Head Over Heels

A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Head Over Heels

Full-Length Musical, Comedy  /  4w, 3m, 1 any gender (adult) plus ensemble

Songs by The Go-Go’s
Based upon The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney
Conceived and with Original Book by Jeff Whitty
Adapted by James Magruder

A hilarious, exuberant celebration of love, this bold musical comedy follows the escapades of a royal family on an outrageous journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction – only to discover the key to their realm’s survival lies within each of their own hearts.

Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)

Head Over Heels

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 3m, 1 any gender (adult) plus ensemble
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Stage & Screen), Period, Romantic Comedy
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Head Over Heels
Also Available
Head Over Heels (High School Edition)

Details

Summary

Head Over Heels is the newest musical from the visionaries that rocked Broadway with Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening. This laugh-out-loud love story is set to the music of the iconic 1980s all-female rock band The Go-Go’s, including the hit songs, “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.” A hilarious, exuberant celebration of love, this bold musical comedy follows the escapades of a royal family on an outrageous journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction – only to discover the key to their realm’s survival lies within each of their own hearts.

History

Head Over Heels premiered on Broadway at the Hudson Theater on July 26, 2018. Directed by Michael Meyer, the production featured Andrew Durand, Taylor Iman Jones, Jeremy Kushnier, Bonnie Milligan, Peppermint, Tom Alan Robbins, Alexandra Socha and Rachel York in the leading roles and an ensemble including Amber Ardolino, Yurel Echezarreta, Ari Groover, Tanya Haglund, Gregory Liles, Samantha Pollino, Justin Prescott and Richard A. Zayas. The musical previously opened at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon in 2015 and in a pre-Broadway tryout at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre in the spring of 2018.

Keywords
Performing Groups

BASILIUS – King of Arcadia. A sexy, good ol’ boy. A hothead, but not a despot. Blindly thinks Arcadia is doing great under his masculine rule, which will be sorely tested during the course of the show.
GYNECIA – Queen of Arcadia. Sexy, wise, beautiful. Like any longstanding spouse, knows how to get her way with her husband when push comes to shove.
PAMELA – Basilius and Gynecia’s older daughter. Confident and obsessed with her appearance. Known to be the most beautiful bachelorette throughout Arcadia.
PHILOCLEA – Basilius and Gynecia’s younger daughter. Shy and a “good girl,” she yearns to follow her heart rather than obey her father’s orders.
DAMETAS – The King’s viceroy; father to Mopsa.
MOPSA – Handmaiden to Pamela. Warm, skeptical. Growing up without a mother has made her wise beyond her years about everyone and everything, which is why she is the (sometime) narrator to the show.
MUSIDORUS – A young shepherd who courts Philoclea.
PYTHIO – The Oracle; powerful, mysterious. Demanding. Great sense of humor and can see through everyone – they are the Oracle of Delphi, after all.
ENSEMBLE – Unique, charismatic individuals to inhabit the kingdom of Arcadia.

  • Time Period 16th Century/Elizabethan, Medieval (6th-14th Century)
  • Setting

    The Kingdom of Arcadia. Elizabethan times.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Whimsical… consistent fun!... The farcical, gender-fluid shenanigans are as campy as things get on Broadway.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“Elizabethan farce by way of ye olde MTV. The verse may be archaic, but the ‘we’re here’ sentiment is as up to date as last week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race.” – Deadline

“A polished yet touching fairytale rom-com that succeeds where so many catalogue tuners fail. Whitty’s book is silly and sweetly wise enough to transcend – nay, celebrate – the absurdity of Eighties pop… Shrewd, funny, sexy, and with a glorious beat, Head Over Heels will have you flipping for joy.” – The Village Voice

“Whimsical… consistent fun!... The farcical, gender-fluid shenanigans are as campy as things get on Broadway.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“An ode to female independence with the winking spirit of a Shakespearean fairy and the neon edge of a rebellious ’80s teenager, teaming up to beckon people into the woods. Forty years after The Go-Go’s’ formation, Head Over Heels does more than preserve the band’s iconic hits in amber. In this story, the most unexpected match is usually right.” – Entertainment Tonight

“A campy romp, a fantasy and celebration of nonconformity. Honoring the beat, in this merry Arcadia, means making room for different drummers.” – TimeOut

Videos

  • Head Over Heels – Broadway Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Head Over Heels – Broadway Trailer

  • Head Over Heels – “We Got The Beat” at the Thanksgiving Day Parade youtube thumbnail

    Head Over Heels – “We Got The Beat” at the Thanksgiving Day Parade

  • Head Over Heels – Gateway Playhouse Show Sizzle youtube thumbnail

    Head Over Heels – Gateway Playhouse Show Sizzle

Photos

  • Head Over Heels

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)

  • Head Over Heels

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)

  • Head Over Heels

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)

  • Head Over Heels

    Image: 2018 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)

Music

Music Samples

Act I
1. “We Got The Beat” – Company
1A. “We Got The Beat Playoff” – Underscore
1B. “What Dost Thou Feel?” – Underscore
2. “Beautiful” – Pamela, Ensemble, Suitors
2A. “A Giant Snake!” – Ensemble
2B. “The Oracle’s Temple” – Underscore
3. “A Vision of Nowness” – Pythio, Ensemble
3A. “’Tis Genius” – Underscore
4. “Get Up And Go” – Servants, Basilius, Gynecia, Pamela, Philoclea
4A. “Skidmarks – Pamela” – Ensemble
5. “Mad About You” – Musidorus, Basilius, Sheep
5A. “Leaving Home” – Underscore
5B. “From Husband to Father to Widower” – Underscore
6. “Good Girl” – Philoclea, Pamela, Mopsa
6A. “Musidorus Enters Exhausted” – Underscore
6B. “Aslant My Avian Orbits” – Underscore
6C. “Skidmarks on My Heart – Musidorus” – Ensemble
7. “Visions of Nowness Reprise” – Owlettes, Pythio, Musidorus
7A. “Lion (No Bear)” – Underscore
7B. “Time Should Lightly Fly” – Underscore
7C. “Trumpetus Interruptus” – Underscore
8. “Automatic Rainy Day” – Pamela, Mopsa
9. “Cool Jerk” – Gynecia, Pamela, Musidorus, Philoclea, Basilius
9A. “Hit the Hay” – Underscore
9B. “A Loud Alarum ‘Vision of Nowness’” – Underscore
10. “Vacation” – Mopsa, Female Ensemble
10A. “Vacation Playoff” – Underscore
10B. “Generous Amazon ‘Cool Jerk’” – Underscore
11. “How Much More” – Pamela
11A. “The First Flag (‘Mad About You’ And The Oracle)” – Underscore
12. “Our Lips Are Sealed” – Musidorus, Ensemble, Philoclea, Pamela, Mopsa, Pythio

Act II
13. “Head Over Heels” – Musidorus, Philoclea, Pamela, Mopsa, Gynecia, Basilius, Ensemble
13A. “Among the Tents” – Underscore
13B. “Skidmarks – Gynecia” – Ensemble
14. “This Old Feeling” – Gynecia, Basilius
15. “Turn To You” – Mopsa, Ensemble, Pamela
15A. “Inside The Cave” – Underscore
16. “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” – Oracle, Gynecia, Basilius, Ensemble
16A. “The Third Flag” – Underscore
16B. “Meeting Our Sororal” – Underscore
17. “Lust to Love” – Basilius, Ensemble
18. “Here You Are” – Ensemble, Philoclea, Pamela, Mopsa, Gynecia, Basilius
18A. “Holy Skidmarks” – Ensemble
18B. “Permanent Distemperature” – Underscore
18C. “The Golden Stag” – Underscore
18D. “To Hades Had I Fled” – Underscore
19. “Mad About You Reprise” – Philoclea, Musidorus, Pamela, Mopsa, Dametas, Pythio, Ensemble
19A. “Bohemia’s Gates – ‘Vacation’” – Underscore
19B. “Skidmarks On My Heart – Full Company” – Company except Pythio
19C. “Go Round and Round” – Underscore
19D. “Finale” – Company

Licensing & Materials

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Authors

James Magruder

James Magruder
James Magruder is a fiction writer, playwright, and translator. His stories have appeared in The Gettysburg Review, New England Review, Subtropics, Bloom, The Normal School, The Harrington Gay Men’s Fiction Quarterly, Mary, and the anthologies “Boy Crazy” and “New Stories fro ...
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Jeff Whitty

Jeff Whitty
Jeff Whitty won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for AVENUE Q. Plays include THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF HEDDA GABLER (appeared in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 2008 season), THE HIDING PLACE, THE PLANK PROJECT, SUICIDE WEATHER, and BALLS. Theatres presenting ...
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