| Death Takes a Holiday | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Death_Takes_a_Holiday.jpg) Promotional artwork | |
| Music | Maury Yeston |
| Lyrics | Maury Yeston |
| Book | Peter Stone and Thomas Meehan |
| Basis | La Morte in Vacanza by Alberto Casella |
| Premiere | July 14, 2011: Laura Pels Theatre, New York City |
| Productions | 2011 off-Broadway 2017 off West End |
Death Takes a Holiday is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone and Thomas Meehan. It is adapted from the 1924 Italian play La Morte in Vacanza by Alberto Casella, which was translated in English for Broadway in 1929 by Walter Ferris. The play was previously was adapted into a 1934 film of the same name starring Fredric March, which was remade in 1998 as Meet Joe Black.[1] The story follows the personification of Death, who takes the form of a handsome young prince to understand human emotion. He falls in love with an engaged young woman and learns about love and sacrifice.
The show played off-Broadway for a limited run in the summer of 2011 in a production by Roundabout Theatre Company and received eleven nominations for the 2011–12 Drama Desk Awards, though it did not win any. It was listed by Time magazine as one of the Top Ten Musicals of the season.[citation needed] The production garnered mixed reviews. An Off West End production played in 2017.
- ^ Isherwood, Charles (July 21, 2011). "Set Aside That Scythe, and Let's Put on a Show", The New York Times.