AngelFox Media / Director packet
Bums & Businessmen
Dreamers take on the daily grind in a jazzy musical farce full of comic characters.
School license from $499 for 3 performances. Organization type and additional performances affect pricing.
The case for your season
A comic musical about ambition and dreams that can be produced without expensive spectacle.
- Great for distinctive comic actors
- Expandable ensemble for city life and office scenes
- Dialect and period flavor can be dialed up or simplified
Cast & production
- Cast
- 10+ actors
- Runtime
- ≈ 2 hours
- Best for
- Comic character casts; Community theatres; Low-budget productions
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Music
- Jazzy musical-comedy score with character songs and ensemble numbers.
- Content rating
- PG (appropriate for most children) | references to alcohol and smoking
- Content notes
- Jazzy farce about dreams, class, work, and identity. Review the script for local school tone and dialect comfort.
- Staging
- Low-to-moderate tech; strong staging, props, and costume contrast do much of the storytelling.
- Accompaniment
- Recorded rehearsal and performance tracks included with a standard musical license.
Listed characters / role groups
- Edward
- Male, a reluctant businessman with a dream of becoming a jazz musician
- Rhubarbara
- Female, Edward's domineering fiancée who may have once had a dream of her own
- Weasel
- Male, Edward's conniving and jealous coworker, willing to do whatever it takes to claw his way to the top
- Dirty Dan
- Male, the self-proclaimed 'king of the bums' and 'all-knowing spirit of the street' - a truly free spirit and mentor to Edward
- Chester/Cholula
- Male/female, a truly down-and-out vagrant, a lost soul looking for a chance to get his feet back on the ground
- Mubble
- Male/female, a simple-minded vagrant who, in the spirit of Harpo Marx, doesn't speak (at least not intelligably), likely with serious trauma from the Great War
- Ella Vaughan
- Female, 'the greatest jazz singer in the world' and the focus of Edward's daydreams'
- Mr./Mrs. Engerman
- Male/female, Edward's emotionally unstable boss, who's 'just the right amount of scary', especially when he tries to show love
- Mildred
- Female, Mr. Engerman's no-nonsense secretary
- Pansy
- Female, Edward's bubbly and unfiltered mother
- Dirk
- Male, Edward's chip-on-the-shoulder and equally unfiltered father
- Judge
- Male/female, a firm believer in justice and equity ... that is, if it's all right with Mr. Engerman
- Officer
- Male/female, a strict enforcer of the law, who can be bribed for $5
- Chorus
- Male/female, businessmen, secretaries, townspeople, vagrants
Preview before deciding
- Perusal scripthttps://angelfoxmedia.com/scripts/bums/sample.html
- Score samplehttps://angelfoxmedia.com/samples/bums/score-sample.pdf
- Music demoshttps://angelfoxmedia.com/music/bums
Audience response
Music and dance
Outstanding acting. Had me laughing so hard my sides hurt.
Licensing & next steps
Standard licenses include digital scripts, score, recorded tracks, available production artwork, and three public performances for your listed venue and dates. Materials are delivered after payment. Schools and theatres can request an invoice or purchase order during checkout.
Professional, touring, recording, streaming, adaptation, translation, and exclusive rights require written approval. Confirm those needs before purchasing or announcing your production.
https://angelfoxmedia.com/library/bums/packet