Disaster! (musical)

Disaster!
A 70s Disaster Movie Musical!
Key art of the 2016 Broadway Production
MusicVarious
LyricsVarious
BookJack Plotnick
Seth Rudetsky
SettingNew York City, 1979
PremiereMay 23, 2011 (2011-05-23): The Box, New York City
Productions2011 Off-Off-Broadway
2012 Off-Broadway
2013 Off-Broadway
2016 Broadway

Disaster! is a jukebox musical comedy created by Seth Rudetsky and written by Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick. Earthquakes, tidal waves, piranhas, infernos and the songs of the '70s take center stage in this comedic homage to 1970s disaster films.

The show debuted at The Box on March 23, 2011.[1] A second production at Triad Theatre, with choreography by Denis Jones and music supervision by Steve Marzullo, opened on January 22, 2012, and ran through March 25.[2] A third production ran from November 2013 through April 2014 at New York's St. Luke's Theatre.[3] The show opened on Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre on March 8, 2016, with previews beginning on February 9, 2016. The show starred Rudetsky, along with Roger Bart, Kerry Butler, Kevin Chamberlin, Adam Pascal, Faith Prince, Rachel York, Max Crumm and Jennifer Simard. Baylee Littrell (son of Brian Littrell) and Lacretta Nicole made their Broadway debuts. The show closed on May 8, 2016, after playing 32 previews and 72 regular performances.[4]

The plot follows a group of New Yorkers that attend the opening of a floating casino and discothèque that quickly succumbs to multiple disasters. These calamities correlate with plots of various disaster films of the 1970s, such as earthquakes or killer bee incidents. Additionally, this play keeps with a 1970s theme by using popular songs of the decade as musical numbers.[5]

  1. ^ Rosky, Nicole (20 April 2011). "Rudetsky, Kennedy, et al. Set for Only Make Believe's DISASTER!!!, 5/23". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  2. ^ Rosky, Nicole (28 February 2012). "Seth Rudetsky's DISASTER Extends Through March 25; Annie Golden & Felicia Finley Join Cast". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  3. ^ Gans, Andrew (27 March 2014). "Disaster! Will End Off-Broadway Run in April". Playbill. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Disaster! to Close on Broadway". TheaterMania. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  5. ^ Isherwood, Charles (6 November 2013). "Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Relive the '70s". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2014.