STANDING OVATION is a comedy and musical revue which serves as a vehicle for a variety show. It is unique and designed in a series of vignettes or scenes which can be added or deleted without affecting the overall show. In this manner, each theatre group can develop its own production based on available talent and desired length of the show. There are five required scenes totalling about thirty minutes which are required to tell the story and tie the overall production together. The remainder is a series of vignettes which are selected by the theatre group and consist of former “stars” auditioning to be a part of the “Greatest Show of All Time.”
THE STORY. A very rich, (and married), Chicago business tycoon falls in love with a young actress, Gloria Swansworth. He buys The Palace Theater in Peoria, Illinois, providing her a place to perform to keep her far from Hollywood. The tycoon dies. Although the theatre is closed to the public, the actors continue to perform as they have for years as its total operation and salaries are paid by an ongoing trust fund. The estate, which has been in probate court for nearly fifty years, is finally settled leaving everything to his sole heir, his grandson, Reginald Hector Pittsfield, III of Lick Creek, IL, otherwise known as the Right Reverend Reginald Hector Pittsfield, III of the Holy Redeemer Salvation Church of the New Truth.The show begins as the cast learns that the court case has been settled. They are soon visited by the Right Reverend Pittsfield III and his sidekick Sister-Elder Johns. As it turns out, he is a movie buff and is thrilled to discover his new theatre is filled with old actors and actresses (whom he thought were dead) who are still performing. He decides to invest his billions to produce “The Greatest Show of All Time,” to pay tribute to all the golden stars of the silver screen by providing the opportunity for a last performance and Standing Ovation.