Broadway Blip: Fanny

How can a musical be such a hit in one decade, then become almost obscure the next? Fanny is a musical that was a minor hit in its day, had a healthy Broadway run, was predominantly a critics’ darling, garnered one Tony Award for Walter Slezak, but never received a Broadway revival and is seldom discussed today. Based on Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of plays entitled MariusFanny and CésarFanny has a book by S. N. Behrman and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. Directed by Joshua Logan and choreographed by Helen Tamiris, Fanny opened at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre on November 4, 1954 where it ran 888 performances. The cast included Florence Henderson as Fanny, Ezio Pinza as Cesar, William Tabbert as Marius, and Slezak as Panisse. 

Broadway Blip: Pal Joey

The composing team of Rodgers and Hart had a reputation for putting together fun and witty musical comedies. Rodgers’ music sparkled with infectious melody while Hart’s lyrics were clever and bursting with wild use of rhyme. It wasn’t until their 1940 collaboration of the musical Pal Joey that the team ventured into edgier territory. Based on John O’Hara’s series of short stories that were published in The New YorkerPal Joey is both the crowning achievement of the duo’s partnership and a benchmark in advancement of serious musical theatre storytelling. 

Broadway Blip: Shenandoah

A musical that you do not hear about much anymore, but one that was a pretty big hit of the 1970s is Shenandoah. Set in Virginia during the Civil War, the musical was a gripping and tragic tale about a family-divided amidst one of the United States’ most harrowing periods. The musical featured a score by Gary Geld (music) and Peter Udell (lyrics) who had teamed up for the equally thought-provoking Purlie five years earlier. Shenandoah was based on the popular 1965 film of the same name. The Tony Award-winning book was by Udell, Philip Rose, and James Lee Barrett.

Broadway Blip: "Ol' Man River"

Perhaps one of the most poignant and powerful songs in the history of musical theatre is Jerome Kern’s and Oscar Hammerstein’s “Ol’ Man River.” This swelling anthem contrasting the hard life of the African American with the unforgiving, undaunted flow of the Mississippi River is one of the best-known songs to come from the groundbreaking 1927 musical Show Boat. The song was introduced in the musical on December 27, 1927 by Jules Bledsoe who played the role of Joe a black dock worker aboard the entertainment vessel The Cotton Blossom.