Intro
If you close your eyes and imagine what a sci-fi musical would be, chances are you are thinking of something that looks a lot like our featured show today. Much ink has been spilt on what went wrong with Via Galactica and it’s known as one of the greatest flops in Broadway history, but is that because of its sci-fi-ness? Was this spectacular failure a basis for the idea that sci-fi musicals don’t work at all? Or was its quick demise the result of something bigger?
Featured Musical: Via Galactica
Via Galactica is a rock musical with music by Galt MacDermot, lyrics by Christopher Gore, and a book by Gore and Judith Ross. It premiered on Broadway in 1972 but closed after just seven performances, making it one of Broadway’s most infamous flops. Despite its short run, Via Galactica remains a curious piece of theater history due to its ambitious concept and its creative team, which included MacDermot, who was famous for his work on Hair.
No video recording exists (at least none that I could find), and I wasn’t alive yet to see its brief run. To piece together the story, I read the script, which is only available in the Special Collections room of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Since full summaries are hard to come by, and no official cast recording is publicly available, I’ll describe the plot in detail.
Plot Summary
Act One
Set in the year 2972, Via Galactica unfolds in a future where Earth has achieved complete peace through strict conformity. Every person must wear a hat, and the pronoun “I” has been replaced with “we.” The only problem left unsolved? Garbage.
Gabriel Finn is a space junkman who totes Earth’s waste off world in his ship “Helen of Troy.” His first mate Hels “space-jacks” the ship and takes him to a small asteroid where a group of people live who have rejected Earth’s conformity led by Dr. Isaacs (a man with only a head) and his wife Omaha. They intend to convince Gabriel to mate with Omaha and create an heir for Isaacs who has built an ark that will carry the forgotten colony to Aldebaran, a mythical star where man can “start life all over again.”
Before their journey to the special star and the end of Act One, Omaha asks Gabe to do her another big favor and go pick up her dad on some other asteroid. He refuses at first, but then he takes off his hat, uses a singular pronoun, and falls in love with Omaha thus agreeing to her wishes. He departs with Hels who leaves his pregnant wife, April, on the asteroid Ithaca. Meanwhile, Omaha isn’t convinced she truly loves Gabe yet. She only wants to use him for his “seed,” but a prophecy warns her that she will fall in love with him.
Act Two
Gabe and Hels have been gone for a long time. In their absence, April has given birth to twins, and Dr. Isaacs decides it’s time to leave for Aldebaran without them. As the group is about to depart, Gabe and Hels return, bringing Omaha’s brother, his wife, and their son. Omaha’s father, however, is dead. Dr. Isaacs scolds them for their delay, warning that Ithaca will soon suffer the same fate as other asteroids before it.
Once everyone is on board the ark (aka the Via Galactica), Gabe decides that he won’t join them. After all, he’s just a garbageman. What use would he be in a new world? But Omaha, at last, confesses her love, and after they consummate their relationship, he changes his mind. However, the extra time they spent together has thrown their departure into jeopardy. They must leave now or risk missing their chance.
To make matters worse, an Earth ship has arrived, intending to take the Ithacans back. Gabe wants to return to Earth, but Omaha doesn’t want their kid to wear a hat and conform to Earth’s rules. Gabe sends a message to the Earth ship that he’s returning, but it’s a lie. He boards his own ship engaging the Earth vessel in battle to buy time for the Via Galactica to escape.
Gabe dies.
109 years later, the Via Galactica arrives at a place they call “New Jerusalem.”
And that’s the end of the show.
Main Themes
Via Galactica tackles themes such as the consequences of environmental neglect, the fragmentation of society, and the existential quest for identity and purpose in a world that has lost its way. Its use of 1970s pop and rock music styles reflected the era’s fascination with space exploration and the counterculture movement. The musical’s themes of environmental destruction and societal dystopia were also reflective of the growing ecological and existential concerns of the time.
Music
While listening to excerpts from the demo recording (also only officially available for free at the NYPL), I noticed there is nothing particularly “sci-fi” about the score except for the occasional electronic sound effect symbolizing transmissions from Earth. For the most part, the music reminds me of a sequel to MacDermot’s more successful work Hair. There may not be an official cast recording to be found easily online, but if you are curious what the songs sound like as instrumental smooth jazz, check out this album MacDermot made with Billy Butler:
Song Highlights
- “Via Galactica”: The opening number (reprised ad nauseum) by the Storyteller (Irena Cara). It gives the impression of a seafaring tale like the Odyssey or Moby Dick, but the thing that follows is much stranger.
- “Children of the Sun”: Omaha introduces Gabriel to the rebellion on Ithaca and explains why they are truly free from the conformity of Earth. It’s a beautiful soulful ballad that could make a great cabaret song.
- “Dance The Dark Away”: A groovy group number that the Ithacans sing as they board the ark bound for the promised land in a new galaxy. I can picture them bouncing across the trampolines now shouting “Tumala la la la!”
- “400 Girls Ago”: Gabriel finally admits that he’s fallen in love in probably one of the least romantic ways (mentioning all his exes). It’s a cute little song that almost gets to the heart of Gabe’s character and why he’s been so lonely in space.
- “All My Good Mornings”: It’s Omaha’s turn to confess her own love for Gabe. Nevermind her poor head of a husband. It’s a classic love ballad with harps and floaty melodies.
Characters and Performances
Main Characters
- Gabriel Finn: The protagonist, a space junkman who feels adrift in the universe, searching for purpose in a life filled with meaningless tasks.
- Omaha: A lady of Ithaca who Gabriel is being set up to procreate with.
- Dr. Isaacs: A figure of authority on the asteroid, struggling to maintain order in a world where nothing seems to matter anymore.
- Hels Mikelli: Gabriel’s assistant who is in charge of getting Gabe’s genes to Ithaca.
Performances
The original cast included Raul Julia as Gabriel Finn, whose performance was praised for its intensity and depth, despite the musical’s overall struggles. Julia brought a sense of gravitas and vulnerability to the role. He of course went on to bigger and better things. Keene Curtis who played the floating head of Dr. Isaacs was already a Tony winning actor who would go on to play more full-bodied roles in Annie and La Cage Aux Folles. Virginia Vestoff, known for her role as Abigail Adams in 1776, played Omaha with a big heart.
The ensemble cast, while less well-known, contributed to the unique, eclectic energy of the show. One of the ensemble members was a young dancer named George Faison who (although uncredited) was responsible for choreography and of course went on the do many great works on the American stage including one of our recently featured musicals, The Wiz!
Visual and Special Effects
The set design of Via Galactica was ambitious, featuring a large, inflatable dome that represented the garbage asteroid. The production utilized innovative, though sometimes problematic, special effects to convey the zero-gravity environment. Actors would bounce and glide across the stage using trampolines and harnesses to simulate the characters floating in space. Costumes were colorful and outlandish, reflecting the eccentric personalities of the characters and the futuristic, alien world they inhabited. Actors were literally painted different colors like blue and gold. However, these effects were often cited as distracting and difficult to execute, contributing to the musical’s struggles to connect with audiences. New York Times reviewer Walter Kerr was not impressed by the little white dots (perhaps indicating stars?) that covered the backdrop, and he referred to it as “a steady rainfall of tapioca.”
Fun Facts and Trivia
The musical was one of the most expensive productions of its time. The production’s ambitious design, particularly the use of trampolines and harnesses to simulate zero-gravity, became one of its most talked-about (and criticized) features. Via Galactica received bad reviews and went on to be one of the first musicals to lose $1 million. The show was plagued with issues: For a moment the show was to be called “Up,” but when posted next to the theater’s name Uris on the marquee, it sent an unfortunate message. According to the daughter of one of the bookwriters, actors and scenery fell through the trampolines. Other actors were helplessly stuck in the air on rigs and in spaceships until they could be rescued by stage crew. And they had issues with the new wireless mics picking up frequencies from local police lines reporting emergency activity in Midtown Manhattan.
Surprisingly, it was not MacDermot’s first flop of the season. His mega-musical Dude was also a commercial failure that we may or may not cover in this blog. A great bit of trivia about Dude is that they filled the Broadway Theatre with tons of fake dirt for the show (after an attempt to use real dirt caused all kinds of technical issues).
If you love deep dives and trivia, below is a video from my favorite theater historians Jen Tepper and Kevin Michael Murphy with a special song from Via Galactica sung by Rich Krakowski.
Cultural Impact
Via Galactica was a commercial and critical failure, closing after only seven performances on Broadway. Audiences and critics alike were baffled by the musical’s unconventional style, disjointed plot, and experimental staging.
Despite its failure, Via Galactica remains a fascinating example of 1970s experimental theater. Its blend of rock music, sci-fi themes, and avant-garde staging was ahead of its time, anticipating later developments in musical theater that would explore similar ideas with greater success. Via Galactica also introduced the newer concept of the “sung through” musical. Audiences of the 1970s were not used to hearing a story that was almost entirely sung. That all changes with the entrance of the British mega-musical in a few years.
And it also may have even been inspirational for one of my favorite sci-fi theater moments in the TV show Friends:
Summary
Via Galactica is a testament to the bold experimentation that characterized Broadway in the 1970s. While it ultimately failed to resonate with audiences, its ambition and creativity are commendable. It’s a fascinating artifact of its time, reflecting the era’s anxieties and hopes for the future. In a time when the environmental and societal issues explored in the musical are more relevant than ever, Via Galactica offers a reminder of the power of theater to reflect and challenge the world around us.
Up Next
Next, we will explore Starlight Express, another musical that broke new ground (also at the Uris/Gershwin Theater) with its unique staging and use of roller skates to bring its dynamic story to life. Join us as we chug into this energetic and innovative production.
References
- Bosworth, Patricia. “Dude – An $800,000 Disaster. Where Did They Go Wrong?”, The New York Times, October 22, 1972 October 22, 1972, Section D, p. 1, https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/22/archives/dude-an-800000-disaster-where-did-they-go-wrong-dude-an-800000.html
- George, Jennifer. “My Family’s Flop.” New York Times, 1 Jan. 2011, p. 10, www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/opinion/02george.html.
- Kerr, Walter. “Kerr on ‘Via Galactica’: And It Rained Tapioca.” New York Times, 10 Dec. 1972, p. 5. https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/10/archives/and-it-rained-tapioca.html
- MacDermot, Galt. Via Galactica : a musical of the future: typescript, 1976 / music by Galt MacDermot ; lyrics by Christopher Gore ; book by Judith Ross based on the original musical book by Christopher Gore. 12 November 1976. NCOF+ 21-817. Billy Rose Theatre Division. Performing Arts Research Collections – Theatre, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New York, NY. https://www.nypl.org/research/research-catalog/bib/b22425201
- “Via Galactica (Broadway, Gershwin Theatre, 1972).” Playbill, 1 Dec. 2021, playbill.com/productions/via-galactica-uris-theatre-vault-0000011093.