History of MT Discussion Powerpoint

Golden Age Composers and their Successful

Works

Irving Berlin

Call Me Madam – 1950

• Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse

• Satire on politics and foreign affairs that spoofs America lending money to needy countries

• Tony for best original score

• 644 performances

Frank Loesser

Guys and Dolls - 1950

• Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser

• Opened at the 46th Street Theatre on November 24th, 1950

• Won Tony for Best Musical

• Won Tony for Best Book

• Book by Joe Swerling and Abe Burrows

The Most Happy Fella - 1956

• Opened on May 3rd, 1956 at the Imperial Theatre

• 6 Tony Nominations

• Ran for 676 performances

• Music, lyrics, book by Frank Loesser

Green Willow - 1960

• Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser

• Book by Frank Loesser and Lesser Samuels

• Opened March 6th, 1960

• 97 performances

• 6 Tony Nominations

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying- 1961

• Won: Best Musical, Best Author, Best Actor, Best Featured Actor, Best Direction, Best Producer, Best Conductor.

• Opened at the 46th Street Theater on October 1961, ran for 1,417 performances

• Book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert

• Pulitzer Prize

Harold Rome

Wish You Were Here – 1952

• Book by Arthur Kober and Joshua Logan

• Based on Kober’s 1937 play Having Wonderful Time


• Revolves around a summer camp for adults

Fanny – 1954

• Book by S.N. Behrman and Joshua Logan


• Based on Marcel Pagnol’s trilogy of plays Marius, Fanny, and Cesar

Destry Rides Again – 1959

• Book by Leonard Gershe

• Based on the 1939 classic film, plot loosely based on story by Max Brand


I Can Get It For You Wholesale – 1962

• Produced by David Merrick

• Book by Jerome Weidman, based on his 1937 novel

• 19 year old Barbara Streisand debut


Cole PorterCan-Can -1953

• Can-Can is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and a book by Abe Burrows.

• The story concerns the showgirls of the Montmartre dance halls during the 1890s.

• Pre-Broadway tryout at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia in March 1953

• Can-Can premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on May 7, 1953, and closed on June 25, 1955 after 892 performances. Gwen Verdon’s second Broadway role, she won a Tony Award for her performance.

• Claudine was "the part that made Gwen Verdon a star”

• Choreographer, Michael Kidd also won Tony Award for her choreography.

Silk Stockings - 1955

• Silk Stockings is a musical with a book by George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows and music and lyrics by Cole Porter.

• Following tryouts in Philadelphia, Boston, and Detroit, the production opened Broadway on February 24, 1955 at the Imperial Theatre, and closed on April 14, 1956 after 478 performances.

• This was the last musical that Porter wrote for the stage.

• Directed by Cy Feuer and choreographed by Eugene Loring

Meredith WilsonThe Music Man - 1957

• Opened on December 19th, 1957

• The Majestic Theatre

• Closed on April 15th, 1961

• 1,375 performances

• Won 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical of 1958

• Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson

• Book by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey

• Film adaptations in 1962 and 2003

The Unsinkable Molly Brown - 1960

Opened on November 3rd, 1960

The Winter Garden Theatre

Closed on February 10th, 1962

532 performances Nominated for only 1 Tony Award, which was won by Tammy Grimes in the title role

Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson

Book by Richard Morris

Film adaptation in 1964

Here’s Love - 1963

Opened on October 3rd, 1963

The Shubert Theatre

Closed on July 25th, 1964

334 performances

Music, Lyrics, and Book by Meredith Willson

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe

Brigadoon - 1947

Opened on March 13th, 1947

The Ziegfeld Theatre

Closed on July 31st, 1948

581 performances

Music by Frederick Loewe

Lyrics and Book by Alan Jay Lerner


Paint Your Wagon - 1951

Opened on November 12th, 1951

The Shubert Theatre

Closed on July 19th, 1952

289 performances


Lyrics and Book by Alan Jay Lerner


My Fair Lady - 1956

Opened on March 15th, 1956

The Mark Hellinger Theatre

Closed on September 29th, 1962

2,717 performances

Won 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical of 1957


Lyrics and Books by Alan Jay Lerner


Richard Adler and Jerry Ross

The Pajama Game - 1954

Based on novel, 7 1⁄2 Cents

Original Broadway production opened on May 13, 1954 at the St. James Theatre

Ran for 1,063 performances

Directed by George Abbott and Jerome Robbins

Choreographed by Bob Fosse

Notable songs include “I’m Not At All In Love,” “Hey There,” “Steam Heat,” and “Hernando’s Hideaway.” Many of these were recorded by popular artists during this time

Won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Featured Actress and Best Choreography

Damn Yankees - 1955

Based on T he Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant by Douglass Wallop.

Opened May 5th, 1955 at the 46th Street Theatre

Ran for 1,019 performances

Directed by George Abbott

Choreographed by Bob Fosse

Notable songs include “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets” and “Heart”

Was the last Adler and Ross collaboration because Ross died of chronic bronchiectasis

Won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical

Jule StyneHigh Button Shoes - 1947

Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne

Opened on Broadway at the New Century Theater on October 9th, 1947

Closed in the Broadway Theatre July 2, 1949 after 2 years and 727 performances

Starred Nannette Fabray and Phil Sivers

Musical Numbers: “He Tried to Make a Dollar”, “Can’t You Just See Yourself in Love with Me?”, “There’s Nothing Like a Model T”, “Next to Texas, I Love You”, “Bird Watcher’s Song”

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - 1949

Opened on December 8th, 1949 at the Ziegfeld Theater

Record breaking presales: $600,000

Starred a, then unknown, Carol Channing

Ran 740 performances

Closed September 15th, 1951

Two on the Aisle - 1951

July 19, 1951 at the Mark Hellinger Theater where it ran for 276 performances

Bert Lahr and Dolores gray

Gypsy - 1959

Opened May 21st, 1959 at The Broadway Theatre

Choreoraphed by Jerome Robbins

8 Tony Nominations, zero wins

Closed March 25th, 1961 after 702 performances and 2 previews

Upon closing, there were two national tours. The second of which featured a young Bernadette peters as various ensemble parts

Ethel Merman originated the role of Rose Jack Klugman as Herbie, Sandra Church as Louise

Musical Numbers: “Some People”, “You’ll Never Get Away from Me”, “Let Me Entertain You”, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”, “If Momma Was Married”

Leonard BernsteinWonderful Town - 1953

• Opened February 25, 1953 at the Winter Garden Theatre

Closed July 3 1954

559 performances

George Abbott (director), Donald Saddler (choreography), Robert Fryer (producer)

Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Comden & Green

Book by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov

Broadway revival in 2003, National Tour in 2006, productions in Britain and Canada

1958 CBS live broadcast special

1953 Tonys: Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Rosalind Russell), Best Choreography (Donald Saddler), Best Conductor and Musical Director (Lehman Engel), Best Scenic Design (Raol Pène Du Bois)

Candide - 1956

Opened December 1, 1956

Disaster, ran for 73 performances

Original production directed by Tyrone Guthrie and conducted by Samuel Krachmaknick, set and costume design by Oliver Smith and Irene Sharaff, choreography by Anna Sokolow

Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Richard Wilbur, John Latouche, Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein

Book originally by Lillian Hellman, revised by Hugh Wheeler

Show underwent a series of Broadway revivals under the direction of Harold Prince – commissioned a new, one-act book from Hugh Wheeler

One-act = Chelsea version; expanded two-act opera version = performed by operas around the world; 1989 Final Bernstein Scottish Opera version; 1999 Royal National Theatre revision by John Caird

1974 Tonys: Best Book of a Musical (Hugh Wheeler), Best Direction of a Musical (Harold Prince), Best Scenic Design (Franne Lee and Eugene Lee), Best Costume Design (Franne Lee)

West Side Story - 1957

Opened September 26, 1957 in Winter Garden Theatre

732 performances

Toured, then returned to the Winter Garden Theatre in 1960 for another 253 performances

Directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, produced by Robert E. Griffith and Harold Prince

Music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Original Broadway and London productions, 1980 Broadway revival, 209 Broadway revival, multiple National tours, regional opera company productions, international productions all over the world, 1961 film

1958 Tonys: Best Choreography (Jerome Robbins), Best Scenic Design (Oliver Smith); 1980 Broadway revival: Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Debbie Allen)

Betty Comden and Adolph Green

On the Town - 1944

• Opening date: December 28, 1944

• Closing date: February 2, 1946

• Theatre: Adelphi Theatre

• Performances: 462

• Directed by George Abbott, choreographed by Jerome Robbins, Musical directed by Max Goberman

• Music: Leonard Bernstein; Lyrics: Betty Comden and Adolph Green; Book: Comden & Green

• Plot: Sailors Gabey, Chip, and Ozzie are on 24-hour leave in NYC. They each end up with their own female counterparts. Chip is ultimately unable to resist the sexual advances of the horny cab driver, Ozzie happily ends up with an anthropologist, and Gabey finds Miss Turnstiles, the girl he has desperately been searching for. They go on a crazy 24-hour adventure together that none of them will ever forget.

Wonderful Town - 1953

• Opening date: February 25, 1953

• Closing date: July 3, 1954

• Theatre: Winter Garden Theatre


• Collaborated: directed by George Abbott, choreographed by Donald Saddler, musical directed by: Lehman Engel

• Music: Leonard Bernstein; Lyrics: Betty Comden and Adolph Green

• Book: Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov

• Awards: Nominated for 5 Tony Awards and won all: Best Musical, Best Leading Actress, Best Choreography, Best Conductor and Musical Director, Best Scenic Design

• Plot: Ruth, an aspiring writer who cannot attract the attention of men, and her sister, Eileen, who is a beautiful dancer who can’t keep men off of her, move from Ohio to New York to make their dreams come true.

Bells Are Ringing - 1956

• Opening date: November 29, 1956

• Theatre: Shubert Theatre, then transferred to Alvin Theatre


• Collaborated: Directed by Jerome Robbins, choreographed by Robbins and Bob Fosse

• Music: Jule Styne; Lyrics: Betty Comden and Adolph Green; Book: Comden and Green

• Awards: Nominated for four Tony Awards: Best Musical, Leading Actress (won), Featured Actor (won), Best Choreography

• Plot: Telephone operator Ella Peterson adopts different personalities while on the job. She has the perfect life until she begins a romantic relationship with one of her clients.

Peter Pan - 1954

• Opening date: October 20, 1954

• Closing date: February 26, 1955

• Theatre: Winter Garden Theatre


• Collaborated: Directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins

• Music: Mark Charlap and Jule Styne; Lyrics: Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden and Adolph Green; Book: J.M. Barrie

• Awards: Nominated and won three Tony Awads: Best Leading Actress, Best Featured Actor, Best Stage Technician

• Plot: The lives of the Darling children - Wendy, Michael, and John - change forever when the boy who never grows up, Peter Pan, pays them a visit and takes them to his home, Neverland.

Gypsy - 1959

• Opening date: May 21, 1959

• Closing date: March 25, 1961

• Theatre: The Broadway Theatre


• Collaborated: Directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, musical directed by Milton Rosenstock

• Music: Jule Styne; Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim; Book: Arthur Laurents

• Awards: Nominated for 8 Tony Awards, won none: Best Musical, Best Leading Actress, Best Featured Actor, Best Featured Actress, Best Direction, Best Conductor and Musical Director, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design

• Plot: Mama Rose is determined that her youngest daughter June will have a successful career, but after June decides to elope, Mama turns all her attention on her other daughter, Louise, who is not as talented, but eventually becomes a burlesque stripper named Gypsy Rose Lee.

Funny Girl - 1964

• Opening date: March 26, 1964

• Closing date: July 1, 1967

• Theatre: Winter Garden Theatre, then transferred to the Majestic Theatre and The Broadway Theatre.

• Performances: 1,348

• Collaborated: Directed by Garson Kanin, Choreographed by Carol Haney, Musical directed by Milton Rosenstock

• Music: Jule Styne; Lyrics: Bob Merrill; Book: Isobel Lennart

• Awards: Nominated for 8 Tony Awards, but won none: Best Musical, Best Leading Actress, Best Leading Actor, Best Featured Actor, Best Featured Actress, Best Choreography, Best Composer and Lyricist, Best Producer

• Plot: A semi-biographical musical about Zigfield Follies star Fanny Brice as she reflects on her life while awaiting the release of her husband, Nicky Ornstein from prison.

TimelineOn the Town (’44), Brigadoon (‘47), High Button Shoes (‘47), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (‘49), Call Me Madam (‘50), Guys and Dolls (‘50), Two on the Aisle (’51), Paint Your Wagon (‘51), Wish You Were Here (‘52), Wonderful Town (‘53), Can-Can (‘53), The Pajama Game (‘54), Peter Pan (‘54), Fanny (’54), Silk Stockings (‘55), Damn Yankees (‘55), My Fair Lady (‘56), The Most Happy Fella (‘56), Bells Are Ringing (‘56), Candide (‘56), West Side Story (‘57), The Music Man (‘57), Destry Rides Again (‘59), Gypsy (‘59), Green Willow (‘60), The Unsinkable Molly Brown (‘60), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (‘61), I Can Get It for You Wholesale (‘62), Here’s Love (‘63), Funny Girl (‘64)

History of MT Discussion Powerpoint

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