A work in progress...sorry if it seems disjointed. Because I love If/Then and I clearly have too much time on my hands I started compiling a doc about the show. Originally it was just going to be a list of cool things people may have missed and has escalated pretty significantly. Pages 1-3 - Themes, Liz/Beth, Music, Set Design, Lighting and Costumes Page 4 - Recurring lyrics/themes Pages 5 - 7 - Things you might have missed/may not know about If/Then Page 8 - Script Parallels Page 9 - Similarities between If/Then and RENT Thanks to everyone who submitted items, if you have anything you want to add or think I've made a mistake; tweet me - @kimedian

1. IF/THEN
If/Then
is
a
contemporary
new
musical
that
follows
two
distinct
storylines
in
the
life
of
Elizabeth,
a
city
planner
who
moves
back
to
New
York
to
restart
her
life
in
a
city
of
infinite
possibilities.
When
her
carefully
designed
plans
collide
with
the
whims
of
fate,
Elizabeth’s
life
splits
into
two
parallel
paths.
If/Then
follows
both
stories
simultaneously
as
this
modern
woman
faces
the
intersection
of
choice
and
chance.
If/Then
officially
opened
on
Broadway
on
30th
March
2014
at
the
Richard
Rodgers
Theatre.
Themes
“How
one
little
thing
can
alter
your
life.
And
not
just
the
choices
you
make
but
the
choices
that
people
around
you
make
and
how
they
affect
you”
(Tom
Kitt,
Chatterbox)
“[If/Then]
is
more
about
how
every
day
is
a
new
day
to
start
over
—
and
not
to
regret
anything
in
the
past.
Because
it’s
all
part
of
the
story
of
whom
you
become.”
(Idina
Menzel,
Newsday)
“There’s
this
beautiful
parallel
between
the
creating
and
being
sort
of
the
architect
of
a
city
and
how
those
roads
that
we
take
and
the
paths
we
take
and
the
patterns
that
all
of
us
in
this
crazy
city
make
and
how
we
sometimes
run
into
each
other
and
somehow
we
don’t
and
what
our
behavior
is
and
all
that
is
a
really
nice
metaphor
for
us
in
our
lives
today
and
how
we
choose
the
paths
that
we
take.”
(Idina
Menzel,
DNR
Sirius
XM)
If/Then
was
originally
conceptualized
with
a
20-­‐something
year
old
lead:
“We
had
originally
thought
of
the
character
as
a
20
year
old,
a
20-­something,
and
we
quickly
realized
that
the
choice
are
not
nearly
as
[significant]…if
you’re
20
you
have
a
chance
to
mess
things
up
and
start
over,
especially
for
a
woman
you
talk
about
having
children…career
choices,
it
just
seems
you’re
up
against
a
little
bit
more
of
a
time-­crunch
in
your
40’s
or
your
late
30’s,
where
you’re
going
to
end
up
and
what
kind
of
life
you’re
going
to
have.”
(Tom
Kitt,
Chatterbox)

2. Liz/Beth
“To
me
she’s
the
same
woman,
she’s
the
same
soul,
she
just
is
affected
by
different
circumstances.”
(Idina
Menzel,
DNR
Sirius
XM)
Liz
and
Beth
each
have
their
own
color
palette
-­‐
Liz’s
color
is
red;
Beth’s
is
blue.
Beth’s
life
and
career
is
based
on
a
real
person
-­‐
Amanda
Burden.
“She’s
strongly
based
on
Amanda
Burden,
who
was
the
head
of
city
planning
in
the
Bloomberg
administration.
I
think
Brian
Yorkey
used
several
people
as
muses
but
we
were
kind
of
inspired
by
her
career.”
(Idina
Menzel,
DNR
Sirius
XM)
“As
an
actress
it’s
been
a
great
challenge
to
figure
out
subtlety,
you
know,
a
woman
that
has
two
children,
and
a
woman
that
doesn’t
and
has
been
affected
mostly
by
her
work
and
her
ambition,
does
she
move
differently?
Does
she
speak
differently?
Is
she
more
or
less
emotionally
connected
to
things…all
that
kind
of
stuff
was
the
challenges
that
Michael
and
I
had
fun
playing
with.”
(Idina
Menzel,
DNR
Sirius
XM)
Music
Liz
and
Beth
each
have
their
own
distinct
melody,
which
plays
when
the
story
correlates
to
that
character.
Tom
Kitt
has
said
Liz’s
theme
“has
more
of
a
searching,
romantic
quality
to
signify
which
character
is
going
to
meet
the
guy
early
on”,
while
Beth’s
has
“a
little
more
life
choice
and
career
quality.”
(Soundcheck)
“I
did
try
to
create
two
specific
themes
for
the
two
tracks.
When
they
start
out
you
hear
them
in
the
overture
before
the
show
begins.
Since
they’re
coming
from
the
same
person
they
wanted
to
have
a
similarity
to
them.”
(Tom
Kitt,
Soundcheck)
Set
Design
Mirrors
are
used
as
part
of
the
set
design
as
an
allusion
to
the
‘reflection
of
life’
theme.
They
are
also
utilized
to
reflect
the
audience
onto
the
stage,
reinforcing
the
idea
that
these
could
be
real
life
people
and
that
the
audience
is
part
of
the
story.

3. Lighting
Liz
and
Beth’s
color
themes
are
particularly
well
utilized
in
the
lighting
design.
When
Liz
is
on
stage
the
background
color
is
red.
Beth’s
is
blue.
Costumes
The
costumes
in
If/Then
are
designed
to
reflect
a
contemporary
and
urban
environment.
Cardigans
feature
particularly
heavily
as
part
of
the
characters
clothing.
Liz
and
Beth’s
colors
are
well
represented
not
only
in
their
costume
design,
but
the
costumes
of
the
characters
in
the
scenes
with
them.
In
‘What
If?
(Reprise)’
Liz
is
wearing
white,
to
symbolize
the
end
of
that
road
taken
and
that
her
new
life
is
starting.
Elizabeth
makes
a
total
of
32
costume
changes
throughout
the
musical,
7
of
which
take
place
onstage.
(This
includes
any
small
change
to
her
costume,
whether
it
be
taking
on
a
jacket
or
putting
on
a
shirt.)
The
song
with
the
most
costume
changes
is
Map
of
New
York,
in
which
Elizabeth
changes
jackets
4
times,
including
one
onstage
change.
Glasses
are
used
to
differentiate
between
Liz
and
Beth.
Liz
wears
glasses
in
mostly
every
scene,
with
the
exception
of
Always
Starting
Over.
Elizabeth
puts
glasses
on
and
takes
them
off
31
times
during
the
musical.
She
starts
and
ends
without
glasses.
The
song
with
the
most
glasses
changes
is
Ain’t
No
Man
Manhattan,
where
she
switches
from
Beth/Liz
on
six
separate
occasions.

4. Recurring
Lyrics/Themes
References
to
heroes:
• Stephen
calls
Beth
his
“once
and
future
hero”
during
‘Ain’t
No
Man
Manhattan’
• In
‘What
the
Fuck?’
Beth
sings
“Another
day
of
saving
the
planet”
• In
‘No
More
Wasted
Time’,
Kate
tells
Beth
she
is
her
kindergarteners
‘”American
hero
this
week”
and
puts
a
cape
around
her.
• The
lyrics
in
No
More
Wasted
Time
also
mention
heroes
-­‐
“You
say
you’re
not
sure
you’re
a
hero,
it’s
time
you
should
find
out.
So
say
you’ve
made
a
few
mistakes,
heroes
know
that’s
what
it
takes,
to
find
their
way.”
Recurring
theme:
being
bold
–
Surprise
–
“And
behold
you’re
older,
bolder
and
much
wiser
than
before”
You
Learn
to
Live
Without
–
“So
brave
and
bold
and
strong
and
stout”
Always
Staring
Over
-­‐“What
the
Gods
have
to
give,
I'll
take
and
I'll
live
and
be
bold”
There
are
three
lyric
references
to
queens
-­‐
Some
Other
Me
-­‐
“Some
other
me
is
queen”
Best
Worst
Mistake
–
“Love’s
a
queen”
You
Learn
to
Live
Without
–
“You
sit
a
spell
a
queen
upon
her
throne”

5. Things
you
might
have
missed/might
not
know
The
musical
takes
place
over
a
period
of
5
years.
It
starts
when
Elizabeth
is
38
and
ends
when
she
is
43.
This
is
the
third
character
Idina
has
played
whose
name
starts
with
El-­‐
Elphaba,
Elsa
and
now
Elizabeth.
When
you
watch
the
musical
live,
it’s
fairly
obvious
that
Idina
mouths
the
words
in
group
numbers.
Idina
has
previously
sung
a
song
called
‘What
If’.
A
duet
with
Rhydian,
covering
a
Kate
Winslet
song.
Kritstoffer
Cuisick,
who
filled
in
for
Curtis
when
Curtis
filled
in
for
Anthony,
previously
starred
alongside
Idina
in
Wicked
as
Fiyero,
filling
in
when
Norbert
Leo
Butz
was
on
medical
leave.
If
you’re
paying
enough
attention,
it
is
revealed
which
life
Elizabeth
chooses
in
the
first
few
minutes
of
the
musical
-­‐
In
the
opening
scene,
when
Elizabeth
says,
“Hey
it’s
me”
the
lighting
is
blue,
which
is
Beth’s
color.
Also,
she
is
not
wearing
glasses,
alluding
to
Beth.
Further
to
that,
when
talks
of
meeting
Josh
she
says
“You
were
just
back
from
your
third
tour”.
When
Josh
introduces
himself
to
Liz
in
‘What
If?’
he
says
“my
second
tour”.
There
is
only
one
song
in
the
entire
musical
that
Elizabeth
doesn’t
sing
in
or
isn’t
onstage
being
sung
to
at
some
point
in
the
song
-­‐
Best
Worst
Mistake
(Hey
Kid
a
close
second
but
she
does
come
in
right
at
the
end)
The
first
lyrics
of
If/Then
are
“Here’s
how
it
starts,
and
here’s
how
it
ends.”
The
musical
starts
and
ends
in
Madison
Square
Park.
The
first
and
last
lyrics
Elizabeth
sings
are
‘What
if’
–
What
If?
-­
“What
if
I
always
belonged
in
the
city
that
moves
me”
What
If?
(Reprise)
-­
“And
you
wondering,
what
if?
What
if?”
Kate
and
Lucas
predict
what
happens
in
each
of
the
lives
Elizabeth
chooses
when
they
first
meet.
Kate
says
“[She]
moved
to
New
York
to
look
for
true
love”
Lucas
says
“My
college
girlfriend
just
moved
back
here
after
12
years
to
do
important
work”
(Menzelfanzel)

6. In
‘What
If?’
the
actors
playing
the
sketch
artist
stopped
attempting
to
actually
portrait
sketch
and
just
starting
drawing
dicks.
(raise-­‐you-­‐up)
In
‘What
If?’
Elizabeth
progresses
from
singing
“What
If
I
fall
off
the
cliff”
at
the
beginning
to
“If
I
leap
will
I
fall
off
the
cliff”
at
the
end.
When
she
is
ready
to
take
control
of
her
life
in
What
If?
(Reprise)
she
sings
“Take
a
breath
and
then
fly
off
the
cliff.”
(thewickedmusical)
In
the
opening
scene,
Josh
goes
to
approach
Beth,
but
backs
off
when
he
sees
Lucas
kiss
her.
(Some-­‐other-­‐me)
If
you
listen
closely
towards
the
end
of
‘What
If?’
as
Elizabeth
is
singing
“what
if”,
the
company
are
signing
“and
then”
at
the
same
time,
so
it
sounds
like
they
are
singing
‘If/Then’.
(witfordays)
After
the
kiss
in
‘You
Never
Know’,
Josh
and
Liz
look
back
at
each
other
and
smile.
Beth
drinks
single
malt
scotch.
Liz
drinks
small
batch
bourbon.
At
the
end
of
‘Ain’t
No
Man
Manhattan’
the
company
sings
“And
we
somehow
find
each
other,
even
so.”
We
are
reminded
of
this
when
Josh
and
Beth
meet
in
‘What
If?
(Reprise)’.
Almost
every
time
Liz
and
Josh
meet
in
the
first
act
he
is
late
because
of
a
medical
emergency
-­‐
at
the
baseball
game,
at
the
office
party
and
at
her
birthday
party.
Josh
is
under
the
bed
during
the
end
of
‘What
The
Fuck?’
before
moving
into
the
bed
when
Stephen
is
on
the
phone
to
his
wife.
When
Lucas’
scene
is
finished
in
‘What
The
Fuck?’
he
stays
on
stage
in
the
bathroom
until
his
cue
at
the
end
of
Here
I
Go.
Josh
spends
the
entirety
of
‘You
Don’t
Need
to
Love
Me’
on
stage,
in
the
bathroom.
Kate
refers
to
both
Liz
and
Elena
as
a
“very,
very
close
friend
who
I
just
met.”

7. When
Elizabeth
is
handed
an
iPad
during
‘No
More
Wasted
Time’
it
usually
loaded
with
some
kind
of
funny
picture
on
it.
(menzelcastlefan)
There
are
3
marriage
proposals
in
Surprise
–
Anne
&
Kate,
Lucas
&
Beth,
Josh
&
Liz.
One
of
the
only
insights
we
get
into
Elizabeth’s
life
before
she
moved
back
to
New
York
is
in
Surprise.
When
Kate
asks
Beth
how
she
fell
pregnant
she
replies,
“I
don’t
know
how.
Oren
and
I
tried
for
years,
he
always
blamed
me.”
If/Then
Snacktime
takes
place
during
Some
Other
Me
and
Best
Worst
Mistake
in
LaChanzes
dressing
room.
Between
Some
Other
Me
&
Best
Worst
Mistake,
Lucas
bumps
into
David
who
is
just
a
stranger
to
him
in
Beth
story.
(MiyaPridelander)
Lyrics
in
Best
Worst
Mistake
makes
references
to
previous
work
both
Idina
and
Brian
and
Tom
have
been
involved
with:
“Love’s
a
witch”
–
Wicked
“Love’s
a
queen,
let
it
go”
-­‐
Frozen
“Pay
that
price”
–
Next
To
Normal
[“It's
the
price
we
pay
to
feel,
The
price
of
love
is
loss...But
still
we
pay...
We
love
anyway...”]
Just
before
‘I
Hate
You’,
Josh
gets
off
the
phone
and
tells
Liz
he
has
to
ship
out.
Then
he
says
“I
emailed
your
mom
about
coming
to
stay”
but
he
literally
just
got
off
the
phone.
In
‘You
Learn
to
Live
Without’
Beth
sings
“You
learn
to
drink
your
whiskey
neat”.
This
is
the
same
drink
Kate
orders
during
‘The
Moment
Explodes’.
In
Beth’s
world
Kate
and
Anne
remain
married
because
she
reminds
them
to
“Love
While
You
Can”.
In
Liz’s
world
Kate
and
Anne
divorce
because
she
is
grieving
the
death
of
Josh
and
didn’t
know
their
intentions
to
separate
-­‐“If
I
had
known
I
never
would
have
let
you
do
it.”

8. Script
Parallels
The
short
monologue
at
the
beginning
of
the
musical,
and
the
monologue
before
Always
Starting
Over
are
almost
identical.
There
are
only
two
subtle
differences.
"So,
hey
it’s
me
On
the
plane
today
I
started
thinking
about
what
my
life
would
be
if
I
had
never
met
you.
That
day
in
the
park,
do
you
remember?
You
were
just
back
from
your
second/third
tour.
You
said
hi,
and
in
that
instant
I
imagined
our
whole
life
together.
That’s
what
I
do,
I
get
lost
in
what
might
be.
And
what
if
I
had
been
in
that
park
a
day
later?
Or
an
hour
later?
Or
what
if
I
had
gone
with
Lucas
and
and
I
hadn’t,
you
know,
stopped
to
listen
to
that
guy
playing
guitar?”
In
the
opening
scene
Lucas
says,
“Beth
doesn’t
like
to
waste
time”
Later,
Beth,
Kate,
Anne
and
Elena
sing
‘No
More
Wasted
Time’
“With
you
I
feel
like
I
belong”
–
Josh,
Here
I
Go
“With
you
I
never
feel
I’m
out
of
place”
–
Liz,
Always
Starting
Over
“I
guess
I
had
a
feeling”
–
Josh
-­‐
to
Liz,
Here
I
Go
“I
don’t
know,
I
have
a
feeling”
–
Beth
–
to
Elena,
No
More
Wasted
Time
“I
came
to
New
York
to
make
it
work
alone,
without
needing
anyone”
–
Beth
-­‐
to
Lucas,
You
Don’t
Need
to
Love
Me
“In
my
life,
I
always
said
I
don’t
need
anyone”
–
Liz,
I
Hate
You
These
parallels
remind
us
the
Liz
and
Beth
are
still
essentially
the
same
woman.
Elizabeth
is
an
independent
woman
whose
life
was
affected
by
different
circumstances.
“In
my
life,
I
haven't
made
that
many
promises,
Just
one
to
them
and
one
to
you”
–
Josh,
I
Hate
You
“In
my
life,
I
haven't
made
that
many
promises,
Just
one
to
him,
now
to
you
two”-­
Liz,
I
Hate
You
“In
my
life,
I
always
said
I
don't
need
anyone.”
–
Liz,
I
Hate
You
“In
my
life,
I
never
thought
I'd
get
a
second
chance”
–
Liz,
Always
Starting
Over

9. Similarities
between
If/Then
and
RENT
• Both
musicals
star
Idina
Menzel
and
Anthony
Rapp.
• Both
are
directed
by
Michael
Greif.
• Both
musicals
are
set
in
New
York
City
and
feature/reference
many
real
life
locations.
• Multiple
interracial
and
same-­‐sex
couples
are
featured
in
each
musical
• In
both
musicals,
the
characters
played
by
Anthony
and
Idina
are
former
lovers
and
Anthony’s
character
wants
to
get
back
together
with
Idina’s.
.
One
half
of
the
couple
is
straight,
the
other
is
bisexual.
• Both
musicals
are
set
in
the
modern
era
of
their
time
and
explore
various
social
and
cultural
issues
faced
in
society.
• RENT
and
If/Then
were
both
nominated
for
a
Tony
Award
for
Best
Original
Score.
• Both
Original
Cast
Recordings
debuted
at
#19
on
the
Billboard
200
chart.
If/Then
was
the
highest
debut
for
a
cast
album
since
RENT.