After The Fair

Book & Lyrics by Stephen Cole Music by Matthew Ward
Based on a story by Thomas Hardy

"A wonderfully wry and affecting chamber musical written with great elegance and style." - John Kander

"The delightful score to After the Fair is skillfully written, given a musical fluidity and unity throughout by its composer, Matthew Ward, and a genuine deft musical-theatre storytelling structure bit its lyricist, Stephen Cole." - Maury Yeston

AWARDS

  • 5 Dallas Theatre League Awards including Best New Play or Musical and Best Musical Production...
  • Outer Critics Circle Nomination for Best Off Broadway Musical
  • Gilman Gonzalez-Falla Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre

Music

Selections from the score may be listened to while opening the various other components in pdf.

Script

Download or open The Full Script in Adobe Reader.

Score

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SYNOPSIS

What happens when a married Victorian British woman writes letters for her illiterate maid and falls in love with the man to whom she is writing? A romantic, literate musicalization of Thomas Hardy's short story.

Notes

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Development Notes

World premiere, Lyric Stage Dallas, 1996 — won 5 Dallas Theatre League Awards including Best New Musical Apple Tree Theatre, Chicago, 1997 Village Theatre, Seattle WA, 1998 & 2002 NAMT Festival reading, NYC, 1997 Cast recording on Fynsworth Alley/Varèse Sarabande Records (featuring Tony winner Michele Pawk) King’s Head Theatre, Islington, London, 2000 Lyric Stage, Irving TX, with full orchestra Broadhollow Theatre, NY Buck Creek Players, Indianapolis, 2019 20th Anniversary concert presented to acclaim Based on Thomas Hardy’s short story ‘On the Western Circuit’

Off-Broadway premiere, York Theatre Company (Theatre at St. Peter’s), NYC, June 30–August 15, 1999 (starring Michele Pawk; 30 performances) — Outer Critics Circle nomination for Best Off-Broadway Musical Stephen Cole: Fred Ebb Award (1998); Kleban Award nominee; also wrote Night of the Hunter (Drama Desk nominated; Goodman Theatre planned), Saturday Night at Grossinger’s (Gavin McLeod), Casper (Chita Rivera tour), Dodsworth (Hal Linden & Dee Hoty world premiere), Aspire (first American musical to premiere in Middle East) Matthew Ward: composer and cabaret performer; collaborated with Cole on multiple shows