| Urban Cowboy | |
| Music: | Jeff Blumenkrantz Jason Robert Brown Others |
| Lyrics: | Jeff Blumenkrantz Jason Robert Brown Others |
| Basis: | Urban Cowboy by James Bridges Aaron Latham |
Urban Cowboy is a musical with a book by Aaron Latham and Phillip Oesterman and a score by Broadway composer-lyricists Jeff Blumenkrantz and Jason Robert Brown and a variety of country music tunesmiths, including Clint Black and Charlie Daniels.
Based on the 1980 screenplay by Latham and James Bridges, which had been adapted from a magazine article about Texas nightlife written by Latham, the plot focuses on Bud Davis, a country boy who moves to the big city for an oil refinery job and begins spending his nights at Gilley's, the local honky tonk, where he soon meets cowgirl Sissy. The trials they face and hurdles they need to overcome throughout their courtship and marriage are played out against a background of country-western music.
Following a run at Miami's Coconut Grove Playhouse, the show transferred to Broadway. After 26 previews, it opened on March 27, 2003 at the Broadhurst Theatre, where it closed on May 18 after 60 performances. [1]
The unfavorable reviews described it as "vulgar and bland" and "assembled according to a low and specific assessment of audience expectations" [2] and "a musical whose creators weren't quite ready to get on the horse" filled with songs "used haphazardly and devoid of dramatic value".[3]
Directed by Lonny Price, the cast of mostly newcomers included Matt Cavenaugh and Jenn Colella, both making their Broadway debuts. Also in the cast was Broadway veteran Sally Mayes who garnered a Drama Desk Award nomination for her portrayal of Aunt Corene.
The show was Tony Award-nominated for Best Choreography (Melinda Roy) and Best Original Score, with an unprecedented total of thirty composers and lyricists cited in the latter category. An original cast album was never released.
The musical had both old and original music, with country music and songs from the film as well as original songs.[1]