Broadway Belongs to Me! (audio story)
Broadway Belongs to Me! was the first story in the audio anthology Purity Unleashed, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Matthew Sweet and featured Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush.
Publisher's summary
The Doctor and Mel begin their search for Hebe in 1930s New York, where history is taking a dark turn all of its own. On Broadway, they discover a genuine aberration of the timestreams: Behold America! - a hot shoe show set in a future Fascist United States. Starring Melanie Bush. Opening tonight...
Plot
Part one
Looking for temporal distortion in the hopes of finding Hebe, the Doctor and Mel run several discreet tests in New York City and overhear Karel Lombard espousing Nazi propaganda in advance of the German American Bund's rally at Madison Square Garden. They learn of and view Behold America!, a nationalist musical comedy at the Rivoli Theater which stars a double of Mel. The Doctor feels a temporal twinge and, going to leave, he and Mel encounter another Doctor, explaining the Doctor's headache.
The other Doctor warns the Doctor and Mel to leave the theatre and return in an hour to collect his coat and tip the cloakroom lady. After doing so, they travel back in time and Mel joins the show by approaching Julian Arnstein in Times Square, rehearsing for five weeks with psionic relays in her shoes to assist in her dancing. Frances Drouet suspects that Julian has lied about his past, so the Doctor and Mel look around with what Mel christens an anachronometer and discover that Lydia Putti is an alien with two mouths. When Mel goes on stage, Lydia pushes her into a stage flat and is hit by a weight.
Part two
Lydia says that the show will have to be cancelled due to her leg injury, but Julian instead gives her role to Mel and hires the Doctor as choreographer to ensure that the performance goes ahead. When Julian introduces the six investors but names only five of them, Mel realises that the sixth is Karel Lombard, whom Billy photographs shaking the Doctor's hand at Julian's order. Lydia attacks and detains the Doctor during the performance so that she and Julian can force Mel to complete the performance rather than spoil it as has been her plan, but he escapes and attempts to evacuate the theatre without success.
Julian reveals that he, the crew and the audience belong to the Alliance of Retribution, a group of forgettable opponents of the Doctor who plan to spread the photograph of the Doctor with Lombard and the other fascists to discredit him. They build up psionic energy to torture the Doctor and kill Mel, but the Doctor uses his and his past self's cat badges to damage the Alliance's spaceship and force them to leave as quickly as possible. The temporal backblast also renders the incriminating photograph blank. The Doctor and Mel go for dinner before they continue their search for Hebe and learn that a group of people intend to drown out the Madison Square Garden rally with The Star-Spangled Banner and show tunes.
Cast
- The Doctor - Colin Baker
- Mel - Bonnie Langford
- Frances Drouet - Rosalie Craig
- Lydia Putti - Sophie-Louise Dann
- Julian Arnstein - Graham Vick
- Karel Lombard / Chorus Boy / Stage Door Man - Nicholas Pegg
- Billy / Bystander / Customer / Tannoy - Sam Stafford
- Ticket Lady - Helen Goldwyn
Uncredited cast
Crew
- Cover Art - Claudia Gironi
- Director - Helen Goldwyn
- Executive Producers - Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery
- Music and Sound Design - Howard Carter
- Producer - Jacqueline Rayner
- Script Editor - Robert Valentine
- Writer - Matthew Sweet
- Senior Producer - John Ainsworth
References
- The Doctor and Mel read the New York Daily News.
- The Doctor drinks coffee.
- The President of the United States is FDR.
- Oyster milk stew is the special.
- The NFL championship game was won by the Giants.
- Carole Lombard is a Hollywood actress.
- The German American Bund organise a racist rally at Madison Square Garden.
- Marlene came to the United States from Germany.
- Mel practises her dancing in Bryant Park.
- Julian has never heard of hot dogs.
- Kiss Me, You Fool is a perfume sold on Seventh Avenue.
- Behold America! is financed by Mr Vanlandingham, Mr Savage, Mr Randstad, Mr Spier and Mr Beauchamp.
- Mel declines champagne.
- The Doctor suggests that Lombard wants Ellis Island boarded up.
- The Doctor wears an electric blue cravat with pink stars.
- When Julian says that he is the Doctor's nemesis, the Doctor deduces that he is the Master or the Rani.
- Julian comes from the Blue Void.
- Lydia and Frances are High Margraves of Hobos and were consigned to a time loop by the Doctor for attempting to steal the mineral wealth of the Mestrik System.
- Billy represents the Dark Beings of Dark Zone 2.
- The Doctor once house-sat for a few weeks in Kilrea and wrote a letter to the council about Arthur Lee's extension, resulting in him having to pull it down.
- The Doctor mentions the Daleks and Cybermen.
- Julian does not have kidneys.
Notes
- Broadway Belongs to Me! was recorded at the Soundhouse in 2022.
- The Madison Square Garden rally and the New York Giants' recent NFL Championship victory places the bulk of this story in February 1939.
Continuity
- Hebe has disappeared. (AUDIO: Chronomancer)
- Mel mentions being on the Hyperion III. (TV: Terror of the Vervoids)
- The Doctor no longer has his sonic screwdriver. (TV: The Visitation)
Footnotes
External links
- Official Broadway Belongs to Me! page at bigfinish.com
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