A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

The Rink

Full-Length Musical, Drama  /  3w, 5m

Book by Terrence McNally
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb

In Coney Island, New York, Anna Antonelli's roller rink is about to be demolished. Just as her hopes seem dashed, Anna's estranged daughter Angel returns, bringing new hopes and reopening old wounds.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Nominee: Five 1984 Tony Awards, including Best Original Score
    Nominee: Six 1984 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical

Details

Summary
This innovative musical is set in a sort of Coney Island of the mind, on the ragged fringe of the New York show-biz world. Anna Antonelli's roller rink is about to be demolished, and with it Anna's sour memories of her Lothario of a husband and her painfully shy daughter Angel. The rink becomes an arena in which mother and daughter examine their past, present and future. Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera originated the roles of Angel and Anna on Broadway.
History
The Rink was first presented on Broadway in February 1984 at the Martin Beck Theatre under the direction of AJ Antoon. It starred Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera. 

ANGEL

ANNA

LINO (Wrecker)
Also plays:
• LENNY
• PUNK
• UNCLE FAUSTO

BEN (Wrecker)
Also plays:
• DINO'S FATHER
• MRS. SILVERMAN
• SISTER PHILOMENA

LUCKY (Wrecker)
Also plays:
• SUGAR
• PUNK
• ARNIE
• SUITOR
• BOBBY PERILLO
• DANNY

GUY (Wrecker)
Also plays:
• DINO
• FATHER ROCCO
• DEBBIE DUBERMAN

BUDDY (Wrecker)
Also plays:
• HIRAM
• MRS. JACKSON
• CHARLIE
• SUITOR
• JUNIOR MILLER

TONY (Wrecker)
Also plays:
• TOM
• PUNK
• SUITOR
• PETER REILLY

LITTLE GIRL

  • Time Period Contemporary, 1980s
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 105 Minutes
  • Cautions
    • Drugs

Media

“Eloquent... tender and deft... it's a study in nostalgia – its comforts as well as its traps.” – WhatsOnStage

“Serious, innovative... provides much pleasure.” – New York Post

“Mr. Kander's melodies, orchestrated with panache by Michael Gibson... linger in the ear.” – The New York Times

“It's layered tender and deft. Really, it's a study in nostalgia – its comforts as well as its traps. Kander and Ebb make the point musically, as contemporary sounds slide into something tunefully old-hat – the Rat Pack rapport of ‘The Apple Doesn't Fall’ and the saccharine sentiment of ‘Marry Me.’” – WhatsOnStage

“There’s a sharply drawn emotional realism to this mother-daughter relationship which is rarely seen in musical theatre... McNally’s clear-eyed, sentimentality-free story makes a case for laying waste to the past, and for leaving old pain trapped under the rubble.” – Exeunt Magazine

“The show-biz ego—stark, aggressive, manipulative, wheedling, insatiable—has found no more assiduous celebrators than the songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb. They have composed dozens of brassy ballads for gutsy ladies staking out their parcel of asphalt turf. No raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens for these guys.” – Time

Videos

  • The Rink: Southwark Playhouse Promo youtube thumbnail

    The Rink: Southwark Playhouse Promo

  • The Rink: Great Performances Segment youtube thumbnail

    The Rink: Great Performances Segment

  • The Rink: 1988 Olivier Awards youtube thumbnail

    The Rink: 1988 Olivier Awards

  • Chita Rivera and Liza Minelli: "The Apple Doesn't Fall Very Far From The Tree" youtube thumbnail

    Chita Rivera and Liza Minelli: "The Apple Doesn't Fall Very Far From The Tree"

Music

Music Samples

1. “Opening” – Orchestra
2. “Chief Cook and Bottle Washer” – Anna
2a. “Angel’s Entrance” – Orchestra
3. “Don't Ah, Ma Me” – Anna & Angel
4. “Blue Crystal” – Dino (with Anna)
4a. “Blue Crystal/Junk” – Orchestra
5. “Familiar Things” – Angel
5a. “Blue Crystal Underscore” – Orchestra
6. “Not Enough Magic” – Dino & Angel
7. “We Can Make It” – Anna
8. “After All These Years” – Wreckers
9. “What Happened to the Old Days?” – Anna, Mrs. Silverman & Mrs. Jackson
10. “Colored Lights” – Angel
11. “The Apple Doesn't Fall (Very Far From the Tree)” – Anna & Angel
12. “Marry Me” – Lenny
12a. “Blue Crystal/Korea” – Orchestra
12b. “We Can Make It (Reprise)” – Anna
13. “Quintet” – Anna, Angel, Lenny, Men
14. “The Rink” – Wreckers
15.” The Prom” – Orchestra
16. “All the Children in a Row” – Angel
16a. “Colored Lights (Reprise)” – Angel
16b. “Little Girl’s Entrance” – Orchestra
17. “Finale: When the Antonellis Were Here” – Company
18. “Bows” – Orchestra

  • Musical Style Classic Broadway
  • Dance Requirements Minimal
  • Vocal DemandsModerate
  • Orchestra Size Small/Combo
  • Chorus Size No Chorus

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Music Rentals

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9  Piano-Conductor
8  Libretti

1  Bass
1  Drum
1  Synthesizer
9  Piano-Conductor
8  Libretti

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Authors

Fred Ebb

Fred Ebb (1933–2004) was an award-winning lyricist, librettist and director who frequently and successfully collaborated with composer John Kander. Ebb's work for the theatre included Flora, The Red Menace; Cabaret; The Happy Time; Zorba; 70, Girls, 70; Chicago; The Act; Woma ...

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John Kander

John Kander is a Tony, Emmy and Grammy-winning composer, a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors Award, and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. With frequent collaborator Fred Ebb, he composed the score to dozens of Broadway musicals, including Cabaret, Zorba, Chi ...

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Terrence McNally

Terrence McNally (1938-2020) was the recipient of the 2019 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement, the 2019 Dramatist Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2019 Lucille Lortel Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2018, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. ...

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