Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Background Information

The broadway musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is based on the movie of the same title. At the musical's opening, the lead roles were played by John Lithgow, Norbert Leon Butz, and Sherie Rene Scott, together with Joanna Gleason and Greogory Jbara. The show's music and lyrics were composed by David Yazbek. The premiere of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels took place on September 22, 2004 in San Diego, California. In January 2005, the show moved to Broadway and had its official opening in March. The musical continued to play in Broadway until September 3, 2006, having had a total of 666 performances. The album Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was recorded on March 14, 2005 in New York City's Right Track Studio. It was released on May of the same year by Ghostlight Records, an imprint of Sh-K-Boom Records.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' North American national tour was launched on August 4, 2005, having Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz playing the role of Freddy and Tom Hewitt playing the role of Lawrence. International productions for the broadway musical were started in Japan, Mexico, Spain, Germany, and Finland. Productions for other countries are also being worked out. The story of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels focuses on two con men that lived in the French Riviera. The first man, named Lawrence Jameson, was suave and sophisticated and made a living by talking rich ladies into giving him money. The second man, named Freddy Benson, fooled women into giving him money by appealing to their compassionate side with made up stories about his grandmother's failing health.

The two men meet on a train and tried to work together, but they discover that the town was too small for the both of them. So they come up with an agreement that the first to get $50,000 from their target, heiress Christine Colgate, would win and should leave town. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has gained a number of nominations from the Tony Awards and the Drama Desk Awards, including Best Musical.