Broadway Manka

1990-1999

William Shakespeare's 'The Odd Couple' - 1999



William Shakespeare's 'The Odd Couple' (1999) - Neil Simon's classic play adapted to Elizabethan times in the style (and language - Iambic Pentameter!) of William Shakespeare. (Closed the night after Neil Simon saw the production.)

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Super Draculas On Ice - 1998



Super Draculas On Ice (1998) - The ‘Super Draculas On Ice’ World Tour (based on the hit MBS animated series) gets off to a rough start in Rochester, NY, after several ‘flying’ cables snap, dropping many Draculas hard to the ice.

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Sensible Shoes - 1995



Sensible Shoes (1995) - New Broadway musical. Things look pretty bleak for the 'Sensible Shoes' outlet store at the Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, Kansas, until the employees and customers start dancing!

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Cathy [UNAUTHORIZED] - 1993



Cathy [UNAUTHORIZED] (1993) - Off-Broadway musical loosely (very loosely) based on the popular newspaper comic strip character Cathy. (The show closed after one performance due to rights issues - even though the show had nothing to do with the comic except the name of the title character.)

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Viet-Mom - 1991



Viet-Mom (1991) - Heartbreaking musical set during the Vietnam War based loosely on the 1887 French novel 'Madame Chrysanthème' by Pierre Loti.

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1980-1989

The Potato Eaters - 1989



The Potato Eaters (1989)  - Musical based on the characters from the Van Gogh painting 'The Potato Eaters' opened on Broadway in October 1989.

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I Always Sang For My Father- He Said I Sucked - 1988



I Always Sang For My Father - He Said I Sucked (1988)  - Pulitzer Prize finalist ‘I Always Sang For My Father - He Said I Sucked’ opened on Broadway. It went on to become Manka Bros.’ longest running drama on Broadway.

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Slaughterhouse Live! - 1986



Slaughterhouse Live! (1986) - Failed musical based on the award-winning 1969 Kurt Vonnegut novel 'Slaughterhouse-Five'

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Wax Doll  - 1983



Wax Doll (1983) - The incredibly versatile Joey Levitch starred as wax sculptor Madame Tussaud (aging from 15 to 88) in this groundbreaking musical. [It closed after one triumphant performance that Broadway is still talking about.]

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Manka Bros.' CATS!  - 1981



Manka Bros.' CATS! (1981) - Manka Bros. produced a rival version of ‘CATS’ on Broadway (music by Thompson Twins) which opened weeks before Andrew Lloyd Webber’s. While Manka’s was considered a ‘grittier, more realistic take on cats’ lives on the streets,’ it closed after two weeks and Webber’s ‘CATS’ went on to win Tonys and ran for years.

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1970-1979

Dog Patch '79 - 1979



Dog Patch '79 (1979)  - Live theme park show produced by Manka Bros. at the Manka Fun Park in the Ozark Mountains.

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Ken and Rhonda's First Apartment - 1978



Ken And Rhonda's First Apartment (1978) - Off-Broadway musical about the trials and tribulations of a couple in the early 20s after they get their first apartment.

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The Duchess Of Malfi - 1977



The Duchess Of Malfi (1977) - Award-winning staging of the 1613 Jacobean play by John Webster starring puppets and animals. It was a triumph at the Old Vic in London before transfering to the Palace Theatre on Broadway where it was also a smash.

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Bertolt Brecht's Baal - 1974



Bertolt Brecht's Baal  (1974) - Bertolt Brecht's first play (written in 1918) starring Joey Levitch in his first appearance on Broadway in 40 years.  

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1960-1969

Scream! (Or Munch Ado About Nothing) - 1969



Scream! (Or Munch Ado About Nothing) (1969) - Psychodelic musical retelling of the life of Norwegian 'Scream!' painter Edvard Munch.

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George Bernard Shaw's 'Arms And The Man' - 1968



George Bernard Shaw's 'Arms and the Man' (1968) - After ‘Hair’ becomes a huge success on Broadway (featuring lots of nudity), Manka Bros. orders the cast of its production of George Bernard Shaw’s ‘Arms and the Man’ - to derobe in select spots to boost ticket sales.

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'Tis Pity She's A Whore - 1967



'Tis Pity She's A Whore (1967) - Long-running, award-winning production of the classic John Ford play from 1625. [Funny anecdote::A Holiday basket of cheeses sent to the cast on December 21, 1967, which resulted in several actors getting food poisoning and throwing up violently during the performance.]

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Crazy Beat - 1964



Crazy Beat (1964) - A play with music about the Beat Generation origins in Greenwich Village, New York. [Closed in an out-of-town tryout in Connecticut.]

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1950-1959

Owl Creek - 1959



Owl Creek - (1959) - Musical drama based on the short story 'An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge' by Ambrose Bierce about a southern slave owner being hanged by Union soldiers at Owl Creek Bridge during the American Civil War.

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Manka Playhouse 90 'Sunset Boulevard'- 1954



Manka Playhouse 90 'Sunset Boulevard' - (1954) - Actor Harvey Murray is arrested for murder during a live TV performance of Manka Playhouse 90’s ‘Sunset Boulevard.’ Murray (a.k.a. the Studio City Strangler) was accused and convicted of killing fifteen aspiring actors over several years. His performance in the show was also panned by critics.

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Pills Are Poppin'- 1950



Pills Are Poppin' - (1950) - A dreary V.A. Hospital ward gets a facelift and a jolt of pizzazz when new administrator Joey Levitch takes over. Can he stay upbeat during his grueling 12-hour shift? Yes, especially if 'Pills Are Poppin'!'

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1940-1949

Goin' To Town - 1943



Goin' To Town - (1943) - World War 2 musical about a group of sailors goin' to town. [Featured an actual World War 2 combat plane on stage. After the show closed because 'On The Town' was a bigger hit, the plane was sent back to Europe for more bombing runs over Germany.]

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Muckrakers - 1942



Muckrakers - (1942) - The compelling hit play about journalist John Spargo and his undying efforts to change child labor laws in the early 20th century. [Ironically, the show was shut down after law-enforcement discovered the children in the cast had been forced to work 18-hours a day for several weeks.]

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1930-1939

Tit-For-Tat - 1937



Tit-For-Tate - (1937) - Famous body building twins, The Markham Sisters, starred in this lavish musical about identical twin sisters who are in love with the same man and try to win his affection by bench pressing the most weight (and singing and dancing). 

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Society Gals - 1933



Society Gals - (1933) - Tone deaf Broadway musical (it was the height of The Great Depression) where Society Gals sing about going to cocktail parties at Manhattan Mansions and Long Island Estates with a sophisticated bunch of business tycoons, playboy playwrights, politicians and movie stars.

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