Production Requirements

TIME AND PLACE: TRAV’LIN is a small cast musical comedy with a big heart, set in a romanticized 1930s Harlem filtered through the lens of the era’s popular songs. The score rediscovers the words and music of Harlem Renaissance composer J.C. Johnson, the musical mentor of co-author Gary Holmes.

CAST: Six principals (no chorus), all Black, divided into three couples in their 60s (the romantic leads), 30s and 20s. They should be portrayed as three-dimensional characters with robust individual personalities, faithful to the time and place of the story, sometimes comic but never caricatures.

PHYSICAL PRODUCTION: Scalable to the needs of the theatre.

The show has been presented successfully in houses as small as 99 seats and as large as 526. Set designs have ranged from projected images with transformable set pieces to full physical environments with multiple wagons.

Costumes, props and set pieces should come across as true-to-life, complementing the emotional authenticity of the performances. As the design moves outward to the larger space, the images may become increasingly impressionistic in keeping with the fabled nature of the show.

ORCHESTRATIONS: Available for four players – keyboard, bass, drums and reeds (tripling on saxophone, clarinet and flute) – and for six, with trumpet and trombone added.

RUNNING TIME: Approximately 120 minutes plus one intermission.

LICENSING TERMS: Because TRAV’LIN is licensed by the authors directly, terms are tailored to the financial circumstances of each producing theatre.