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Written & Arranged by Chip Deffaa Music & Lyrics by Irving Berlin (and others) PRODUCTION SCRIPT www.stagerights.com SAY IT WITH MUSIC: THE IRVING BERLIN SAGA Copyright © 2018 by Chip Deffaa All Rights Reserved All performances and public readings of SAY IT WITH MUSIC: THE IRVING BERLIN SAGA are subject to royalties. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union, of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention, and all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights are strictly reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. Publication of this play does not necessarily imply that it is available for performance by amateurs or professionals. It is strongly recommended all interested parties apply to Steele Spring Stage Rights for performance rights before starting rehearsals or advertising. No changes shall be made in the play for the purpose of your production without prior written consent. All billing stipulations in your license agreement must be strictly adhered to. No person, firm or entity may receive credit larger or more prominent than that accorded the Author. For all stage performance inquiries, please contact: Steele Spring Stage Rights 3845 Cazador Street Los Angeles, CA 90065 (323) 739-0413 www.stagerights.com PRODUCTION HISTORY The first reading of this musical play, under the direction of playwright Chip Deffaa, took place on February 19, 2018 at New York’s 13th Street Repertory Theater (Edith O’Hara, founder/original artistic director; Joe Battista, managing director), starring Michael Townsend Wright, Suzanne Dressler, and Jed Q. Peterson. Richard Danley has been the project’s musical director/pianist since its inception; he has also helped prepare the music and it is his piano heard on the disc of piano reference tracks for this show, available from the publisher. The premiere productions of this play, originally planned for Princeton, New Jersey and New York City in 2020-2021, have been put on hold due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A studio cast album, featuring Michael Townsend Wright, Jed Q. Peterson, Suzanne Dressler, Keith Anderson, Katherine Paulsen, and more, is being produced now and should be available by late 2020 or early 2021. ABOUT THIS PLAY – AND FLEXIBLE CASTING “Say it with Music” is a musical play in two acts, celebrating the life and times of legendary songwriter Irving Berlin (1888-1989). It is a copyrighted work; no changes to the play— except those detailed below, for which permission is specifically granted— may be made without written permission from the author or his representatives. (If you have any questions, please contact the publisher.) You may not add new songs or dialog. But if you wish to shorten or lengthen certain songs in the show (having, for example, performers sing or dance to an additional chorus of a song), you may do so without asking permission. If you wish to make cuts to the script for time, you may do so. If you want to eliminate one character’s tap-dancing or give another character a chance to tap-dance instead (to fit the abilities of your particular actors), you may do so. If you wish to transpose keys for the convenience of your actors, you may do so. “Say it with Music” offers tremendous opportunities for flexible casting. It is perfectly permissible to present this show with a small cast or a larger cast. It is written so that it may be performed by as few as three actors (which is the way we’ve developed it in readings): one male to portray Irving Berlin, one highly versatile male to play all of the other male characters, and one highly versatile female to play all of the female characters. (And the script assumes there are just three actors.) But if you wish to present the play with five actors or seven actors, or nine actors… or any number of actors, you can divvy up the various roles however you please. (There are more than two dozen characters in the play.) Each character in the play can be portrayed by a different actor, if you have a very big cast. Or actors can double selected roles, as you like. Among the many different characters we meet in this play, there are: Berlin’s two wives, his secretary, and assorted historic showbiz personalities, including George M. Cohan, Al Jolson, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Ethel Merman, Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor, Sophie Tucker, Marilyn Monroe, and more. ABOUT THIS PLAY – AND FLEXIBLE CASTING (CONT’D) You can easily add ensemble singers to certain numbers, if desired; you do not need to ask permission to do so. If the script says, for example, that Berlin is greeted by two reporters and you wish to make that a larger group of reporters instead, you could. If the script says there are carolers singing outside of Berlin’s home on Christmas Eve, you could have two actors representing the group of carolers, or you could have six or ten or more actors on stage as the carolers, if you prefer. If you mount the show using just three actors, when Irving Berlin recalls how well the Nicholas Brothers tap-danced on screen to his song “Mandy,” Berlin himself can tap-dance in remembrance. But if you mount the show with a larger cast, when Berlin speaks of the Nicholas Brothers, you could have two actors portraying the famed Nicholas Brothers come on stage and tap-dance to “Mandy” instead. You are free to add additional singers/dancers (if you wish) wherever you see fit. If the script says that, for example, entertainer Mabel Jackson sings one chorus of a song (“I’ve Got to Have Some Lovin’ Now”) by herself, and you wish to have “Mabel and her Gals” sing two choruses instead, you can do so. If the script says that Sophie Tucker sings one chorus of a song (“Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!”) by herself, and you’d rather have “Sophie and her Boys” sing two choruses, it’s fine. (These are just examples; I could give many more.) If you want to have your entire cast (of whatever size) sing on a few big numbers (like, say, “We’re on our Way to France,” “Bring on the Pepper,” or “Everybody Step”), you’re free to do so. This musical play is written to allow for flexible casting, so you can adapt the show to the cast size that works best for you. (Some songs, of course, must remain solo numbers or duets for specific characters, and that will be obvious from the text.) CAST OF CHARACTERS More than two dozen characters appear in this musical play. It is written so that it can be performed, if desired, with as few as three actors: one male to play Irving Berlin (the starring role), one male to cover all other male roles (about a dozen in total), and one female to cover all of the female roles (about a dozen in total). But you can perform this show with a cast of any size. If you have a very large cast, no actor need “double” any roles. If you have a cast of, say, five or seven or nine players, you can decide who “doubles” which roles. IRVING BERLIN is this play’s central figure. At the start of the play, he is 98 years old; he is dressed in a conservative suit; he wears black-rimmed glasses and uses a cane. He is a rather crotchety, cantankerous old man (but in a loveable kind of way; if he comes across as mean or hostile and the audience dislikes him, the play will not work). This play is a memory piece, and we will subsequently see Berlin at different stages of his life. If he is recalling himself as a young man, he will not use the cane or the glasses. He might take off his suit jacket. And his spirit will seem more buoyant. If he is recalling himself as a small boy (cheerfully singing “The Schoolhouse Blues,” for example), he might don a newsboy cap (which has been preset somewhere, perhaps on a hat- rack). At the end of the play, Berlin will put on a robe. HILDA is Berlin’s long-suffering secretary. She has been with him for 44 years and is used to the fact that he can be a bit of a curmudgeon. Nothing fazes her. GEORGE M. COHAN— Berlin’s friend and champion--is a dapper, confident song-and-dance man, playwright, songwriter, and producer. Hailed in his day as “the Man who Owns Broadway,” he was portrayed superbly by James Cagney in the biopic Yankee Doodle Dandy. REPORTERS. The script has Berlin being greeted in London by two British reporters, one male and one female. (If you’re using a large cast, you can add additional reporters, of either gender, if desired.) MABEL JACKSON is a hotsy-totsy entertainer at the rough joint where young Berlin works as a singing waiter. Her dress and makeup are a bit flamboyant, in a low-class kind of way. When Berlin first meets her, he mistakes her for a prostitute. MIKE SALTER runs the rough joint where young Berlin works. It is a beer hall on the Lower East Side, with a whorehouse and opium den above it. A Russian immigrant, Mike is a powerful man in the community— not just the boss of a popular nightspot, he is the neighborhood “fixer,” the man who can make seemingly any problem go away.

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