Teddy and Alice July 11, 2012

Shadow Lawn stage, the professions theatre of Monmouth University, announces its summer 2012 production of the musical “Teddy and Alice”, a high-stepping, flag-waving and heart-warming family show, set to immortal strains of John Philip Sousa’s marches (“Stars and Stripes Forever”). The show, the first musical presented by Shadow Lawn in several years, will be presented at the Lauren K. Woods Theatre in Long Branch in July.

Timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the founding of Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party, “Teddy and Alice” is a hysterical and historical slice of Americana brimming with rousing marches and featuring a cast of outrageous, larger-than-life characters including such famed people as William Howard Taft, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Booker T. Washington. Teddy’s daughter, Alice, is a high-spirited young woman who challenged the traditions of Victorian America. “I can do one of two things,” says Teddy Roosevelt at the beginning of the show. “I can either be President of the United States or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both!”

Richard Kapp adapted the music of Sousa for the musical and added some of his own. Lyrics are by Hal Hackaday and the book is by Jerome Alden. It ran on Broadway in 1987. Performances will be open on July 11 and run Wednesdays through Sundays at 8 p.m. and Friday matinees at 2 p.m. through July 29. Tickets are $25-$35. Call 732-571-3483 or visit the website: www.monmouth.edu/shadowlawnstage.