"The Needs of the Common Man"
nominated for GLAMA Cast Recording Award

The Rainbow Room by Rick Knight is a musical about two gay men with completely different perspectives about life. It is a look into what it’s like to be gay in the 90s through the conversations between a small-time, lonely piano player in a gay bar (Robert) and a young, hedonistic pretty boy (Chaz). Robert is middle-aged, "over the hill", down-hearted and convinced his chances for love or success are passed. The highlight of his life are his brief moments in the spotlight at the piano bar.

Chaz is in his prime, handsome, zany and flippant, opportunistically looking for the next amusement. Though they get off to a rocky beginning and are complete opposites, they soon find distraction in their dishy conversations with one another and learn valuable lessons about life from knowing one another. Throughout, the cocktail waitress, Sonia, who is pregnant, from Puerto Rico and has just realized she has an attraction towards women, provides her own insights on coming out, being a woman and a member of a minority class. As the play progresses, Robert wakes up to discover his life is far from being over just as free-wheeling Chaz realizes his life may be cut short. Their changing lives provide a dramatic backdrop as they discuss spirituality, growing up gay, the specter of AIDS, and the sometimes incompatible factions within the gay community.

"The Rainbow Room" is the name of the little neighborhood club where Robert plays. A harsh juxtaposition of the famous landmark in New York, it metaphorically represents what you get when you settle for less than what you want. Its message suggests that all the possibilities and potential for a great life are right before you no matter what boundaries and obstacles are in your path.

The play includes fourteen original songs spanning a wide range of popular music styles, many with strong pop music hooks suitable for air play and coverage by other artists.