghetto" and first published in 1969. The children wrote about "How I See Myself", "How I See My Neighborhood", "The World Outside", and "Things I Can't See or Touch". According to Mr. Joseph, they wrote "for keeps" and "like it is."[3] At odds with a squalid setting and a cynical, materialistic view of the world, themes of hope and renewal emerged. To guarantee uplift, samples from the students' work were interwoven with a ground-breaking score that combined rock music, classical fugues, early rap and jazz.[4]
The musical was performed throughout the world, in cities such as Tel Aviv, London, Paris, Hamburg, and Johannesburg.
The German-language version, "Ich Bin Ich" was premiered at the Bremen Stadt-Theater, Berman, Germany and was performed there and in Munich on a rotating basis. The stage director was Norman Foster, musical director, Noel Jones. The cast included a singer who eventually became known as Donna Summer.
In 1980, the musical was produced for the U.S. pay television network, Showtime as part of the Broadway on Showtime series. Recorded at the CBS television studio now known as The Ed Sullivan Theater, the project was recast but included one original cast member, Jose Fernandez. Tisha Campbell (now, Tisha Campbell-Martin) performed as Lillie Mae, a role originated by Irene Cara.
ResponseThe musical was "universally praised for its candidness and honesty."[1] Harold Clurman in reviewing for The Nation, wrote "What I cherished about the show is the talent and vitality of the cast, the bubble of its playfulness, the raciness of its expression which, with or without the advantages of privileged training among the actors, is still the product of the streets in the dim and sequestered parts of our town.[5]
Clive Barnes, the theatre critic for The New York Times wrote (of the off-Broadway opening): "I loved it. I loved its understanding and compassion, and I loved its pain and yet also its unsentimental determination for hope." Steven Suskin noted that he agreed with Barnes and added "The Me was energetic, tuneful, talent-filled and thought-provoking."[6] Barnes, in reviewing the musical upon the Broadway opening, noted that the musical was "one of the best musicals on Broadway-and unequivocally the most moving, the most poignant." He wrote that it offers "an insight into ghetto youth. It is raw, tough, and yet truly compassionate...The effect could be depressing but it isn't. The sheer tenacity of the human spirit against oppression, against rats, against drugs, against the numbing, almost soothing grind of poverty, is glorious and triumphant."[7]
RecordingThe Original cast album was released January 1, 1970 by Atlantic Records. The recording was released in CD form in September 2001 by 150 Music. (ASIN: B00005NSV9).[8][9]
Awards and nominationsOriginal Off-Broadway productionYear Award Category Nominee Result1970 Obie Award Best Musical WonOriginal Broadway productionYear Award Category Nominee Result1971 Tony Award Best Musical NominatedBest Book of a Musical Robert H. Livingston and Herb Schapiro NominatedBest Original Score Gary William Friedman NominatedBest Direction of a Musical Robert H. Livingston NominatedBest Lyrics Will Holt NominatedDrama Desk Award Outstanding Music Gary William Friedman WonOutstanding Lyrics Will Holt NYC PRODUCTIONS1Dec 18, 1970 - Nov 14, 1971Helen Hayes Theatre, New York, NYLongacre Theatre, New York, NY
"THE ME NOBODY KNOWS," a musical of 1970, was inspired by the anthologized writings of nearly 200 New York City students, aged 7 through 18. Stephen M. Joseph, a teacher, edited the collection, which was subtitled "Children's Voices From the Ghetto."
In his introduction, written in 1968, Mr. Joseph explained how youngsters had written openly about their feelings (loneliness, mostly) and their neighborhoods (ridden with "dirt, drugs and violence"). According to Mr. Joseph, they wrote "for keeps" and "like it is."
At odds with a squalid setting and a cynical, materialistic view of the world, themes of hope and renewal emerged. To guarantee uplift, samples from the students' work were interwoven with soft rock music by Gary William Friedman and commercially laundered lyrics by Will Holt.
For years, there has been talk of an updated "Me Nobody Knows," like the one being attempted by the American Stage Company. But the notion is fraught with cross-purposes. The timeless theme of growing up panicky and paranoid, yet positive, is a given. With that, how can one overlook the worsening of urban decay and the increased number of children at risk and in crisis, to use two phrases currently going around in education?
Mr. Friedman's score, the Age of Aquarius's inevitable outgrowth into the path of a musical revolution safely established by "Hair," is a tepid echo of a bygone era. Diluting urgent issues with music that might charitably be called nostalgic is the most obviously counterproductive thing about a confused effort.
nFor a local angle, American Stage solicited poems from students in New Jersey schools. The show contains excerpts from seven winners, grades 5 through 12, with one, "Don't Stop Believing," set to Mr. Friedman's music.
The chosen selections are about dreams: true ("I look for someone to give me the strength to dream") and false (turning into a Barbie doll is "how it was supposed to be"). For an encouraging sign of young values, look to the student in Westwood who wrote, "I love knowledge."
Still, such generic selections are not to the point of the show's original intention, and there is no theatrical build-up to the new song, which has words by David Lance Tamaki, a fifth grader from Cresskill.The freewheeling energy of the American Stage's company -- 6 reduced from the original cast of 12 -- has not been channeled into stageworthy movement by the director and choreographer, Mercedes Ellington, who settles for sameness. Here are a maddening amount of swaying and the sort of unfocused bobbing that one needn't go to a professional theater to see.
With his high spirits, physical and vocal agility and infectious personality, it's clear that Renoly Santiago knows how to work a room. And Dana Dawson's striking presence gets points. But the impression is that Ms. Ellington's staging would rather be good-natured and risk-free than gritty and direct.
Greg Elders's scenic design includes the obligatory graffiti on simulated brick walls, barbed wire and a severed fire hydrant, all bespeaking the detritus of the inner city. For a contemporary touch and a stab at political comment, see the Ross Perot sticker on an overturned garbage pail.
Some 25 years ago, one boy wrote about an indelible memory of a black man on a curb, drunk and bleeding. Its impact is suddenly magnified by aggravated issues of homelessness and police brutality. One girl's recollections of "all the people that got shot" when she goes through her junior high school yearbook are piercing. These are random jolts in an untogether, sanitized show.
"The Me Nobody Knows," produced by the American Stage Company, in residence at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck. Performances at the Becton Theater on the campus: today and next Sunday at 2:30 P.M.; student matinees on Thursday and Friday at 11 A.M. and evening performances Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 8 o'clock

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