Synopsis: North Atlantic is an affectionate multi-level spoof of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals -- set in Eskimo land. With South Pacific as its closest touchstone, this family musical features elements reminiscent of the entire Rodgers and Hammerstein catalogue. Set somewhere in the mysterious North Atlantic, it takes place sometime after World War II. It tells how Honey Snodgrass and Melanie Fong, members of the Iowa branch of the Teaching Corps, find romance, bigotry, and a dream ballet in this exotic region.

The first act of North Atlantic may be read by clicking on the "Read It Now" button. For a complete reading copy, please see the Contact Information elsewhere on this page.

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"Not only the best of the three musicals I saw last week. It was the best of the year."
- Henry Hewes, former President, New York Drama Critics Circle

Winner of the Show Business Award for "Outstanding Production of the Year."

Contact Information:
Amateur and Professional Rights:
New Theatre Publications
2 Hereford Close
Woolston
Warrington
Cheshire, UK
WA1 4HR
Ph.: 0845 331 3516
Fax: 0845 331 3518
Email: plays4theatre@ntlworld.com
Publisher's website: http://www.plays4theatre.com/
North Atlantic website: http://hometown.aol.com/ludlow29/northatlantic.html
Playwright's website:
http://www.michaelcolby.com

Performance rights must be secured before production.

About the playwright: Michael Colby is the librettist/lyricist of such musicals as Charlotte Sweet (Drama Desk Award nomination), Tales of Tinseltown (Coconut Grove Playhouse), North Atlantic (Show Business Award), Mrs. McThing (Goodspeed), and Delphi or Bust (Amas Musical Theatre). He was chief writer for the Drama Desk Award-winning New Amsterdam Theatre Company, and has written special material for numerous celebrities and Theatre By the Blind. He is a member of BMI.

About the composer: James Fradrich assisted the orchestrator of the Broadway productions of Miss Saigon, The Secret Garden, and the first national tour of Jerome Robbins' Broadway. He has played engagements with several symphony orchestras, and was arranger and musical director for the hit off-Broadway musical Boy Meets Boy. Other off-Broadway productions as musical director and/or arranger have included Carnival (Equity Library Theatre), Gift of the Magi (Players Theatre), Babes in Arms (Playwrights Horizons), From Brooks with Love (Harold Clurman), and Man With a Load of Mischief (The Production Company). He has served in the same capacity on several regional productions and toured as pianist/arranger on I Am an American (for USO) and as pianist for Columbia Artists Management with The First Gilbert & Sullivan Quartet. He is a graduate of Lawrence University and was Archivist/Concert Librarian/General Musical Consultant for Rodgers and Hammerstein.

North Atlantic was first produced by the Gene Frankel Theatre, New York City.