Music by Paul Libman
Book & Lyrics by Dave Hudson
The year is 1959. The place is University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lucy has recently been ‘pinned’ by Chip Davis and seems well on her way to the proper degree for a young lady of that era – her M.R.S.
However, that summer she takes a trip out West to the Lazy Rapids Ranch and meets George, a young non-conformist who, along with his uncle, shakes up her very notion of what to expect out of life. Will she choose the safe and predictable path with Chip, or break the mold with George?
Only time will tell.
Complete with a range of sounds from the fifties from girl groups, folk songs, to cowboy music – A Cabin with a View is a wonderful new romantic musical comedy adapted from E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View, with a very American touch.
A Cabin with a View, written Dave Hudson and Paul Libman (the team that brought AFT Muskie Love and Richard Rodgers award-winner Main-Travelled Roads) returned in 2008 for a second year of performances under the stars after playing to packed houses in 2007.
For more music samples and information about Paul Libman and Dave Hudson productions visit LibmanHudson.com
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted: Aug. 11, 2007
Quality theater blooms summer after summer
New material for AFT
Fred Alley's sudden death six years ago left the American Folklore Theatre searching for new theater artists to write for its unusual niche.
The AFT produces original one-act musicals outdoors in Peninsula State Park. The material is family-friendly.
It is now clear the company has found a reliable source of sparkling new material.
The Chicago-based creative team of composer Paul Libman and lyricist-librettist Dave Hudson is becoming indispensable.
Libman's Green Bay childhood keeps the duo rooted in the cheesehead esthetic.
Three years ago, the professional partners wrote their first AFT show, "Muskie Love," borrowing heavily from Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." It was wonderfully fun and charming.
Libman and Hudson are back this summer with "A Cabin With a View," proving they were not one hit wonders. It is hugely entertaining.
Repeating the "Muskie Love" formula, "Cabin" is a modernization of a classic. E.M. Forster's 1908 novel "A Room With a View" is the inspiration this time.
Rather than a young woman freeing herself from the repressed culture of Edwardian England, "Cabin" focuses on a 1950s UW-Madison coed struggling on the cusp of major cultural change in the United States.
Should she marry the wealthy big man on campus who is pursuing her or permanently hook up with the beatnik poet who encourages her to be herself?
Once again, Libman has written a varied pop score that is eminently hummable and serves the story well.
Hudson displays his ease with the AFT style by delivering lyrics and dialogue that are cute, clever and genuinely funny.
The show is further enhanced by an extremely strong acting company.
Molly Rhode is beyond hilarious with her tongue-in-cheek portrait of a matronly sorority housemother and aunt of the principal character, Lucy Honeychurch.
Stephanie Olson possesses an unusually warm and big singing voice in addition to being adorable in the Lucy role.
Emily Myre outshines the sun with her indefatigable energy as a dude ranch operator, and the rest of the cast of Amy Ludwigsen, Doug Mancheski, Lee Becker, Frederick Heide, Dan Klarer, Randy Schmeling and Chase Stoeger is delightful.
Libman and Hudson also wrote AFT's fall show, "Main-TravelledRoads," which is scheduled for Aug. 30 through Oct. 28 indoors at the Ephraim Village Hall.
E-mail: djaques@journalsentinel.com