In 1985, newspapers in the northeastern United States started to mention that a musical about Captain America was in the works. It wasn’t clear at first how they would bring this pinnacle of patriotism to the stage, but they had some talented people lined up to participate. Even decades later and as massive interest in the character grew, the attempt to bring him to Broadways at this time is not discussed often. So let’s take a look at what we know about what could have been.
If you were doing a musical about Captain America, what would you make it about? His wartime efforts? The drama of being reborn into an age you didn’t belong? Dealing with the pressure of being a living symbol of a country?
While various details about what the musical have managed to leak out through the decades, we do know this musical would have been about Captain America going through a midlife crisis. Sure, it would still have action. In it, Ol’ Cap is dating a presidential candidate, who he wishes was more “traditional.” She gets kidnapped, and he needs to face off against terrorists to save her.
We live in a golden age of comic entertainment. People might complain about a film or TV show, but almost everything we have now at least makes a nod to the comic book version of the character they are based upon. What they planned for this stage musical is exactly what I expect from the era. Made by people who liked the name, maybe the imagery, but didn’t expect to use anything beyond the superficial in their storytelling.
While the musical might not have had serious comic book talent, it did have the blessing of Marvel Comics, and some talented theater people trying to get it going. Music and lyrics to the show were provided by Mel Mandel and Norman Sachs.
Mandel and Sachs had previously worked on Gambler's Paradise, Jekyll and Hyde, and My Old Friends. Mandel would conceive the story and the lyrics. He began work on the show in 1982 and imagined a less than ideal Captain. Someone who was out of shape and on the verge of being forgotten. Through the kidnapping and rescue, our hero would be re-energized and reborn as a symbol of a reinvigorated country. A narrative that was playing out repeatedly in TV, movies, and politics of Eighties America.
According to Mandel, “This is essentially a love story about a man who’s always been strong, independent – even macho – and a sensitive, assertive, bright and political woman.”
A few years ago, Act1, Scene 1 of the script appeared on Reddit, and we got an idea of some of the songs we might have heard. They include:
A Slightly Uncommon Cold
March of the Merchandise
Dynamite!
The Man I am with Her
Don’t Let Harvey Mittleman Get You Down
Abraham Lincoln Dance
Fly the Flag
Marvel got involved in 1983, providing funding for early drafts of the show. Director and producer, Philip Rose got involved in the show and began searching for someone who could help shepherd the show as the producer. They would eventually meet with Shari Upbin who expressed interest, but was working on a project based around the life of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. When the Robinson project fell through, Captain America seemed like a nice change of pace, and she joined the team as producer in the spring of 1985.
With Upbin steering the project and the addition of John Cullum who had been in “1776” and “Shenandoah,” suddenly people were starting to talk about the project, and it starts to me mentioned in newspapers and magazines. This is when I first heard about it.
In 1985, I opened one of my comic books and saw this very memorable ad:
Captain America was by far my favorite comic character at the time, and I also had a soft spot for musicals. While I didn’t have any talent for the stage, I remember seeing that they wanted a girl for the role and being depressed about it. In my kid mind, I thought it very reasonable that I might be able to learn how to sing and dance in time to successfully audition for the role. Sadly, it just wasn’t meant to be and the role of Mister, the 12-year-old tomboy, would need to go to a more qualified child actor.
This appeared to be the high-water mark in the production of the musical. With writing, planning, and casting coming together quickly. According to reports, the production would have been effects-laden. With lasers, projectors, and hydraulic stage elements help to capture some of the feel of a comic book. All the things you might expect from a musical with an estimated budget of $4 million.
Sadly, though, the money was not forthcoming. Upbin shopped it around, but couldn’t find many interested investors who could buy into the show. That famous Marvel ad and casting call? After appearing in comics and papers, it never happened.
They initially planned to stage the musical in the spring of 1986. That was moved to the fall and finally pushed back to 1987. Despite these setbacks, Upbin kept tenaciously pushing. On the positive side of things, the delays in production allowed technical innovation to catch up to the vision of the show. On the negative side of things, this show wasn’t going to be able to take advantage of those innovations because it couldn’t find a home on Broadway. So they looked for a more regional solution.
A big breakthrough was landing potential backing at the Pennsylvania Stage Company (PSC). But unfortunately, even at a scaled down price, the musical was going to be a stretch. So they were back to trying to raise more money, which ended the same as it had in New York City. With Captain America, getting some interesting press, but going back on the shelf for lack of funding.
I have read a few stories about scaled-down musical numbers being performed for fund-raising purposes. A few photos of Callum as Captain America even made it into print. Sadly, no videos of those performances are available online.
When Marvel came under new management in the late eighties, big cuts were announced. The Captain America musical, which had started to resemble a pipe dream, was an easy thing to let go.
It would have been forgotten if it wasn’t for the Marvel renaissance triggered by the success of the cinematic universe. Now people are hungry for Marvel historical oddities, and a 1980s musical about Captain America fits that bill perfectly.
Will we ever have a musical set in the Marvel Universe? The way Disney monetizes and finds ways to use their IP makes me think it might happen someday. Even if it is a joke of sorts, the fictitious musical about Cap in the recent Hawkeye TV series, shows that someone internally was at least thinking about it. As we can see in the D23 performance of Rogers the Musical, what finally makes it to the stage probably won’t be anything like what they had planned for 1986. But it’s important to remember what could have been, and respect the dreamers who tried to make Captain America a Broadway star almost 40 years ago.
I have the original scripts (three different drafts).
I think that Ol' Cap needs to start a GoFundMe to make his musical dreams come true. I'd support that cause.