ICON
SYNOPSIS
Act One
Centoluci, 1928. Glitterati, movie icons, international press and teeming well-wishers descend on the tiny Alpine principality for the wedding of the decade. Cementing a link with her moneyed American family, the beautiful Constance Nielsen is chosen as the bride of Crown Prince Cedric, as Centoluci cunningly restores its monarchy, suppresses all detractors, and rakes in the profit while reinventing itself as the world's most glamorous destination |PERFECT|
1969. The once private secretary to Princess Constance, Artu Gualtieri, has passed away. His grandson, Marcello, discovers that his inheritance has been whittled away for forty years by a standing order payment that his grandfather made to a music teacher on a Venezuelan island. Marcello travels to the island in search of an explanation.
The island of Margarita |FIND SOME SHADE|. The music teacher is a modest, seventy-something woman, Miss Vine. Convinced that he has discovered his grandfather's mistress, Marcello is quick to demonize his grandfather, whom Miss Vine defends. She recalls a man of overwhelming kindness and wit. Marcello is in no mood for reminiscing but Miss Vine, determined to clear Gualtieri's name, continues...
Hopes are high and the fairytale wedding of 1928 is everything it needs to be, but the new Princess struggles to find her footing |I WONDER|. She is determined to succeed |THE CONSTANCE EXPRESS| and becomes patron of the renowned Music Festival. Gualtieri becomes her guide and confidant but not even he can save her from making an appalling gaffe while discussing music at the Festival's opening night |SHE'LL READ A SCRIPT| . It is one of the waiters who leans forward to discreetly correct her mistake and helps her to save face. Constance is humiliated that a waiter at the Salles Symphoniques should know more about music than she, the patron! She instructs Gualtieri to engage for her a music tutor |THE CHANCE TO LEARN| but a series of candidates prove to be sycophantic, irritating and useless. Still mindful of the knowledgeable waiter, Constance suggests him for the job. Gualtieri counsels against such an outlandish breach of protocol but nevertheless makes enquiries when the Princess insists.
The waiter is Alvaro Vigna, and is indeed more that he first seems: a trained conductor, but a waiter by night and small-time music tutor by day. He refuses, however, to tutor the Princess. Indignantly, Constance visits his ghastly attic apartment and suggests that Alvaro, like her, is a fraud and knows less about music than was first supposed. Alvaro's sarcastic retort |THAT'S ALL I KNOW| reveals his virtuosic musicianship - but he detests his beloved country's sudden celebrity culture, and how the Princess epitomizes it. Constance finds Alvaro to be refreshingly irreverent. He is eventually taken aback by her disarming lack of pretense, and agrees to one lesson a week - not at the palace but in his attic.
Alvaro has an infectious musical passion and explosive teaching style. Constance, by contrast, is stiff and uptight, and Alvaro curtails a lesson to show her a shabby part of the city. At Bar Scuro, Alvaro and his old pal Rico jam in a much more relaxed approach to music |THE MEMORY OF YOU| , but Rico, a staunch anti-royalist, recognizes the Princess and is appalled that Alvaro would associate himself with her.
Alvaro leads Constance up to a terrace. The view across the famous lake is mesmerizing |CENTOLUCI| and Alvaro confesses that most heartfelt dream is to replace his dire, cell-like attic for an apartment with a view like this |A LITTLE BALCONY|, from which he could take in the world. Constance admires Alvaro's ambition and wishes she had such clarity, to which Alvaro replies that she must simply discover her own passion |BELIEVE IN ALL YOU DREAM| .
Constance is unmoved that her late return to the palace has prompted a security alert, and that the arrangement with her unorthodox tutor is now noted. Her husband's feigned concern disgusts her - she's already worked out that he is gay, that their marriage was merely part of Centoluci's audacious publicity machine. But she is deeply moved by her increasing fondness for Alvaro and, for one week only, her schedule dictates that he must teach her at the palace. His hilarious disrespect for everything within the palace's stuffy walls |OH, WHAT A BORE!| is irresistible to Constance |TOUCH ME| , whose feelings for Alvaro begin distracting her from his teaching |THE KISS| .
That evening, the Princess must deliver a pre-written speech. The subject is music scholarship, one that is immensely close to Alvaro's heart. He strongly disagrees with her text, suggesting countless changes, but any would be unthinkable. When the moment comes, Constance nervously begins as planned, only then to deviate widely from the text, throwing in not just Alvaro's changes but several of her own. She suddenly finds herself to be confident and articulate, and a champion of the underprivileged |WONDERFUL AND YOURS| . The expected polite applause is instead an ovation, and the nation takes her to its heart.
Act Two
Uneasy whispering is all around |DEVOTEES & DISSENTERS| but Constance feels triumphant and credits Alvaro with all she has become. The Crown Prince's fearsome mother, The Grand Duchess Cesara, breaks her imperious silence and, fearing a scandal, reminds the Princess of her duty |THE BURNING OF THE FLAGS|. But Constance is absorbed with Alvaro, and their “music lessons” are now spent making love in his attic and planning a future |YOU'LL BE BEAUTIFUL| . They know they are breaking the rules but feel invincible. Constance has arranged for Alvaro to conduct at the Salles Symphoniques, fueling outrage from the Palace, incessant gossip in the international press |THE NEXT BIG THING| and a stark warning from Rico that it will end in disaster. Shocked by scandalous reports, some investors, including Constance's own father, are cancelling their sponsorship, and Centoluci's once-perfect Princess seems now a dangerous liability. The next and final warning is from Gualtier |LISTEN TO THE SILENCE| , who fears terrible consequences should it go unheeded.
The opening night of the 1929 Music Festival clashes with Constance's regular music lesson, and the palace now presumes that nothing will make her miss a meeting with Alvaro, but they are wrong. She and Alvaro have spent the day saying goodbye. They have realized that they are not the great conductor and the glamorous princess: they are the disgrace of Centoluci. Impossibly painful though it is, there will be no more lessons, no more meetings - it is their duty |REPRISE: YOU'LL BE BEAUTIFUL|. When the Princess later appears at the palace, she is clearly not expected and, sensing danger, she commands Gualtieri to drive her back to Alvaro's apartment.
They find the entire building ablaze. In an attempt to rescue Alvaro, they burst through onlookers to run inside, but it is pointless: the flames and poisoning smoke make the stairwell un-scalable, and Constance passes out. Gualtieri thinks quickly, covering the Princess with his coat before discretely carrying her out to safety alongside other choking survivors. Many saw her enter, no one saw her leave. As the world begins to believe that she has perished along with her lover |NATIONAL ANTHEM| , Gualtieri drives her through the night, over the mountains, and across the border. Despite official reports, he knows that the fire was no accident: the palace wants their Princess dead, and so he lets them think they have succeeded. Numbed with grief, Constance is secretly passed through Gualtieri's network of contacts, given a new identity, and a new home an ocean away.
Her story ends, Gualtieri had saved her life, and Marcello is in shock. He is in no doubt that he is in the presence of Princess Constance when she reveals the famous dress and priceless jewels that her former self had worn on the night that she "died". She plans to sell them but Marcello knows that she must not. Once identified as genuine, she would be hounded by a hungry press and an angry world. Existing in near isolation, Constance is oblivious to the iconic status that she holds. She has no idea that her revered speech and subsequent death spawned a foundation that has helped countless underprivileged musicians worldwide, that her photograph adorns teenager's walls everywhere, and that thousands gather at her statue every year, loving her because she died for love |SLEEP OUR SILENT PRINCESS|. She is overwhelmed that the dream that Alvaro inspired her to dream has been so completely realized. Marcello arranges for her to quietly return to Centoluci, to meet with the Prince, not to blackmail him but to ask for just two things: a modest pension and a small apartment in the block built where Alvaro once lived. The one with the balcony.
|NO.6 VIA GARIBALDI| Constance enters her new home. It bears quite a resemblance to Alvaro's attic of so many years before, except for the light that pours in through giant windows, and a large set of glass doors leading out onto: a balcony. Marcello explains that Constance had not been the only person that his grandfather had saved and watched over, and he opens the door to reveal an old man, blind with a stick, horribly scarred, no fingers on his right hand. The invalid is quite clearly Alvaro. He knew she had survived, and that she would be beautiful, but he did not want her to ever know that he also existed in this state, scarred and no longer able to conduct. She guides him to the balcony. Never in the four decades since they parted has he seen the famous view, about which he once dreamed of having. She is now his eyes, and she describes the view to him in exquisite detail. They hold each other just as they did almost half a century earlier …and they are beautiful.
CHARACTER NOTES
Alvaro Vigna
A trained conductor and frustrated musical genius, working as a waiter. Very mercurial, he epitomizes a Latin artistic temperament. Intense, passionate, riveting, and seductive.
- Playing age: early 30s
- Voice: Accomplished high baritone.
Rico
Alvaro's best friend and political conscience, Rico works as a pianist in a shabby bar, and is a staunch anti-royalist. An uncompromising idealist, he is one of the few voices in Centoluci that shouts out against the country's profiteering gamble to restore its monarchy.
- Playing age: early 30s
- Voice: Rumbustious baritone
Gualtieri
Princess Constance's private secretary. Entirely appropriate and unfailingly articulate, he is an intelligent, discreet and loyal servant with an uncanny knack of assessing a situation at lightning speed. He is seasoned, deft, and often, albeit subtly, quite hilarious.
- Playing age: 40s
- Voice: Light bass-baritone
Marcello
Gualtieri's grandson is a young man determined to uncover his late grandfather's past. His hunger for the truth is matched by his sense of honor.
- Playing age: early 20s
- Voice: Almost entirely non-singing, but must be able to carry a tune due to one small acapella sung moment.
Princess Constance
A ravishingly beautiful young woman. Educated, poised, inquisitive, tenacious and bright. She has benefited from a privileged upbringing, but this has in no way prepared her for the rigors of her new royal role.
- Playing age: late 20s
- Voice: Mezzo-soprano. American accent.
Miss Vine (Princess Constance 40 years later)
For four decades, Constance has lived in seclusion on a remote island. She is remarkably untouched by the changing world, and retains many of the mannerisms and all the poise of her younger self. She teaches piano to local students, evoking all the techniques taught to her by Alvaro, with whom she is clearly still in love.
- Playing age: late 60s
- Voice: Mezzo-soprano. American accent.
Grand Duchess Cesara
Every inch an old-school royal: dripping in jewels, silver hair piled high, and never without her polished ebony cane. As a child, she saw at first hand the revolution that unseated her family but now, with the monarchy only just reinstated, she relishes her new status.
- Playing age: 60s
- Voice: Operatic, dramatic contralto
Prince Cedric
Son of Cesara, Cedric is the Crown Prince of Centoluci, and husband of Constance. Married out of duty, secretly gay, and an aristocrat to his fingertips.
- Playing age: early 30s
- Voice: High-baritone
An ensemble (minimum of four) plays and sings the chorus and other incidental characters.
PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS
ICON has been written with flexible production requirements in mind, and a maximum vision of what might be described as a medium-sized Broadway musical, with a cast of 18 (8 principals, 10 ensemble), and an orchestra of 10.
For productions on a smaller scale, the ensemble can be reduced from 10 to 4 actors, and the minimum requirements are:
Cast: 12 actors
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Princess Constance (leading role)
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Alvaro Vigna (leading role)
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Miss Vine (leading role)
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Grand Duchess Cesara (major supporting role)
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Gualtieri (major supporting role)
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Rico (major supporting role)
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Prince Cedric (supporting role)
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Marcello (supporting role)
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Female ensemble - soprano
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Female ensemble - alto
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Male ensemble - tenor
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Male ensemble - bass
Orchestra: 6 players (including conductor on keyboards)
IN THE WEST END
ICON was first workshopped at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, immediately followed by a rehearsed reading at Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End.
Presented by Mercury Musical Developments, sponsored by The Noel Coward Foundation and with additional support from Really Useful Theatres, the exceptional cast included Susannah York, Norman Bowman, Edward Petherbridge, Beverley Klein and Andrew C Wadsworth.
CAST
Norman Bowman as Alvaro
Jessica Sherman as Princess Constance
Susannah York as Miss Vine
Edward Petherbridge as Gualtieri
Beverley Klein as Cesara
Henry Doulton as Prince Cedric
Duncan Barrett as Marcello
Andrew C Wadsworth as Chaz
Plus an ensemble playing incidental characters
Graeme Alexander
Martin Bishop
Jenni Bowden
Marisa Leigh Boynton
Margaret Dent
Gareth Evans
Rose Lewenstein
Paul Morse
Erik Sorensen
Joyce Springer
Roisin Sullivan
Cassie J Wadsworth
Musical Director: Michael Haslam
Director: Michael Alvarez
WORLD PREMIER
The first full production of ICON premiered at the Landor Theatre on the London fringe, under the direction of Robert McWhir.
Following his success at the previous year's rehearsed reading, West End star Norman Bowman reprised the leading role of Alvaro.
Helen Anker as Princess Constance
Norman Bowman as Alvaro
Judith Paris as Miss Vine
Valerie Cutko as Cesara
Andrew C Wadsworth as Gualtieri
Miles Eagling as Rico
Ben Fleetwood-Smyth as Prince Cedric
Tom Fox Davies as Marcello
Ensemble:
Michael Coghlan
Amy Cree
Jonathan Eio
Elizabeth Graham
Musical arrangements: Michael Haslam
Jonathan Kaldor & Marcus Tilt
Musical accompaniment: Lain Vince Gatt
Set design: Mike Lees
Costumes: Nina Morley
Lighting: Richard Lambert & Jonny Milmer
Technical operation: Martin Terry
Stage management: Tana Huggins
Poster design: Brian Dennis
Choreography: Robbie O'Reilly
Direction: Robert McWhir
CAST RECORDING
Musical direction and vocal arrangements by
Michael Haslam,
Orchestrations by Jonathan Kaldor,
Sound mastering by Justin Muncy
FEATURING
Dianne Pilkington
as Princess Constance
Timothy Howar
as Alvaro
Judith Paris
as Miss Vine
Beverley Klein
as Cesara
Nigel Richards
as Gualtieri
Jonathan Kaldor
as Rico
Geoffrey Abbott
as Prince Cedric
Dan Wicksman
as Marcello
and
Pascal Aldebert
Graham Alexander
Sarah Jane Bourne
Julian Forsyth
Nathan Kiley
Craig Purnell
Gemma Wardle
* International translations of
"Sleep Our Silent Princess"
Russian: Vladimir Damaratski
Italian: Alex Federico
Danish: Martin Norgaard
Spanish: Rodrigo Crespo Mencia
Swedish: Elisabeth Modin
German: Ines Glanznig
French: Richard Littlewood
NEW YORK PRODUCTION
ICON’s American Premier was part of the New York Musical Festival. With a stellar cast headed by Tony Award-winning legend, Donna McKechnie, the show played to capacity audiences and standing ovations at The Duke on 42nd Street in the heart of Manhattan’s theatre district.
© Shira Friedman
© Shira Friedman
Starring
Tony Award-Winning
Donna McKechnie as Miss Vine
CAST
Charlotte Maltby as Princess Constance
Sam Simahk as Alvaro Vigna
Donna McKechnie as Miss Vine
Tony Sheldon as Gualtieri
Leslie Becker as Grand Duchess Cesara
Casey Shane as Rico
Ben McHugh as Crown Prince Cedric
Chase Crandell as Marcello
Patrick Connaghan as Francois/Ensemble
Colin Anderson as Dr Haitzinger/Ensemble
Kalia Medeiros as Mrs Haitzinger/Ensemble
Chris Ramirez as Street Busker/Ensemble
Chloe Holgate as Veronique/Ensemble
Erika Peterson as Caroline/Ensemble
ORCHESTRA
Keyboard 1 / Conductor: Jesse Warkentin
Keyboard 2: Jeong Eun Kim
Flute/Clarinet/Saxophone: Daniel Dorrance
Trumpet/Flugelhorn: Kate Amrine
Trombone: Willem de Koch
Double bass: Igor Kogan
Percussion: Athan Gousios
CREATIVE TEAM
Musical Director: Jesse Warkentin
Orchestrations: Igor Kogan and Athan Gousios
Orchestration Supervisor: James Lent
Vocal Arrangements: Michael Haslam
Costume Design: Liene Dobraja
Lighting Design: Isabella Byrd
Media Design: Kevan Loney
Sound Design: Kenneth Goodwin
Properties Master: Addison Heeren
Hair and Makeup: Tyler Holland
Stage Manager: Lily Perlmutter
Dance Captain: Kalia Medeiros
Assistant Director: Dana Iannuzzi
Director & Choreographer: Paul Stancato
General Managers: Ben Simpson and Joe Longthorne
Generously supported by Live Nation Entertainment.