BACKSTAGE MUSICAL COMEDY

Broadway or Bust

Nominee: Outstanding New Work
21st Annual Column Awards, Dallas, TX, 2020

Bath House Cultural Center, Dallas, 2019 (world premiere)

Community theatre company The Plush Pile Players are spitting tacks! With devoted director Jan incapacitated, all hopes of staging Broadway Glitz—an obscure Off-Off-Broadway flop and the company’s last-ditch effort to save their former carpet-storeroom theatre—seem dashed. That is, until a lifeline arrives in the unlikely shape of bona fide Broadway director Percy Scott. But Jan’s eccentric ensemble soon discover their new messiah may not be all he seems. They must rally to save the show—and their beloved theatre. It’s Broadway... or Bust!

Bath House Cultural Center production, Dallas, 2019
Directed by Bruce Colman

Cast
LisaAnne Haram as Jan
Charles Moore as Percy
Mindy Bell as Cynthia
Mary-Margaret Pyeatt as Celia
Ellen Eberhardt as Molly
Jeff Poteat as Murdoch
Nancy Lamb as Flo
Mark Miller as Mr Milburn

REVIEWS

"Artistic Director of Pegasus Theatre, Kurt Kleinmann, seems to have a magic touch in the theatre work he presents. Such is the case with his latest production, Broadway or Bust. If you love community theatre as I do, this captures the drama and anxiety of the behind-the-scenes dramas that come with the territory. If there is anything in community theatre that simply drives you “Mad”, this captures that spirit and more."
The News Report, Dallas

"A MERRY ROMP!"
Dallas Observer

"A VERY CUTE SHOW! A fun night of entertainment - if that’s what you’re in the mood for, this is the show for you!

The Column, Dallas

THE MUSIC

Songs from Broadway Glitz
The show within Broadway or Bust

Music & Lyrics
Paul Kalburgi

Piano Arrangements
Simon Walters

Vocal Arrangements & Engineering
Kevan Frost (Taboo)

Featuring
Laura Prince (Hoods)
Jennifer Hepburn (Mamma Mia, Cats)
Zee Asha (Chicago, Mary Poppins)
Damian Robinson (Road Show)

PERCY:
I ridiculed the work that you do here, and in doing so I completely missed the point. It's not about staging a theatrical masterpiece, it's about the journey. It's about the people.

© 2026 Paul Kalburgi