Piccadilly Project

Lunch at the Piccadilly

By Clyde Edgerton / Music and lyrics by Mike Craver

A new musical changing the world - one rocking chair at a time

Directed by Steve Umberger

Lunch at the Piccadilly is based on Clyde Edgerton's best selling novel and N.Y. Times Notable Book of the same name. With songs by Drama Desk Award winner Mike Craver and directed by Steve Umberger, the show has been developed at the York Theatre Company in New York and in four productions. It was also the subject of a unique collaboration between Playworks and Aldersgate at Blumenthal Performing Arts.

"The themes about family and aging are universal...A funny and heartfelt hit, worthy of its' creators' estimable talents." 

Raleigh News & Observer  

 

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Lunch at the Piccadilly at the York Theatre Company, NY

"Silly and soulful....At the very moment Edgerton confronts despair and loneliness, those issues turn out to be ripe material for satire."  
Asheville Citizen-Times 

"Among the delights here are the pointed satire of the nursing home industry...and the chorus of idiosyncratic, opinionated characters who have more life left in them than anyone quite expects."  
New York Times (of the novel)

Watch the trailer and scroll for more.

Clyde Edgerton is the author of ten novels, a book of advice, a memoir, short stories and essays. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and five of his novels have been New York Times Notable Books. He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and is Professor of Creative Writing at UNC Wilmington. Mike Craver's Off-Broadway credits include The Oil City Symphony, Smoke on the Mountain, and Radio Gals. He has worked in theatres across the country, and was a member of the Red Clay Ramblers for many years. Below, Edgerton talks about developing Lunch at the Piccadilly for the stage with Mike Craver and director/producer Steve Umberger.

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"The musical doesn't shy away from truths about old folks. It puts us inside their heads with gentle and broad wit and a tougher kind of wisdom...A flavorful, diverse score that touches on arcana but more often touches the heart." 

Charlotte Observer

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever see a musical about assisted living. It's fun and real and sensitively presented. We often forget to look at our older loves ones as the heroes they really are. Well done!"

Andi Reese, performer, gerontologist, and Medicare counselsor

Lunch at the Piccadilly is available for licensing. Find out more on the Contact page and email info@playworksonline.org.

Photos: Bobby Moody, Norris Greenlee, Donna Bise
Video production: Rick Fitts / Fitts Productions