archy and mehitabel

A typewriter clatters away at midnight in a deserted newspaper office as archy, the cockroach with the soul of a free-verse poet, pounds out his poems by diving onto the keys. He writes about the denizens of Shinbone Alley: Broadway the Lightning Bug; Tyrone T. Tattersall, the actor cat; Big Bill the Tomcat; and the Ladybugs (Who Aren’t Exactly Ladies). But mostly he writes about his friend Mehitabel, a feline fatale who believes herself to be Cleopatra reincarnated, but still can’t seem to say “no” to a tomcat. This charming, sophisticated and inventive musical is based on the poems of Don Marquis. It’s a gem of a show featuring eccentric characters, a witty script by Mel Brooks, a Gershwin/Bernstein-inflected score and lots of delightful singing and dancing.