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''A Family Affair'' is a musical with a book by James Goldman and William Goldman, lyrics by James Goldman and John Kander, and music by Kander. This was Kander's first show and his only one written without Fred Ebb in Ebb's lifetime.


Synopsis

In Chicago, Gerry Siegal and Sally Nathan, a young suburban Chicago couple, decide to marry. The bride's Uncle Alfie (her guardian) wants an intimate wedding and wages a war of words with the groom's entire family. The groom's brassy Jewish mother Tillie commandeers the planning, steering it towards a large country club wedding (despite her husband's scolding her for taking over). Caterers, dressmakers, band leaders, rabbis, florists, photographers and a bossy wedding planner are pushed to the limit by the madcap preparations. The bride and groom, who have retained their sanity, realize that their families have almost destroyed the wedding. They announce their intention to have a quiet family affair.


Song list

;Act I *Anything for You *Beautiful *My Son, the Lawyer *Every Girl Wants to Get Married *Right Girls *Kalua Bay *There's a Room in My House *Siegal Marching Song *Nathan Marching Song *Harmony ;Act II *Now, Morris *Wonderful Party *Revenge *Summer is Over *Harmony (Reprise) *I'm Worse Than Anybody *What I Say Goes *The Wedding


Background

The three collaborators on the show, William and James Goldman, and John Kander, had all been friends for a long time and shared an apartment in New York City. Although all three would enjoy great success, when the musical was written only William Goldman was doing well in his career. He later remembered:
They were older than I was, Kander and my brother, and they were the ones who were supposed to succeed and they weren't I was. It terrified me and I wrote a musical with my brother and Kander, ''A Family Affair'', which got on, which failed. I don't know why I did it. Here were these two wonderful figures for me and I was doing well and they weren't and I helped them in my own nutty way. Except it didn't work out that way, since everything I tried for the theatre failed.
William Goldman says the idea for the musical was his. It was originally optioned by Leland Hayward and when he dropped the option their agent, Richard Seff, talked his cousin Andrew into producing it. Money was raised by doing live auditions, according to Seff:
Jim couldn't sing a note, Bill can't really sing but John Kander can a little bit, so Kander would play and sing and Bill would sing with him and then I had to get up and sing with them too so here was the agent playing actor. There were thirty people, fifty people, and we'd raise the thousand dollars one night and two thousand the next and we put together the whole show that way.
The credits are shared by all three equally. "I would not say I was a major contributor to the lyrics, but we all decided the three of us would take the billing," remembers William Goldman.


Production history

Originally planned as a project for Gertrude Berg to be directed by
Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...
, it opened in Philadelphia directed instead by Word Baker, who recently had staged '' The Fantasticks'' off-Broadway. With everything from the script to the score to the set in disarray, theatre producer
Hal Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...
was brought in to replace Baker and repair the damage. Poor box office prevented the out-of-town tryout from being extended and Prince, making his directorial debut, brought the show to New York City knowing it was better but still in need of serious work. The Broadway production opened on January 27, 1962, at the Billy Rose Theatre, where it ran for 65 performances and five previews. The cast included
Shelley Berman Sheldon Leonard Berman (February 3, 1925 – September 1, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, writer, teacher, and lecturer. In his comedic career, he was awarded three gold records and he won the first Grammy Award for a spoken comedy reco ...
as Alfie, Eileen Heckart as Tillie,
Rita Gardner Rita Gardner ( Schier; October 23, 1934 – September 24, 2022) was an American actress and singer. Career Gardner made her stage debut Off-Broadway in Jerry Herman's musical review ''Nightcap'' (1958) before her breakout turn as Luisa in the ...
as Sally, and
Larry Kert Lawrence Frederick "Larry" Kert (December 5, 1930 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his role of Tony in the original Broadway production of the musical ''West Side Story''. Early life Kert was ...
as Gerry, with Morris Carnovsky,
Cathryn Damon Cathryn Lee Damon (September 11, 1930 – May 4, 1987) was an American actress, best known for her roles on television sitcoms in the 1970s and 1980s. She is best known as Mary Campbell in ''Soap'' (1977-1981). Early years Damon was the ...
,
Bibi Osterwald Margaret Virginia "Bibi" Osterwald (February 3, 1920 – January 2, 2002) was an American actress. Life and career Osterwald was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the daughter of Dagmar (Kvastad) and Rudolf August Osterwald, a hotel owne ...
, and
Linda Lavin Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom ''Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway. After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Com ...
in supporting roles. According to Richard Seff:
We kept it alive, barely. It earned a living for those nine weeks but it never made any profit to speak of and to go on longer would have meant to take big losses so it was sensible to close it... When we first heard it, we thought it had great charm. But I think it would have been helped by a director who really understood big musicals and Wood Baker had just had the great success with ''Fantastiks'', which was only a few people in a tiny, tiny theatre, and he did that one imaginatively, but this one he did not do imaginatively and it was very clunky. A lot depends on the director in a musical. He really can make fair material much better and a bad director can take excellent material and make it worse...
Hal Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...
took over the direction out of town. He helped it a lot. It got better. It just didn't get good enough.Egan p 35
An original cast recording was released by United Artists Records.


References

*''Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops'' by
Ken Mandelbaum Ken Mandelbaum is a Jewish American columnist, critic, and author whose primary field of expertise is musical theatre. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mandelbaum was introduced to Broadway musical theatre by his parents and grandparents a ...
, 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), pages 141–42 ()
''A Family Affair''
at the Music Theatre International Website *Egan, Sean, ''William Goldman: The Reluctant Storyteller'', Bear Manor Media 2014


External links


Internet Broadway Database listingA Family Affair plot summary & character descriptions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Family Affair, A 1962 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by James Goldman Musicals by William Goldman Chicago in fiction