City of Angels

City of Angels (1989), a musical comedy by Larry Gelbart (book), Cy Coleman (music), David Zippel (lyrics). [ Virginia Theatre, 878 perf.; Tony, NYDCC Awards.] Novelist Stein (Gregg Edelman) is adapting his detective story into a screenplay for Hollywood producer Buddy Fidler (Rene Auberjonois) but his fictional creation, the hard‐boiled Stone (James Naughton), keeps interfering, taking on a life of his own and reminding Stein of his shortcomings as a writer and as a man. Notable songs: You're Nothing Without Me; Lost and Found; You Can Always Count on Me. Gelbart's clever spoof of 1940s private eye films balanced two stories (the real‐life events in Hollywood and the fictional tale being written) and the ingenious sets and costumes by Robin Wagner and Florence Klotz added to the fun by presenting the former world in color and the cinematic one in black and white. The Coleman‐Zippel score was distinctive for its Big Band sound and scat‐singing quartet called the Angel City Four.