When Does "The Life" (1997) Take Place?
"The Life" is a historical fiction stage-musical written by David Newman with Ira Gasman and Cy Coleman first performed April 26th, 1997. So when is "The Life" set?
It takes roughly place in the years:
We know this because during the fifth song, "A Piece of the Action", Fleetwood sings, "I did my bit in the army. / I took a bullet in 'Nam", referring to the American War in Vietnam. The first American military presence arrived in Vietnam on May 1st, 1950 AD (though this didn't ramp up to the level seen in the mid-1960s AD). Without knowing when Fleetwood arrived in Vietnam, we can only assess from this that it must be after May of 1950 AD.
~1980s AD
We know this because during the fifth song, "A Piece of the Action", Fleetwood sings, "I did my bit in the army. / I took a bullet in 'Nam", referring to the American War in Vietnam. The first American military presence arrived in Vietnam on May 1st, 1950 AD (though this didn't ramp up to the level seen in the mid-1960s AD). Without knowing when Fleetwood arrived in Vietnam, we can only assess from this that it must be after May of 1950 AD.
Also, in the twenty-first song "People Magazine", Lou tempts Mary with a life ‘making a splash / in "People" magazine.’ The first issue of the real-world magazine "People" was published on March 4th, 1974 AD so we can presume this isn't some kind of vague concept of a magazine about people but the specific publication titled "People" magazine. So it is most likely after March of 1974 AD.
More specifically, one of the Times Square prostitutes sings ..."taking care of business in my air-conditioned bedroom with my VCR and color TV." as one of the fantasies in "Someday is for Suckers", the twenty-fourth song in the show. A videocassette recorder, or VCR, plays VHS tapes through a television, a real-world home video technology invented in 1973 AD but first introduced to North America on August 23rd, 1977 AD. This video format was superseded by DVDs, a new home video technology invented in 1995 AD and introduced to North America on March 24th, 1997 AD in the real world. By that moment, a VCR would no longer be a luxury item and therefore (though all production of VHS tapes didn't stop until July of 2016 AD) have no place in a fantasy scenario of anyone's upward financial mobility. So it must be after August of 1977 AD and before March of 1997 AD.
The lack of mentions of New York City Mayor Rudolph "Rudy" Giuliani’s policy of intense policing of the Times Square area during his time as mayor from January 1st, 1994 AD to December 31st, 2001 AD strongly suggests a late 1993 AD cutoff.
A different version written by just Ira Gasman with Cy Coleman was first performed in July of 1990.
