[1]The show was first developed and presented by Yale Summer Cabaret in 2009, and had a workshop at The American Musical Theatre Project at Northwestern University in 2011.
[1][3] The show, described as a 'darkly comic rock-fable', is set largely in 1965 New York at the time of the northeast blackout, and centres around a love triangle between a sandwich maker and two sisters.
[2] The Narrator introduces the story by describing the death of Cecily Smith, Mr McClam's wife and Harold's mother, on November 9, 1964 ("Fly By Night").
The Narrator then takes the audience back in time to introduce Daphne, a young woman living in South Dakota who dreams of moving to New York and becoming an actress.
Shortly after this audition, Daphne meets Harold, who is working as a sandwich maker at a deli run by the grumpy Crabble, and he makes her lunch.
The Narrator once again disrupts the chronology, taking the audience back in time to show Miriam on the night before she and Daphne leave for New York.
The Narrator takes the audience forward to New Year's Day, 1965, when the playwright Joey Storms enters Daphne's store and declares her his muse ("What You Do To Me").
He writes a song for her and performs it at the 'smoky club' The Narrator showed the audience earlier, tricking Miriam into attending by telling her that the wedding band Daphne asked her to book is playing there that night.
As he waits for his train, The Narrator talks us through the activities of the other characters: Mr McClam wants to mark the anniversary of his wife's death by seeing La Traviata, but the show is sold out; Daphne and Joey prepare for opening night; and Crabble, alone at the deli, tries to make as many sandwiches as possible ("At Least I'll Know I Tried").
Grief-stricken, Harold spends hours wandering around the dark city, eventually finding himself on his childhood stoop, where he is comforted by his father.
[2] TheaterMania described Fly by Night's script as "a perfect balance of serious and self-deprecatingly funny" and praised its "beautifully melodic score and... absolutely heartwarming story".
[6] Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote, "The score makes extensive use of time-freezing vamps and riffs that flirt with early rock 'n' roll, as well as recurrent motifs that are guaranteed to take up longtime residence in your ear" and described the song 'Eternity' as "a perfectly self-contained tour de force".
The New York Times review said, "the first-rate cast gleams with professional polish, while specializing in a mannered deadpan hysteria, and nobody oversells the cute eccentricity".
[7] Similarly, Time Out described the cast as "brimful of talent",[8] and the TheaterMania review said, "Stram won me over, making his lines feel unforced and spontaneous.
TheaterMania said, "Friedman's touching and heartfelt interpretation left quite a large percentage of the audience in sniffles, all while the actor unflappably maintained a stoic dignity that is indelibly characteristic of the World War II generation",[6] while The New York Times said, "Mr. Friedman’s man in mourning finally gets — and nails — the exultant memory solo his character deserves.