Fly By Night

A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Fly By Night

Full-Length Musical, Dark Comedy  /  2w, 5m

Conceived by Kim Rosenstock
Written by Will Connolly, Michael Mitnick, and Kim Rosenstock

A star-crossed prophecy. Two charming sisters and a luckless sandwich maker. A lot of music. Just not a lot of light.

Image: 2014 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

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Fly By Night

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Fable/Folktale, Period, Romantic Comedy
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Pre-Teen (Age 11-13), Teen (Age 14-18)
Accolades
Accolades

  • WINNER! 2011 Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award
    NOMINEE! 2015 4 Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical


Fly By Night

Details

Summary

A star-crossed prophecy. A lot of music. Just not a lot of light. In this darkly comic rock-fable, a melancholy sandwich maker’s humdrum life is intersected by two entrancing sisters. A sweeping ode to young love set against the backdrop of the Northeast blackout of 1965, Fly By Night is a tale about making your way and discovering hope in a world beset by darkness.

History
Fly By Night had its world premiere at TheatreWorks (Palo Alto, CA) in July 2011. It premiered in New York City at Playwrights Horizons in 2014, under the direction of Carolyn Cantor. 
Keywords
Performing Groups
NARRATOR - our guide
HAROLD L. MCCLAM - a sandwich maker
MR. MCCLAM - father of Harold
DAPHNE - an actress
MIRIAM - a waitress
CRABBLE - a deli owner
JOEY STORMS - a playwright
  • Time Period 1960s
  • Setting

    New York City, 1965-1965 (with the occasional detour to South Dakota). 

  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"Fly by Night is the most paradoxical of musicals – hilarious and bittersweet, deeply immersed in tradition but utterly original." - Dallas News, Read More
"Fly By Night will enchant audiences...Romance doesn’t come any sweeter than it does in this winsome love triangle set around the time of the 1965 New York blackout. The score is charming and catchy. Its unabashed emotionalism could turn it into more than a hit. It could turn it into a cult phenomenon." - New York Post

"Like Our Town, The Fantasticks and maybe a sliver of Silver Linings Playbook, the show weaves into its overlapping love stories a resonating message about how the 'invisible universe' connects us all." - Dallas Observer

"The ways in which these people...intersect are meant to evoke a cosmic pattern, a sense of the invisible connective tissue that underlies the mundane...The score flirts with early rock ’n’ roll, as well as recurrent motifs that are guaranteed to take up longtime residence in your ear." - The New York Times

"Wistful earnestness is a nice mode for a musical—especially a sweet-natured romantic fable such as Fly by Night." - Time Out New York

"...a crowdpleaser that should be a local hit, as well as a viable future prospect for other mid-sized venues." - Variety


ON BREAKING CHARACTER 

Our Picks for The 2019/20 Season: K-12 Edition
Felicia Lucas
April 23, 2019

FLY BY NIGHT’S Kim Rosenstock & Michael Mitnick on Collaboration, Fables & The Magic of Blackouts
by Ben Coleman
April 8, 2015

FLY BY NIGHT Now Available for Licensing
by Courtney Kochuba
December 16, 2014

Videos

  • Michael Mitnick - "Cecily Smith" youtube thumbnail

    Michael Mitnick - "Cecily Smith"

  • Fly By Night Trailer - Playwrights Horizons youtube thumbnail

    Fly By Night Trailer - Playwrights Horizons

  • Michael Mitnick discusses "Cecily Smith" youtube thumbnail

    Michael Mitnick discusses "Cecily Smith"

  • The Writers of 'Fly By Night': A New Musical youtube thumbnail

    The Writers of 'Fly By Night': A New Musical

  • "Fly By Night: A New Musical" Teaser youtube thumbnail

    "Fly By Night: A New Musical" Teaser

Show more +

Photos

  • Fly By Night

    Image: 2014 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

  • Fly By Night

    Image: 2014 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

Music

Music Samples

Act 1
1. Prologue - Narrator, Daphne, Miriam, Joey, Crabble, Band, McClam
2. Circles in the Sand - Harold, Band
2a. Under South Dakota - Orchestra
2b. Under Pancake House - Orchestra
3. Daphne Dreams - Daphne, Narrator
3a. Under Crabble Intro - Crabble
4. More Than Just A Friend - Harold, Daphne
5. Stars I Trust - Miriam, Narrator
6. Breakfast All Day - Miriam, Customers, Band
7. The Record Player - McClam
8. What You Do To Me - Joey, Daphne
8a. More Than Just A Friend Reprise - Harold
8b. The Map - Orchestra
9. The Prophecy - Narrator, Miriam, Daphne, Zak, Joey, Harold, McClam, Crabble, Band
9a. The Prophecy Reprise - Miriam
10. The Diner - Harold, Miriam
11. Sad Breakfast - Miriam
12. The Prophecy Reprise - Narrator
13. The Triangle - Orchestra
14. Circles In The Sand Reprise 2 - Harold, Narrator

Act 2
15. Act 2 Opening - Miriam
16. Eternity - Harold, Crabble, Ensemble
16a. In The Outer Reaches Of Brooklyn Part 1 - McClam
16b. Eternity Vamps - Harold, Crabble
17. I Need More - Daphne
18. The Nightmare - Daphne
19. In The Outer Reaches Of Brooklyn Part 1 - Orchestra
20. At Least I'll Know I Tried - Narrator, Crabble, McClam, Harold, Daphne, Joey, Miriam
20a. Stars I Trust Reprise - Miriam
21. Me With You - Harold, Miriam
21a. What Comes Next - Orchestra
21b. Time Stops - Orchestra
22. Cicily Smith - McClam
22a. Libiamo - McClam
23. The Great Fall - Harold, Miriam, Daphne
24. Fly By Night - Narrator, Band
25. November Stars - Daphne, Miriam, Band, Joey, Harold
26. Bows - Orchestra

Piano-Conductor
Guitar
Bass
Drums

  • Musical Style Classic Broadway
  • Vocal DemandsModerate
  • Chorus Size No Chorus

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Music Rentals

Concord offers a full suite of resources to help you put on the show of a lifetime!

1 Piano-Conductor
7 Vocal Books
1 Bass
1 Drums
1 Guitar

1 Piano-Conductor
7 Vocal Books

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Add-Ons

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Authors

Kim Rosenstock

Kim Rosenstock
Kim Rosenstock has written several plays including Tigers Be Still which played a sold-out run in its premiere at Roundabout Underground and was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award.  She is currently working on commissions for Dallas Theater Center, Roundabout Theatre ...
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Michael Mitnick

Michael Mitnick
Michael Mitnick is a playwright. His plays include Sex Lives of Our Parents (Second Stage, The Kennedy Center), The Siegel (Edgerton New Play Award, South Coast Repertory), Spacebar: A Broadway Play by Kyle Sugarman (The Wild Project), as well as the trilogy Past/Future/Pr ...
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Will Connolly

Will Connolly
Will Connolly originated the role of 'Andrej' in the Tony-winning musical Once on Broadway. He has also worked with New York Theater Workshop, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, Roundabout Theater Company, New York Stage & Film, A.R.T., Oregon Shakespeare Festival, ...
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