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Overview

Synopsis

The roaring ‘20s are in full swing on the campus of Tait College, and the cheerful young sheiks and flappers would rather be flirting on the quad, cheering on the football team, or dancing the “Varsity Drag” than studying their Latin and Greek. Handsome and popular football star Tom Marlowe skates through his subjects on charm alone -- but when he runs afoul of stern Professor Kenyon’s astronomy midterms, it looks like Tait’s finest may be out of the big game, unless he finds a study buddy. Enter sweet and shy Connie Lane, an astronomy whiz kid, who happens to have a secret crush Tom -- and also happens to be the cousin of his selfish sorority girl steady, Patricia Bingham. When Tom and Connie study the heavens, they fall in love over Mars and Venus. But if Tom wins the game for Tait, Patricia will hold him to a letter of proposal that he wrote under the influence of a sodden Saturday night. What is more important to Tom -- school pride, or future happiness? Can he make All-American and still get the right girl? Meanwhile, Tom’s roommate Bobby Randall, a sorry second string on the football team, is hopelessly in love with Patricia, but to his terror and delight, is being pursued by bold and brazen Babe O’Day, the coolest girl on campus. Babe is done with football heroes like her brawny ex Beef, and is hankering for someone milder and more malleable, like Bobby, who she can mold into her ideal man. But Beef, mad with jealousy, intends grievous bodily harm to any man who so much as looks at Babe. Can this comical couple thrive? In the Henderson, DeSylva, and Brown musical Good News, a runaway hit from 1927, full of high spirits and vintage slang, these shenanigans are sorted out to such cheerful tunes as “Good News”, “Varsity Drag”, and the sentimental standard “The Best Things in Life Are Free”.

Show Information

Category
Musical
Age Guidance
Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
1927
Genres
Comedy, Romance
Settings
Period, Multiple Settings
Time & Place
1920s, tait college, a small american town
Cast Size
large
Orchestra Size
Medium
Dancing
Heavy
Ideal For
College/University, Community Theatre, High School, Large Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Late Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult Characters

Context


Plot


Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Babe O'Day

Lead

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Connie Lane

Lead

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Bobby Randall

Lead

Male

Tenor

Tom Marlowe

Lead

Male

Baritone

Professor Kenyon

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Beef Saunders

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Flo

Supporting

Female

Mezzo-Soprano, Alto

Bill Johnson

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Pooch Kearney

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Sylvester

Supporting

Male

Tenor, Baritone

Patricia Bingham

Supporting

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Slats

Featured

Male

Tenor, Baritone

Millie

Featured

Female

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano

Windy

Featured

Male

Tenor, Baritone

George (The Band Leader)

Featured

Male

Spoken

Glee Club Trio (3)

Ensemble

Male

Tenor, Baritone, Bass

Tait College Students

Ensemble

Either Gender

Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone

College Band

Ensemble

Either Gender

Silent

Songs

Act One

  • Opening Chorus - Ensemble
  • Flaming Youth - Babe, Ensemble
  • Happy Days - Tom, Glee Club Trio
  • Just Imagine - Connie, Patricia, Millie
  • He’s a Ladies’ Man - Connie
  • The Best Things in Life Are Free - Tom, Connie
  • *On the Campus - Flo, Millie, Windy, Sylvester
  • *Varsity Drag - Flo, Millie, Windy, Sylvester
  • Baby! What? - Babe, Bobby
  • Lucky in Love - Connie, Tom
  • Tait Song - Kearney, Johnson, George, Ensemble
  • *Lucky in Love - Ensemble

Act Two

  • The Girl of the Pi Beta Phi - Patricia
  • Today’s the Day - Girls
  • In the Meantime - Babe, Bobby
  • *Good News - Flo
  • *Lucky in Love/Tait Song (Reprise) - College Band
  • Good News (Reprise) - Flo, Glee Club Trio, Girls
  • The Best Things in Life Are Free (Reprise) - Tom, Connie
  • *Varsity Drag (Reprise) - Ensemble
  • Good News - Ensemble

A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

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