''A Broadway Musical'' is a musical with a book by William F. Brown, lyrics by

Lee Adams Lee Richard Adams (born August 14, 1924) is an American lyricist best known for his musical theatre collaboration with Charles Strouse. Biography Born in Mansfield, Ohio, Adams is the son of Dr. Leopold Adams, originally of Stamford, Connectic ...

, and music by

Charles Strouse Charles Strouse (born June 7, 1928) is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to such Broadway musicals as '' Bye Bye Birdie'', ''Applause'', and '' Annie''. Life and career Strouse was born in New York City, to Jewis ...

. The Broadway production closed after 14 previews and only one performance on December 21, 1978. The plot about a sleazy white

theatre producer A theatrical producer is a person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The producer is responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backing, and hire ...

's attempt to adapt an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

writer's serious play as a commercial stage musical was inspired by Adams and Strouse's real-life experiences with their 1964 Broadway production of '' Golden Boy''. The star of the musical-within-the-musical (''Sneakers'', about a basketball star) closely resembles ''Golden Boy'' star Sammy Davis, Jr. When the star opts to leave the show, the playwright – who from the start had resisted turning his work into a musical – steps in and takes on the lead role in order to save the production.

Background and production

The creators hoped that the backstage story about the making of a musical would cash in on the success of ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

'' as well as the popularity of the black-themed musical, including Brown's own ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'', which was still running at the time. But Brown's much-criticized book is a clichéd spoof of

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

lawyers,

idealistic In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality ...

young playwrights, glitzy

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

performers, blue-haired

matinée In the performing arts, film exhibition, and other forms of entertainment, a matinée is a performance or exhibition in the afternoon (or occasionally earlier), as distinguished from the evening Evening is the period of a day that starts at t ...

ladies, and the black-themed musical itself. ''The Wiz'' proved to be Brown's only success.Gilvey, John Anthony. ''Before the Parade Passes by: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical''. (2005) St. Martin's Press Following a dismal October–November tryout with

Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher (born July 19, 1926) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award. Early years Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York, and the ...

and

Julius LaRosa Julius La Rosa (January 2, 1930 – May 12, 2016) was an American traditional popular music singer, who worked in both radio and television beginning in the 1950s. Early years La Rosa was born of Italian-immigrant parents in the Brooklyn borough ...

at the theatre in the

Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on the block bounded by Riverside Drive, Claremont Avenue, 120th Street and 122nd Street near Columbia University's Mornin ...

in Morningside Heights, the producers fired most of the cast and creative personnel, including director/choreographer

George Faison George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

.Mandelbaum, p. 138

Gower Champion Gower Carlyle Champion (June 22, 1919 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer. Early years Champion was born on June 22, 1919, in Geneva, Illinois, as the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Car ...

was called in to rescue the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

-bound production with only a month to go, but he feared that the show's defects were too serious to remedy and insisted on receiving a "Production supervised by" credit only. After 14 previews, the Broadway production opened and closed the same night at the

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hasti ...

on December 21, 1978. The cast included

Patti Karr Patti Karr (July 10, 1932 – July 11, 2020), born Patsy Lou Karkalits, was an American actress, dancer, and singer in Broadway musicals, and in film and television. Early life Patsy Lou Karkalits was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the daught ...

(replacing Gallagher), Alan Weeks, Larry Marshall,

Warren Berlinger Warren Berlinger (August 31, 1937 – December 2, 2020) was an American character actor, with Broadway runs, movie and television credits, and much work in commercials. Early life Warren Berlinger was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, ...

(replacing LaRosa),

Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress, singer and voice actor. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of '' Dreamg ...

Jackée Harry Jacqueline Yvonne Harry (born August 14, 1956) is an American actress, comedian, and television personality. She is known for her starring roles as Sandra Clark, the nemesis of Mary Jenkins (played by Marla Gibbs), on the NBC TV series ''227'' ...

and Tiger Haynes. A

cast album A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

was recorded during a live performance in December 1978. In 2017,

Feinstein's/54 Below 54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patt ...

in New York gave a concert presentation of ''A Broadway Musical'', directed and produced by Robert W. Schneider. The cast included

Clifton Davis Clifton Duncan Davis (born October 4, 1945) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, minister, and author. Davis wrote The Jackson 5's No. 2 hit " Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1971. He appeared on Broadway in the musicals '' Two Gentlemen of Vero ...

Jason Graae Jason Graae (pronounced "grah" or "graw", but not "gray") (born 15 May 1958) is an American musical theater actor, best known for his musical theater performances but with a varied career spanning Broadway, opera, television and film. He has ...

and

Kyle Scatliffe Kyle Scatliffe (born July 18, 1986) is an American stage actor best known for playing Enjolras in the 2014 Broadway revival of ''Les Misérables'', and Harpo in the 2015 Broadway Revival of ''The Color Purple''. He was nominated for a Laurence Ol ...

Song list

;Act I *"Broadway, Broadway" - New Kids in Town, Policeman and James Lincoln *"A Broadway Musical" – Eddie Bell, James Lincoln, Lonnie Paul, Melinda Bernard, Stan Howard, Maggie Simpson and Ensemble *"Smoke and Fire" – Stan Howard, James Lincoln, Kumi-Kumi and Ensemble *"Lawyers" – Eddie Bell, Stephanie Bell and Richie's Lawyers *"Yenta Power" – Shirley Wolfe and Associates *"Let Me Sing My Song" – Richie Taylor *"A Broadway Musical (Reprise)" – Eddie Bell, Stephanie Bell, James Lincoln, Shirley Wolfe, Maggie Simpson, Lonnie Paul, Stan Howard and Ensemble ;Act II *"The 1934 Hot Chocolate Jazz Babies Revue" – Sylvester Lee, James Lincoln and Ensemble *"Let Me Sing My Song (Reprise)" – Richie Taylor and Friends *"It's Time for a Cheer-Up Song" – Stan Howard, Maggie Simpson, Lonnie Paul and James Lincoln *"You Gotta Have Dancing" – Maggie Simpson, James Lincoln and Ensemble *"What You Go Through" – Stephanie Bell and Eddie Bell *"Don't Tell Me" – Eddie Bell *"Together" – James Lincoln, Eddie Bell and Staff

Characters and original Broadway cast

*Richie Taylor's Lawyer – Sydney Anderson *Rehearsal Pianist – Gwen Arment *Policeman, Nathaniel – Nate Barnett *Eddie Bell –

*Stephanie Bell – Gwyda DonHowe *Shirley Wolfe – Anne Francine *Richie Taylor's Lawyer – Michael Gallagher *Melinda Bernard –

*Sylvester Lee – Tiger Haynes *Louie – Reggie Jackson *Maggie Simpson –

*Kumi-Kumi – Christina Kumi Kimball *James Lincoln – Irving Allen Lee *Richie Taylor – Larry Marshall *Junior – Robert Melvin *Richie's Secretary – Jo Ann Ogawa *Jake – Martin Rabbett *Lonnie Paul – Larry Riley *Big Jake – Albert Stephenson *Stan Howard – Alan Weeks *Smoke & Fire Back-Up Singer –

Critical response

Strouse wrote (in his memoir) that this was a "show he was proud of" because he and Adams had wanted to write a musical about their experiences with Sammy Davis, Jr., about white people writing for a "big, black musical star". They envisioned it as "funny, ironic ... and filled with life's imbalances."

Mel Gussow Melvyn Hayes "Mel" Gussow (; December 19, 1933 – April 29, 2005) was an American theater critic, movie critic, and author who wrote for ''The New York Times'' for 35 years. Biography Gussow was born in New York City and grew up in Rockville ...

, in his review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', wrote that the idea was to write a spoof of Broadway intrigue and duplicity; "cynicism is rampant." There are jokes about blacks on Broadway, Jewish theater party women and lawyers with "steel clauses." The lyrics are not funny. Finally, Gussow wrote: "The cast performs with eagerness, even as the show sinks." Julius Novick of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' called it "the best Broadway musical since ''

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

''," a disaster that had opened the month before. Critic and theatre historian Ken Mandelbaum has described the show as "a genuine turkey... hopeless... well-meaning but fatally underpowered evening. The Charles Strouse-Lee Adams score had its moments."Mandelbaum, Ken
"Looking BacK: '78-'79"
Broadway.com, June 27, 2005, accessed January 31, 2019 Mandelbaum noted that "the characters were all clichés. ... A shallow treatment of a theme with potential ... was capped with an absurd ending".

References

*''Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops'' by Ken Mandelbaum, published by

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

(1991), pp. 136–38 ()

Notes

External links

Internet Broadway DatabaseRecollections about the show from co-producer Garth Drabinsky''A Broadway Musical''
Off-Broadway at Lortel Archives
Charles Strouse Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadway Musical, A 1978 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals inspired by real-life events Musicals by Charles Strouse