3hree (The Mice, Lavender Girl, and The Flight of the Lawnchair Man)

The Mice:
Music by Laurence O'Keefe
Lyrics by Nell Dunbar Benjamin
Book by Julia Jordan
Inspired by a short story by Sinclair Lewis

Cast: Valerie Wright (Virga Vay), John Scherer (Allan Cedar), Herndon Lackey (Orlo Vay), Jessica Molaskey (Bertha Cedar), Roger E. DeWitt (Francis), Christopher Fitzgerald (Moseley), Donna Lynne Champlin, Will Gartshore, and Rachel Ulanet (Townspeople); Directed by Brad Rouse

Songs include: "Overture," "Mice!," "Two Hours Here," "What If," "That's All I Need," and "If You'd Be Mine."

Lavender Girl:
Music and Lyrics by John Bucchino
Book by James D. Waedekin

Cast: Will Gartshore (Colin), Rachel Ulanet (Lavender), Christopher Fitzgerald (Mitch), John Scherer (Leroy), Donna Lynn Champlin (Louise), Valerie Wright (Rita), Roger E. DeWitt (Party-Goer), and Jessica Molaskey (Mama Sayer); Directed by Scott Schwartz

Songs include: "Overture," "Leavin' Town," "We've Got Time," "Dancing," "Foolish Dreamin'," "Something Beautiful," and "Real Enough to Change My Mind."

The Flight of the Lawnchair Man:
Music and Lyrics by Robert Lindsey Nassif
Book by Peter Ullian
Based on a concept by Robert Lindey Nassif

Cast: John Scherer (Big Jack Preston), Valerie Wright (Blaire), Donna Lynne Champlin (Gracie), Christopher Fitzgerald (Jerry), Jessica Molaskey (FAA Agent/ Mother), Will Gartshore (Reporter), Roger E. DeWitt (Leonardo Da Vinci/ Voice of Alex Trebek), Herndon Lackey (Charles Lindbergh/ NASA Official), and Rachel Ulanet (Amelia Earhart); Directed by Harold Prince

Songs include: "Overture," "To Tame the Sky," "What Is That?," "Tiny," "Genius," "The Air Is Free," "Never Finish Before You're Finished," "Creature of the Air," and "Finale."

As far as I can tell, 3hree, an evening of three one act musicals, has only been performed once: in November of 2000 at the Harold Prince Theatre in Philadelphia. Prince himself, one of the most successful Broadway producers and directors of all time, hosted the event. The first musical, The Mice, tells the story of Allan, and exterminator in a small Minnesota town in 1947. He is having an affair with the wife of the local dressmaker, who releases mice into the homes of other townspeople. When they call the exterminator, he and his lover go into the house to have a romantic rendezvous. They hatch a scheme to murder their spouses using Allan's poisons. They later decide that suicide is a better option than murder, and kill themselves in each others arms. Lavender Girl is the second show. It is set in the South in 1927, and a young man finds a beautiful girl walking along the street. He takes her to a lavish party, has a wonderful time, and finds himself falling for the girl. She runs home, and he finds his way to her house. The girl's mother greets him, and informs him that she had been hit by a car and killed ten years earlier. He sees the ghost again and tells her he is in love with her. The last show, directed by Prince himself, is The Flight of the Lawnchair Man, tells the story of Jerry Gorman, who flew over New Jersey in a lawnchair lifted in the air by hundreds of helium balloons. As the authorities on the ground and a cocky airline pilot try to bring Jerry to earth, famous aviators from throughout history, including Da Vinci, Lindbergh, and Amelia Earhart encourage him to continue his flight.

To say 3hree is unique would be an understatement. Besides identical casts, there doesn't seem to be anything connecting the three musicals. The Mice has a very bizarre subject matter for a musical comedy. The music is fine, but it's hard to sympathize with characters who terrorize an entire town with vermin so they can carry on an affair, no matter how lousy their spouses are. The story of Lavender Girl is familiar to the point of being too predictable, but "We've Got Time" is a nice lively dance number. The Flight of the Lawnchair Man is easily the best of the three musicals. That's not surprising, considering it was presented last and Prince decided to direct it himself. Any show that features an actor playing both Leonardo Da Vinci and the voice of Alex Trebek is bound to be interesting. It is the most innovative of the three shows, and it has the most memorable music. It also best displayed the talents of Christopher Fitzgerald, who played the title character, who has gone on to success in shows like Wicked, Young Frankenstein, and Finian's Rainbow. In today's world, where Pixar's Up was a total critical and commercial success following a similar plot, I wouldn't be surprised to see a full length version of The Flight of the Lawnchair Man to sprout up somewhere.

I know it's been a while since I posted on here, and I'm not sure if anybody's reading, but this was a kind of three for one deal. I'll be back soon with a much more familiar show, the classic 42nd Street.