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
- Music
- Ray Henderson
- Lyrics
- Lew Brown , George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva
- 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
- Licensor
- Tams Witmark Music Library
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano, Alto |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone, Bass |
|
|
Ensemble |
Either Gender |
Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone |
|
|
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
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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