BEAUTIFUL JOLIE GABOR,
HER GLAMOROUS THREE DAUGHTERS,
AND ALWAYS THE HAPPINESS IS LIFE
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL JOHN LaCHIUSA
DIRECTED BYÂ JACK CUMMINGS III
CHOREOGRAPHED BYÂ ALEX SANCHEZ
STARRINGÂ MARY TESTA
Off-Broadway production slated for Transport Group’s 2026/27 season
BEAUTIFUL JOLIE GABOR, HER GLAMOROUS THREE DAUGHTERS, AND ALWAYS THE HAPPINESS IS LIFE
A New Musical by Michael John LaChiusa
Expansive and lush, Beautiful Jolie Gabor, Her Glamorous Three Daughters, and Always the Happiness is Life is a musical fantasy that traces the history of the first family who became famous for being famous. Examining society’s fascination with celebrity culture, Beautiful Jolie Gabor… centers on family matriarch Jolie Gabor, a Hungarian WWII immigrant who voraciously creates a life where persecution can never affect her family again. In the choices she makes and the not-so-truthful stories she spins, Jolie must answer the most telling question: What is the cost along the way? And, then, what is the cost at the end? Much like the real-life Gabor Family, Michael John LaChiusa’s newest work, starring Mary Testa as Jolie Gabor, absolutely mesmerizes.
THE JOURNEY SO FAR
DECEMBER 2019
1-week READING
MAY 2023
1-week READING
SEPTEMBER 2024
DEMO RECORDINGS
DECEMBER 2024
3-week WORKSHOP
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael John LaChiusa Michael John LaChiusa’s 23-year association with Transport Group includes Queen of the Mist
(Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical,) the acclaimed revivals of Hello Again and First Lady Suite, and the scores for Summer and Smoke, Picnic, and Come Back, Little Sheba. He is a five-time Tony Award-nominated composer, lyricist, and librettist whose Broadway works include The Wild Party, Marie Christine, and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and whose Off-Broadway musicals include First Lady Suite, Hello Again, See What I Wanna See, Bernarda Alba, Giant, and First Daughter Suite. He is the recipient of an Obie, the Kleban, and two Daytime Emmy Awards. Mr. LaChiusa currently teaches at NYU and lives in New York City.
Beautiful Jolie Gabor, Her Glamorous Three Daughters, and Always the Happiness is Life was commissioned by Transport Group with major support from The Shen Family Foundation and developed through the Joanna & Steven Sanders New Works Program.
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