The shows on this page, for various reasons, are not available for production — but they still hold a fond place in my heart. Most of them I finished and then nothing happened with them. Some of them could still be viable. (If there were someone who was interested, I’m sure that something could be arranged! [wink wink])
(This page changes often as I remember, or am prompted to remember, more about the great times had writing and producing.)
The Angel and the Rebel (with James G. Lambert) Based on a true story, this musical has a great score and wonderful characters but the script has become dated and needs to be told in a new way.
The April Of Our Seasons (with Christie Lund Coles) NOT AVAILABLE (A look at Small Town America — a loving valentine that was, sadly, never produced. Now, I think, it would seem outdated; maybe. The sentiments about Small Town America are possibly not ‘au courant.’)
The Blood Rose of Panador (the sequel to The Miracle of Mirador) Three songs written to fit the scenario of the unfinished playscript (and future YA Fantasy Novel — now published) but they sit in a file. So maybe this was not a musical but it was the novel that I finished and published.
A Christmas Carol (with Diane Crews) NOT AVAILABLE (Finished the score and never got a production. Too many other Christmas Carol musicals out there.)
The Cry of a Prophet! (with Terry Brimhall) We were students in college and had this great idea for a Book of Mormon musical. (Actually based on a story from the Book of Mormon — unlike a current musical in New York! [Which is still well constructed, if a little abrasive in places.] It never panned out. We each got too busy with other separate projects and just forgot about this one. I have eight songs and a handwritten script. NOT AVAILABLE
The Devil and Daniel Webster (Written for a playwrighting class. I found a script in the library and adapted it. It had so much potential as a musical. I was young and inexperienced and didn’t know that the script I had come across was that of the opera version of the play. No wonder it was so musical! I finished the score but I cannot find a copy of it anywhere. (It is the only one of my works that I have nothing left of.) NOT AVAILABLE
Dickens! or Little Boy Lost (A Bio-Musical) I wrote the song “Little Boy Lost” at age 18, and began to fashion a scenario around that song and an engraving that has hung on my wall since I was 16,, that portrays all of Dicken’s characters around him. I saw characters speaking and singing through Dickens and vice-versa. But at that young an age, I just could not make this one work.
DIXIE! Book and Lyrics by Jean B. Boyce. Music by C. Michael Perry. A Full Length adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” that never saw a production because of it’s controversiality. We dared to paint Tom — the slave — as a man; a man who believed in God. But the attitudes of the ‘public’ towards the stereotypes of the characters and the story, in the original novel, were such that it was not producable. The score was teriffic. The lyrics were intelligent and fun. The script moved the entire piece along at a quick pace. We do have a great DEMO recording of the songs, some of which are available here as mp3s. The titles of the songs are as follows: Southern Hospitality, No Man Is My Master, If We Only Have Each Other, The Upper Walks Of Life, Glory To My Soul, Lord, I Am Listening, Unprediculous, Sleep, Little Child, What A Glorious Day!, It’s The End Result That Counts, Mind You, Topsy!, How Does A Guy Supposed To Know, Topsy Turvy, Make Happiness Happen, Miss You So, Goodbye, Sweet Angel, Pickin’ Cotton, As Long A You Can Hope, Just The Wind!, Oh, The Price Of Freedom, No One Walks Alone
Demo mp3 file: (These four files will download to your computer and can be played on your itunes or other mp3 program. These are the only files that can be used here due to file size limitations by our webhost. If you would like to hear other mp3s of this score, contact me and I can e-mail them to you.)
01 01 Southern Hospitality | 02 02 No Man Is My Master | 12 12 Mind You, Topsy! | 19 19 Pickin’ Cotton
Esther (with Elaine Hansen & Max C. Golightly) NOT AVAILABLE (An ambitious undertaking that was never finished. It had a great concept, though.)
Frontier! (with James G. Lambert) Frontier America in the late 1700s and early 1800s worked for a while. But we have put this on the shelf even though it has a full Broadway Pit orchestra available.
Gorilla Sings The Blues (with Tony Markham) An experimental musical about love that was a littl too far out there for most. Besides the songs have been lost to this one.
The Halloween Witch (with Larry Hillhouse) Larry had a funny playscript, but it just did not work after songs were inserted into it.
Home Brew (with Malcolm Calloway) About the rumrunners of Nova Scotia
The Homely Touch (or, The Tender Touch) (with James G. Lambert) NOT AVAILABLE. Was produced several times but it was adapted from another source, the film “MARTY”, and the options ran out on this one.)
I Talked You Talked Teens and the issues of a friend’s death and suicide were ahead of the times in the late 1970s. It is finished, but I think, unproduceable.
Lady Sarah (with Barry Collyer) NOT AVAILABLE (Almost finished but collaboration with Barry became difficult when he moved home to England.)
LIGHT WALTZ A Musical Fable by Mimi Bean and C. Michael Perry. 3M 2W 1Male Dancer 2Female Dancers. Space setting. 30 minutes. The delightful and fast moving tale is one of a young girl’s search and constant battle to keep her own creative talents hers, to use as she wishes, not as others would wish her to use them. Won First Prize in the 1975 & 1976 Festival Of The Arts Playwrighting Contest at Brigham Young University. MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS INCLUDE: Piano, 2 voices, drums, bass. This show is no longer available for production. (When I look back on it, it was an absolutely wonderful experience because of the people involved in this student production. Many have remained life-long friends and associates. The show was good but the concept was a little odd. Fun songs, though!) NOT AVAILABLE
The Littlest Angel (with James G. Lambert) NOT AVAILABLE. We had an option on this one but the option ran out before we could get it mounted. It was finished, and rather quickly too, with a couple of cracker-jack songs in the large score. It was, however, a little didactic in places, and when we lost the option we never fixed that.
Lucky Hightops In The Robot City (with Lane Riosley) A theme song was written for this proposed series of short musicals based on Lane’s character, Lucky Hightops. But nothing more ever came of the project.
The Magic Pots of Castle Coneeley (with Bren Dubay) Wrote several songs from Bren’s playscript, but we never finished it, as there was no collaboration over the internet possible in the 1980s.
The Never-Ever Wedding (with Elaine Hansen) Wrote it, produced it, then left it alone as it was some silly fun that had no life afterwards because the PETER PAN story was still under copyright.
Old Hundred — New Hundred Book and Lyrics by Robert G. Peck, Jr. Music and Additional Lyrics by C. Michael Perry and Leslie Lillis. This is a guilty entry onto the website. It has never and will never be available for production — not because of a lack of quality — but because there would be little use for a musical pageant about one’s hometown near Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Peck, Leslie and I were commissioned by the Village of Hinsdale in 1972 to write a musical history of the village for a pageant production in the summer of 1973. It was my first commission and was very fulfilling when produced with a cast of over a hundred. The show turned out really well. Leslie wrote an especially pretty ballad called JULIE ANN and collaborated with me on many other songs. I wrote a couple of dance numbers and a song or two. Then we found out that we had to orchestrate the show! We got to work. I wasn’t even sure what a Viola was, let alone how to write for one. But with the help of friends, we got the job done. Then we had to copy the parts and transpose them into the proper keys for the instruments to play. Who knew?!?!?!?!? Only one mistake was made: we switched the transpositions on the e-flat and b-flat saxophones. It sounded pretty funky at first rehearsal, but we figured it out and just traded the parts around. Problem solved. It was a great experience and started me on this road of writing for the theatre. It has been a life-long love and I have even made some money at it and won an award or two. This show is certainly not available for production. But I do have copies of the script and score to loan for someone interested in “FIRST EFFORTS”. (Or maybe there are some friends and associates out there who just want to reminisce!) Mr. Robert G. Peck, Jr. was one of the most influential men in my entire life. I know he held that same place for others – many of them my friends and associates. Anyone who worked with Mr. Peck on a regular basis in our hometown of Hinsdale, Illinois was enriched and had their own horizons broadened. We all owe him a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to repay – but we can “Pay It Forward!”
An Ordinary Monk (with Barry Collyer) NOT AVAILABLE (Almost finished but collaboration with Barry became difficult when he moved home to England.)
Pollyanna I have loved this story since I saw the Disney movie when a young child. I began adapting the novel, but abandoned it as other projects came along and just never got back to it’s promising score. “The Glad Rag” is a terrific song.
The Princess and the Goblin (with Gayanne Ramsden) Begun but never finished due to other projects and deadlines.
Remember My People (with Ruth and Nathan Hale) NOT AVAILABLE (Written for a contest sponsored by the LDS Church. There was no winner that year. Hmmm, I hope that doesn’t say anything about this score! [or any of the others.] It actually has some great songs in it — which I sometimes pirate for use in other scores. HEY — Irving Berlin did it! Only he called it ‘my trunk’.)
Robin: The Hood of Sherwood NOT AVAILABLE (I wrote five fun songs and then never got back to the project. Maybe someday.)
The Saga Of Sasquatch C’lone OR Doc Holiday’s Electronic Medicine Show Book by J. Robert Howe, Music and Lyrics by C. Michael Perry. SOON AVAILABLE. Written for Jedediah’s Outdoor Chuckwagon and Show for their 1985 Summer Show, it would have premiered then, but they closed it all down and we were left with yet another show unproduced. It would have been a hoot. It’s a spoof of the old tyme medicine shows, updated to the Age of Television, with all the anachronisms and in-jokes of the genre, poking fun at itself and everything else that came within its gunsights! (This one could be produced. I have to think about that! [J. Robert — where are you?]) I found Jon Robert Howe, and he was not too far away either! We will be finishing this little gem of a spoof! Yeah! Watch the Leicester Bay Theatricals pages for further information. NOTE: Sadly, Jon died in 2013 and this show will probably never be finished. Jon’s unique humor and outlook on life cannot be duplicated. But I am trying to find a new collaborator on this one, so it is conditionally available at Leicester Bay Theatricals.
Saint NOT AVAILABLE ( I wrote this as a class project for my first playwrighting class. I adapted it from William Saroyan’s “The Beautiful People” which is a marvelous and moving play. [One of my favorites!] But since I really didn’t have the rights — and it was only a class exercise — I never did produce it. But it has some great songs in it. It has always remained a favorite. Such sentimentality! An early effort. (But the opening number is wrong. I’ll have to do something about that.)
Showtime! (with George D. Nelson) NOT AVAILABLE (Completed the score but then moved away from where George was living and collaboration became too difficult.)
The Snow Queen (with Patricia Barry Rumble) NOT AVAILABLE (Finished it all and then it just sat there without a production. A couple of lovely songs in this show. I’ll probably pirate them to another show!)
A Spring To Remember (with Ruth and Nathan Hale) NOT AVAILABLE (Wrote the entire score — with a couple of gangbuster songs — but the show was never produced. Some of these songs ended up in How The West Was Done!)
Startime (with Betty Lee King) A Sci-Fi musical that never got finished, let alone off the ground.
A Taste of Champlain! Celebrating the French explorer in Nova Scotia
That’s Life (with James G. Lambert) about the teenagers entry into adulthood while at the same time dealing with friends and family. Worked in the 80s but is no longer current. Fun songs though.
This Is Our World (a one act musical written with Drama Students at Spanish Fork High School. It was supposed to tour to the elementary schools in our district but the funding was dropped so here I sit with yet another not completely finished and unproduced musical. ) NOT AVAILABLE
Trains! (with Gere LaDue) NOT AVAILABLE. Another project for a playwrighting class, (Gere’s) that never went anywhere. It was a concept musical about how life is like a train station — different trains coming and going and how the passengers interact — or don’t. Come on — it was the Seventies — weird, but it could have worked! (And it was written BEFORE ‘On The Twentieth Century.’ [where there was a song entitled: ‘Life Is Like A Train.’])
Treasure Island (with Agnes Broberg) Wrote a haunting song, and never got a script finished.
The Tymes In All Eternity (with Thom Duncan) the first act worked like gang-busters, but the denouement was too forced to finish the second act. What a score! It might work in concert!
War In Heaven (with Terry Brimhall) The story was sketched out, several songs were written to fit in the scenario, but Terry moved away and I went on to other projects.
WILD DUCKS A Dialectical Rendering of Henrik Ibsen’s Classic in the Brechectian Theatrical Tradition. Adaptation and Lyrics by Lee G. Williams III. Music by C. Michael Perry. This was a beautifully staged, wonderfully acted, really weird project created as a Doctoral Dissertation at BYU in the late 1970s. To take Ibsen, make him Brechtian and add songs was a gamble. But it paid off — controversy was rampant — opinions were varied — but whether they liked or disliked the idea, the audience had to agree that the production was excellent and thought-provoking. Now available for production through Leicester Bay Theatricals (who knows — somebody may want to do it?) it sits in my files and brings me fond memories.
Witness (with Elizabeth Hansen) One of my favorite songs, “Just The Man Upstairs” comes from this unfinished collaboration.
Zits, Cliques and Ugly Shoes (original title, “Changes”) NOT AVAILABLE (I was working with my Advanced Drama class at Spanish Fork High School on a show we could tour to the 6th through 9th grade classes about Growing Up. Again we lost funding so it did not tour. But many of the monologues and scenes ended up in a book called “Remember When?” published by Encore/Eldridge. Now that I look back on it, the song about puberty might have been a little much!)