The Richard III Musical|{Work In Progress}

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

As I'm reckon most of you know, me, myself and I have been very busy penning a musical/parody based on Shakespeare's 'The Tragedy of Richard III'. I thought I'd share some of the stuff I already have, to see what you all think. ^^

So...without further ado...

The list of musical numbers, which I came up with on a long and boring plane ride. I was listening to some Elizabethan style Christmas music and decided to challenge myself to come up with musical numbers for Richard III (my thought processes, in case you haven't guessed, are odd). I decided to split the musical into two acts, rather than five as Shakespeare tends to do, fyi.

Hence...

List Of Musical Numbers

Act I

Just Misunderstood (To Tell The Truth I Always Lie) – Richard, Duke of Gloucester

Dueling Duet/Stichomythia – Richard, Duke of Gloucester & Anne Neville

Mad Old Bat – Queen Margaret & Company

Dratted Death – George, Duke of Clarence, Murderer One, Murderer Two

Suspicious Suspicions – King Edward, Queen Elizabeth & Company

A Royal Pain –King Edward, Queen Elizabeth & Company

A Royal Pain (Reprise) – Richard, Duke of Gloucester

Dratted Death (Reprise) – Rivers, Grey, Vaughan, Hastings

How To Stage Manage Success – Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, The Lord Mayor of London & Company

Act II

Being King (Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be) – King Richard III

Darn You! – Queen Elizabeth, King Richard III

The Minion & Messenger Minuet – Catesby, Ratcliffe, Lovell, Messengers

A Random Field Beginning With ‘B’ – Richmond, King Richard III & Company

The Ghostbusters Won’t Save You Now! – The Ghosts of Richard’s Victims

I Wish I Knew How To Ride A Horse – King Richard III

The Red & White Rose (An Attempt To Be Serious) – Earl of Richmond, Princess Elizabeth


And, when I finish the comedic version (I thought it would be safest to try comedic first, serious later) here are the serious musical numbers. ^^

Act I

Opposites - Richard

Not All For Love - Richard & Anne

Margaret's Madness - Queen Margaret & Company

The Bloody Deed - Clarence, Murderers

Disbelief, Denial, Despair - King Edward, Queen Elizabeth, Courtiers & Company

Hastings' Lament - Lord Hastings

King Edward V? - Prince Edward, Prince Richard, Gloucester, Buckingham & Company

Your Majesty - Buckingham, Lord Mayor & Company

Act II

The Coronation/Your Majesty (Reprise) - Instrumental/Buckingham & Company

Plotters Fall Out - King Richard III, Buckingham

Visions/The Bloody Deed (Reprise) - Ghosts of Richard's Victims

Harry Tudor - Earl of Richmond & Company

The Battle of Bosworth/A Horse! - Instrumental/King Richard III

Peace Lives Again - Earl of Richmond, Lord Stanley & Company



If you want to see more (I've written a couple of songs and scenes, and I also have my cast list written up) reply and let me know! Also, I work in a totally random order (the first song I wrote was 'The Red & White Rose'). If you would like to see a scene/song in all likelihood I won't have written it yet, so feel free to request if you want to see how I plan to do a scene/song/whatever. XD


Here's hoping you like what you've seen so far; I am a rubbish critic of my own work so please give me comments, constructive criticism, critique...anything and everything!

PLEASE NOTE: If you choose to request/want to see something I am, as yet, only working on the comedic/parody version!

[ÉPONINE THÉNARDIER]

OH MY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON.

I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING! I will pm you my email address. I am fascinated beyond comprehension. I would love to help in this since I did Richard III this spring. I could probably dig up some backstage cracks that we came up with or something that you could incorporate into lyrics. I might dabble with melodies and stuff too on my piano. It would be so much FUN!

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

I'm so pleased it's of interest to you my dear! -hugs-
And you'd like to help me? Oh, you've just gone and made my day! :3
Thank you very much indeed; I'm honoured to welcome you on board as it were. -salutes-

[RICHARD PLANTAGENET]

At long last here's the cast list! :3 Here's hoping you all like it! XD

Dramatis Personae

Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III)
- Brother to King Edward IV and George, Duke Of Clarence. Severely deformed so as to almost look cartoonish yet surprisingly full of himself. Eloquent but has a tendency to ramble and monologue to himself. Bitter about being last in everything. Likes wearing unusual hats.

Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham
- Thinks he’s the best thing since sliced bread. Very egotistical and flamboyant, some suspect he’s an ex-actor. He always wears a cape of some kind. Greedy and easily motivated by money, marshmallows and business ventures involving either. Has an ambition to take over a marshmallow factory in Hereford someday in addition to his political work.

George, Duke of Clarence
- In stark contrast to his brothers, George is very innocent (almost saint like) and naïve. He sings with the voice of an angel and always had a cross somewhere about his person. Looks a little like a forlorn puppy; attempts to use his ‘pleading puppy look’ to stop the Murderers killing him. He is also rather dimwitted and puns fly right over his head.

Lord William Hastings
- Lord Chamberlain. Bold and brash, always cracking jokes and teasing those about him. Very trusting, especially of his supposed best pals Richard, Buckingham and Catesby. Obsessed with his iPone, which he named Jane.

Sir William Catesby
- One of Richard’s minions. Never appears without gum in his mouth. Speaks with a Cockney accent akin to Dodger in Oliver Twist (as one example). Gets on well with Ratcliffe but doesn’t really like Lovell. (“The Cat…)

Sir Richard Ratcliffe
- Minion Number Two. Obsequious towards Richard to the point of being annoying, although he does help him recover from his ‘freaky deaky’ dream on the night of the battle. Not too fond of Catesby or Lovell; lords his status as an ally to the up-and-coming Richard of Gloucester over them despite the fact they all share the same position. (The Rat…)

Sir Francis Lovell
- The third of the minions, and the shortest (a fact which he greatly resents). Tries to be funny and witty but often fails miserably. In awe of Ratcliffe but not overly fond of Catesby (And Lovell the dog…do rule all England under the hog.”)

Sir Robert (Bob) Brackenbury
- Lord Lieutenant of The Tower Of London. Not very good at his job, but he loves polishing his badge. Rather stout, almost never seen without a doughnut and/or coffee in his hand. A stereotypical ‘cop’ figure.

Lord Stanley, Earl of Derby
- A good guy through and through. Stepfather to Richmond and good pal of Hastings. The only one to play Richard at his own game. Hopes to get his fifteen minutes of fame in the end, but fails to do so. Understandably miffed for the remainder of the play, going so far as to stop Richmond’s pocket money.

King Edward IV
- Dresses in a manner akin to Dumbledore of the Harry Potter series. Seems to know everything except what right in front of him; always spouting random Guinness Book of World Records facts, irrelevant anecdotes and poets. Only realizes what’s going on when it’s too late.

Queen Elizabeth
- Easily misunderstood and underestimated. On the short side but other than that quite pretty, tries and fails to make herself look even nicer by wearing far too much makeup. Usually dresses in red to reflect her foul temper and even fouler tongue. (nb. Since I don’t swear, my characters don’t either. However, when they say things like Drat and Dang it, I intend those to be the ‘swear words’ of ‘My Kingdom For A Parody’. Hence whenever Elizabeth says something like ‘Darn you!’ or ‘Drat,’ or ‘Oh snap!’ everyone looks scandalized =P)

Prince Edward
- Their oldest son. Very feminine and a big lover of fashion. Takes delight in torturing his beloved Uncle Ricky. Always carries a teddy bear; the teddy bear always bears (pun intended) a miniature handbag.

Prince Richard
- The younger son. Easily excitable and very childlike. Genuinely adores his Uncle Ricky. Seems innocent but, as it turns out, he can be almost as annoying as his brother.

Lord Rivers
- Elizabeth’s brother, but he acts more like her Dad, always giving her advice and comforting her when things go wrong (very often as it turns out). Overbearing.

Lord Grey
- Elizabeth’s son by her first husband. A nervous and twitchy character similar to Psycho’s Norman Bates, and no wonder, what with his mother!

Marquis of Dorset
- Grey’s brother. Seems soft spoken and shy but is shown to have his mother’s quick temper when confronted (as in the scene with Margaret). Advised by his mother to flee to Richmond; all too glad to do so.

Sir Thomas Vaughan
- A mysterious chap who lurks in the background of most court scenes. No-one really knows who he is or why he’s there but aren’t bothered to find out considering everything else that’s going on.

Lady Anne
- A very wan and weepy figure that is soon revealed to have quite a quick temper behind her initial melancholy. Becomes braver as the play goes on but to no avail. Sticks to her morals and core beliefs even when this lands her in trouble.

Queen Margaret
- Staggers about the stage as if she’s drunk, sometimes yelling, sometimes whispering in a threatening manner. Looks as though she was once pretty but one day forgot how to use a hairbrush. Everyone thinks she’s mad…but then, the best people are.

Duchess Of York
- Mother of Edward, Clarence and Richard. Seems depressed most of the time but is able to cheer herself up with her knitting, if only for a moment or two.

The Lord Mayor of London
- Speaks with a thick American accent and always wears bling. Hardly ever says anything without the word ‘Yo’ in front of it. Likes to irritate Buckingham as he suspects the Duke of trying to oust him in the flamboyancy stakes.

Earl of Richmond (Later King Henry VII)
- Seems to be the hero coming to save the day but in reality he’s the true villain (then again, this is a parody). Very egotistical and full of himself. A devoted fan of un-necessary dramatic musical interludes he also enjoys mercilessly and childishly taunting people he doesn’t like and is used to getting his own way.

Sir James Tyrrell
- An assassin Richard hires to bump off his nephews. Dresses like a ninja and tends to cartwheel and do acrobatics across the stage rather than walk. When he speaks it’s with a surprisingly thick Irish accent.

Murderers One and Two
- Two killers hired by Richard to bump off Clarence. Murderer One is tall and thin, while Murderer Two is short and squat. Murderer One loves his job, but Murderer Two is not so sure. The pair of them are very fidgety and like children at times, blaming each other and bickering.

Young Elizabeth
- Queen Elizabeth’s daughter. Like a miniature of her mother but, if possible, with an even worse temper. Dances the waltz surprisingly well, although she tends to step on Richmond’s toes.

Ghost of King Henry VI
- What the title says. Henry was a nice chap when he was alive, but when he comes back as a ghost he’s no longer in the mood to be nice.

Ghost of Edward of Lancaster
- What the title says. Son of Margaret and Henry VI. Killed by Richard in the Battle of Tewkesbury. Very bitter about the whole him/Richard/Anne deal.

Various messengers, soldiers, attendants, courtiers, citizens, assorted pastry chefs and other random people with no lines also feature.

I wonder what The Bard would say to all this. XD