''Ambassador'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

with a book by Don Ettlinger and Anna Marie Barlow, lyrics by

Hal Hackady Harold Clayton MacHackady (February 10, 1922 – October 12, 2015), best known as Hal Hackady, and sometimes credited as Hal Hackaday, was an American lyricist, librettist and screenwriter. Life He was born in Middletown, Connecticut in 192 ...

, and music by Don Gohman. It is based on the 1903

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

The Ambassadors ''The Ambassadors'' is a 1903 novel by Henry James, originally published as a serial in the ''North American Review'' (NAR). The novel is a dark comedy which follows the trip of protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether to Europe to bring the son o ...

''.

Synopsis

Lewis Lambert Strether experiences a clash of cultures when he journeys to 1906

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to find his fiancée's wayward son and bring him back to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to take his rightful place as heir to the family fortune. The strait-laced Strether's mission falls by the wayside when he finds the openness of the European lifestyle far more attractive than his stifling existence and comes to the realization the only rescue the young man requires is from the values of his manipulative mother.

Production History

The show was first produced at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...

in London on October 19, 1971, and ran for 86 performances. The production was directed by Stone Widney, choreographed by

Gillian Lynne Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne (née Pyrke; 20 February 1926 – 1 July 2018) was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre-television director, noted for her theatre choreography associated with two of the longest-runnin ...

, and starred

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer, known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s and in the CBS te ...

as Lewis Lambert Strether,

Danielle Darrieux Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux (; 1 May 1917 – 17 October 2017) was a French actress of stage, television and film, as well as a singer and dancer. Beginning in 1931, she appeared in more than 110 films. She was one of France's g ...

as Marie de Vionnet, Margaret Courtenay as Amelia Newsome, Judith Paris as Sarah, and Blain Fairman as Bilham. The show had its American premiere at Philadelphia's La Salle Music Theatre in June 1972 with no cast members from either the London or Broadway productions. The local cast had the benefit of the creators' input as they rewrote and revised for the production. In particular, several new opening scenes and numbers were tried out for what was then considered the plot problem: "get the boy to Paris". A couple of new numbers were tested for the show. Despite the show's poor reception in London, the producers decided to bring it to Broadway. The show went through several re-writes which included cutting the first scene. 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 ...

production, directed by Widney, conducted by

Herbert Grossman Herbert Grossman (September 30, 1926 – September 11, 2010) was an American conductor who was chiefly known for his work within opera and musical theatre. Early life and education Born in New York City, Grossman was the son of a businessman. H ...

and choreographed, because of Miss Lynne's unavailability, by Joyce Trisler, opened on November 19, 1972, 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 ...

, where it ran for 29 performances. The cast included Keel as Lewis, Darrieux as Marie, Michael J. Shannon as Chad,

Andrea Marcovicci Andrea Louisa Marcovicci ( ro, Marcovici; born November 18, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Life and career Marcovicci was born in Manhattan, to Helen Stuart, a singer, and Eugen Marcovicci, a physician and internist of Romanian descen ...

as Jeanne de Vionnet, M'el Dowd as Amelia Newsome, and

Nicholas Dante Nicholas Dante (November 22, 1941 – May 21, 1991
from '' ...

as the bellboy.

Song list

;Act I *Lambert's Quandary *Lilas *I Know the Man *The Right Time, the Right Place *She Passed My Way *Something More *Love Finds the Lonely *Surprise *Happy Man ;Act II *Lilas, What Happened to Paris *Young with Him *Too Much to Forgive *Why Do Women Have to Call It Love *Mama *That's What I Need Tonight *Gossip *Not Tomorrow *All of My Life *Thank You, No

References

External links

Don Gohman Papers, 1946-1974
Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Internet Broadway Database listingProduction information from Flyrope.comInformation about the cast recording and London cast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambassador 1972 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on novels Paris in fiction