Gettin' the Band Back Together

Gettin' the Band Back Together on Broadway Background

Gettin’ the Band Back Together is a new musical with a book by producer Ken Davenport, along with the improvisational group the Grundleshotz. The show is directed by John Rando (who won a Tony Award for Urinetown). The show premiered in 2015 at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey,

The Grundleshotz, the group of performers who also developed the book of the show through improvisation, include Sebastian Arcelus, Michael Hirstreet, Fred Berman, Craig Jorczak, Jenna Coker Jones, Jay Klaitz, Nathan Kaufman, Emily McNamara, Bhavesh Patel, Jennifer Miller, Fletcher Young, and Sarah Saltzberg.

The director, John Rando, won a Tony Award for Urinetown. The show is produced by a team led by book writer Ken Davenport, who is known for innovative producorial initiatives that often involve crowdsourcing. For instance, Davenport produced Godspell, the first Broadway show whose investment was raised through crowdfunding.

As for Gettin’ the Band Back Together, Davenport's innovative ideas include a logo contest, in which he sought advertising suggestions from the public to design the musical’s official logo, rather than paying a Broadway ad agency.

The show score was written by Mark Allen and was made available for free at on the official website.

What's Gettin' the Band Back Together Like?

Set in Sayreville, New Jersey a 40 year-old, recently unemployed investment banker seeks to get his high school band back together as a means to prevent his mother’s house from entering foreclosure.

As it turns out, the real estate owner who is seeking the foreclosure is his high school foe, and he is equally motivated to save his mother’s house in order to win a competition against him. Along with his old band Juggernaut, he enters the high-stakes Battle of the Bands, reconnects with his high school friends, saves his mother’s house, and goes head-to-head with his rival from his school days.

The show has been reviewed as “playful,” “good-natured,” “mildly irreverent,” and “genuinely funny,” which knows how to strike a balance between “feel-good” and “touches of meanness.” With a feel-good score and a story that is just a little bit irreverent, this show could be a fun night in the theatre for family and friends alike. Gettin’ the Band Back Together has been called a “'rockin’ Valentine to the Garden State.”

Is Gettin' the Band Back Together Good for Kids?

The show is most appropriate for children over the age of 10. Children under the age of 4 are not permitted in the theatre.