Adding Machine: A Musical

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5 October 2020 · Follow on Stagedoor

“The Finborough has been generous with it’s digital releases of work staged at the theatre in the past, and the latest was first seen at the theatre in 2016. It was the UK premiere of Joshua Schmidt and Jason Loewith’s down-beat but compelling musical oddity. This won’t be to everyone’s taste but it will appeal to those with a darker frame of mind as it tells the story of a man (Joseph Alessi) who turns up at the office one day expecting to celebrate his 25th anniversary in the accounts department with a promotion, only to discover that he has been replaced by an adding machine. With bloody consequences. Elmer Rice’s 1923 play gets a quirky musical treatment.”

Overview

The UK premiere from 2016!

Ever feel like killing your boss?

After 25 long years spent adding figures in the same soul-crushing job, Mr Zero suddenly finds himself replaced by a machine. For the first time in his life, Zero takes his destiny into his own hands. The consequences set him on a path through this world and beyond, offering him one last chance for love, life and redemption.

Take an extraordinary journey with Mr Zero in this stirring and hilariously dark anti-musical as it asks us to consider the true price of a human soul, told through Joshua Schmidt’s haunting score, inspired by gospel, opera, jazz and rock and roll.

WARNING: Adding Machine: A Musical is based on the 1923 play Adding Machine by Elmer Rice. As an indictment and examination of white privilege, it contains racist language that may cause offence.

Age recommendation: 12+

* The Finborough Theatre is part of a national initiative launched by Theatres Trust to prevent the permanent closure of hundreds of UK theatres. For more info, please visit: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/save-the-finborough