Ace Lyrics – All Songs from the Musical

R. Taylor & R. Oberacker wrote a book and lyrics (and the latter made a music accompaniment), so that musical is based on their work. It is about a boy who had to separate from his mother (sometimes she had to spend time in a mental facility). He gets acquainted with the past of his mother (and perished father) and understands that there are actual deep reasons for what his mother, Elizabeth, did (unwilling to live, she swallowed lots of medications caused her unawakening).
His father, Ace, died in Siam skies, and a boy sees in a dream, closer to the final part, that Ace comes back to him and says that he is free now and able to fly, no matter what it is – a plane or the skies. A plot is revealed to us standing on two major points – the relations with new family of a boy who was adopted by new family after his mother wanted to commit suicide; and a discovery of many events from the mother’s past life from the diaries, received by boy from her.
The premiere was in Saint Louis, Missouri, in 2006 and lasted for a couple of years, until September 28, 2008. At first, the plot was slightly different:
- A boy was named as Billy, not Danny (he received a new name only in 2008); - Diaries that are the main source of the information were dreams, via which the boy (and his new friend, Emily, eventually added) opened the mysteries of his parents.
Probably, such metamorphoses had to be done to make the plot better understandable for broader masses of people, though it is just our personal opinion.
This musical was in Cincinnati (Ohio), Missouri, San Diego (California), and Virginia. It has over 15 songs. It was nominated for Kevin Kline Awards, winning six out of twelve: for costumes, best new play, lighting design, set design, sound design, and best lead actor.

ACE received significant recognition at the 2006 Kevin Kline Awards, earning twelve nominations and ultimately winning six. The musical’s creators, Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor, were honored with Outstanding New Play or Musical, underscoring the strength of their original work. The production's visual and technical excellence was also widely celebrated: Marie Anne Chimento won for Outstanding Costume Design, Chris Akerlind for Outstanding Lighting Design, David Korins for Outstanding Set Design, and the duo John H. Shivers and David Patridge secured the award for Outstanding Sound Design. Notably, Noah Galvin was recognized as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical for his performance. In addition to these accolades, ACE was awarded the Mickey Kaplan New American Play Prize, further cementing its status as a standout piece in contemporary musical theater.

Winner! 2006 Mickey Kaplan Prize for New Play.
Winner! Six 2007 Kevin Kline Awards, including Best New Musical.
Nominee: Five 2009 Helen Hayes Awards, including Outstanding New Musical.