Chip Deffaa

Chip Deffaa is the author of fifteen published plays and eight published books. An expert on old-time show business, he has been “following his bliss” since he wrote his first report for school, at 10-page essay on George M. Cohan, at the age of nine. His other plays for Eldridge include Presenting Fanny Brice: The Original Funny Girl and George M. Cohan & Co. Deffaa has written eight books, including Swing Legacy, Voices of the Jazz Age, In the Mainstream, Traditionalists and Revivalists in Jazz, Jazz Veterans, F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Princeton Years (ed.), Blue Rhythms, and (with David Cassidy) C'Mon Get Happy. He has contributed chapters to the books Harlem Speaks and Roaring at One Hundred. For 18 years, Deffaa wrote for The New York Post, writing news, feature stories, and reviews dealing with jazz, cabaret, and theater. He was also a longtime writer for Entertainment Weekly magazine. Deffaa has written liner notes for many CD's, including those of such artists as Miles Davis, Benny Goodman, Ray Brown, Diane Schuur, Ruth Brown, Tito Puente, Dick Hyman, Randy Sandke, Scott Hamilton, and the Count Basie Orchestra. Deffaa has won an ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award, a New Jersey Press Association Award, and an IRNE Award (Independent Reviewers of New England). Deffaa is a member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, the Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, NARAS, the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society, and the Drama Desk. Deffaa is a trustee of the Princeton Tiger magazine.

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Irving Berlin & Co. New Release

Musical by Chip Deffaa

67 pages

12 to 24+ actors: 14 m, 9 w, doubling possible

Inspired by actual events, legendary songwriter Irving Berlin shares his life story with two teens. It's a rags-to-riches tale--terrific for schools, colleges, community theaters, and more--about a poor immigrant kid rising to become the most successful songwriter in the world. Along the way, we get to hear such timeless Berlin songs as "I Love a Piano," "All by Myself," "Play a Simple Melody," "Ragtime Violin," and "Alexander's Ragtime Band." The songs are pure Americana--great for singing and dancing.

George M. Cohan & Co.

Musical by Chip Deffaa

63 pages

2 men, optional extras

Vibrant and rich with song and dance, this musical tells the life story of the master American showman, George M. Cohan. The framework for the story is an interview between an older Cohan and a persistent young college man named Walter Kerr who wants to write a play about Cohan. In 1937-38, Cohan enjoyed a tremendous success on Broadway, capping a spectacular 50-year career as an entertainer, songwriter, and playwright. Cohan had a good hunch about the admiring young man who would grow up to become a Pulitzer Prize-winning theater critic. Cohan regales Kerr, ...

Presenting Fanny Brice

Musical by Chip Deffaa

79 pages

Cast: About 35 speaking roles including a young girl and boy; can be performed from 15 - 40 actors

Here’s a unique and dynamic look at Fanny Brice, the original Funny Girl, and her rise from poverty to become a superstar, then falling for a man who's a crook. This musical couldn’t be timelier with a big-budget revival of “Funny Girl” coming to Broadway soon. In this version we get to meet lots of colorful characters, including Fanny’s good friend Gypsy Rose Lee, Flo Ziegfeld, W. C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Nicky Arnstein, and Brice's mother and father. Every actress will enjoy singing songs Fanny Brice made famous, as "My Man" and "Second Hand Rose." Other so...