A New Musical About Stanley Milgram
Stanley Milgram: 30’s. Tenor, Bb2-G4. An intellectual, but marked by spontaneity, imaginative whimsy, an uninhibited sociability, a wry sense of humor, and sometimes cockiness. At times, he can be caustic, but he is always in search of the truth.
Sasha Milgram: 30’s. Mezzo, C4-G5. When she meets Stanley, she is studying to be a social worker, but she, like her mother before her, is a modern dancer and lover of the arts.
Philip Zimbardo (doubles as a Fake Nazi for one scene): 30’s. Tenor, Bb2-G4. Bright, ambitious, with a sense of humor.
Mrs. Shrekn / Committee Member 1: 50’s - 60’s. Alto, F3-E5. As Mrs. Shrekn, she was an immigrant from The Pale, and as a teacher at Hebrew School, loves her kinderlach, and worries for them. As a committee member, she is one of a trio of professors/administrators at Harvard and Yale, who decide Milgram’s fate at various points in his academic career.
Rabbi / Solomon Asch / Adolf Eichmann / Mr. Wallace / Student 1 / Guard 1: 40’s - 50’s. Bass, E2-D4. Solomon Asch was one of the pioneers of Social Psychology. Adolf Eichmann was one of the architects of the Holocaust. Mr. Wallace works for Milgram, pretending to be a subject in his Obedience to Authority Experiments, and is generally easy going.
Sam Milgram / Committee Member 2 / Subject 1 / Student 2 / Traffic Cop / Guard 2: 40’s. Baritone, G2-D4. Sam Milgram, Stanley’s father, is a baker. He dies of a heart attack in 1953, at age 55.
Adele Milgram / Committee Member 3 / Subject 2 / Student 3: 40’s. Soprano, C4-Bb5. Adele Milgram is Stanley’s mother, and very proud of him.
Survivor 1: Mezzo, C4-G5.
Survivor 2: Alto, F3-Eb5.
Survivor 3: Baritone, G2-D4.
The three Survivors are, initially, Stanley’s relatives who have survived the Holocaust, but throughout the rest of the show, they are a spectral presence, observing him, haunting him. In the epilogue, they are real Holocaust survivors, whom Sasha is working with.
Shocked is a new bio-musical about psychologist Stanley Milgram, who shocked the world by proving how easily ordinary people will commit extraordinary harm.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN (10 ACTORS)
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN (10 ACTORS)
Stanley Milgram: 30’s. Tenor, Bb2-G4. An intellectual, but marked by spontaneity, imaginative whimsy, an uninhibited sociability, a wry sense of humor, and sometimes cockiness. At times he can be biting, but he is always in search of the truth.
Sasha Milgram: 30’s. Mezzo, C4-G5. When she meets Stanley, she is studying to be a social worker, but she, like her mother before her, is a modern dancer and lover of the arts.
Philip Zimbardo (doubles as a Fake Nazi for one scene): 30’s. Tenor, Bb2-G4. Bright, ambitious, with a sense of humor.
Mrs. Shrekn / Committee Member 1: 50’s - 60’s. Alto, F3-E5. As Mrs. Shrekn, she was an immigrant from The Pale, and as a teacher at Hebrew School, loves her kinderlach, and worries for them. As a committee member, she is one of a trio of professors/administrators at Harvard and Yale, who decide Milgram’s fate at various points in his academic career.
Rabbi / Solomon Asch / Adolf Eichmann / Mr. Wallace / Student 1 / Guard 1: 40’s - 50’s. Bass, E2-D4. Solomon Asch was one of the pioneers of Social Psychology. Adolf Eichmann was one of the architects of the Holocaust. Mr. Wallace works for Milgram, pretending to be a subject in his Obedience to Authority Experiments, and is generally easy going.
Sam Milgram / Committee Member 2 / Subject 1 / Student 2 / Traffic Cop / Guard 2: 40’s. Baritone, G2-D4. Sam Milgram, Stanley’s father, is a baker. He dies of a heart attack in 1953, at age 55.
Adele Milgram / Committee Member 3 / Subject 2 / Student 3: 40’s. Soprano, C4-Bb5. Adele Milgram is Stanley’s mother, and very proud of him.
Survivor 1: Mezzo, C4-G5.
Survivor 2: Alto, F3-Eb5.
Survivor 3: Baritone, G2-D4.
The three Survivors are, initially, Stanley’s relatives who have survived the Holocaust, but throughout the rest of the show, they are a spectral presence, observing him, haunting him. In the epilogue, they are real Holocaust survivors, whom Sasha is working with.
ORCHESTRA BREAKDOWN
Violin
Reed: Flute, Piccolo, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone
Keyboard (Either on synth or actual instruments): Piano, Accordion, Harpsichord, Tsimbalom
Bass: Double Bass, Tuba
Drums
Percussion: Timpani, Triangle, Piatti, Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Vibraphone, Tambourine, Synth Percussion
